Every year when the Academy Awards roll around, I find myself embarrassed to admit that I do watch parts of the show.
I view the best of film as art and appreciate the work of the actors, directors, film editors, screen writers and others who bring good stories to the screen. This year I was interested in the success of “No Country for Old Men,” and was happy to see that the work of one of the country’s best authors made a successful transition into another medium.
I feel conflicted even watching parts of the show, especially when others find out that I actually had the TV on while all the glitz and glamour polluted–as some say–the airwaves all evening long. Americans, it appears, love their royalty and actors, actresses and those who surround them are the kings and queens we love to hate and hate to love.
Photographs of the best dressed and the worst dressed and the red carpet arrivals from the OSCARS have been springing up all over the Internet like weeds. I see the names of the winners on my Yahoo page among the “most popular searches.” We, who begrudge the neighbor with the lottery winnings or the windfall inheritance as “the lucky stiff who doesn’t really deserve all that money” don’t mind adoring the “beautiful people” who make more money in one year than our entire neighborhood earns in a lifetime–and enjoying flaunting it.
So many paradoxes here. Perhaps making art makes folks larger than life. The glitz bothers me, though.
I guess I feel about “American Royalty” as I do about the British royalty; completely worthless. I have to admit though that with that attitude I probably do miss something occasionally.
When it comes to all the hype and all the flaunting of wealth and posing in front of adoring fans, I agree Montucky.
Malcolm
I sat in front of the TV myself, absorbed in my own personal curiosity of it all. For me, there’s a curiosity of what these famous people are like when you tear a script away from them. I loved seeing Jack Nicholson sitting there in the front row, coming across like he was everybody’s buddy. But even more than that, I can’t help but be inspired by those folks. I don’t mean the fame and the glitz. I mean the dare to dream and the guts to go for it. Now they don’t represent my personal dream, but they show me an example that it is possible for average folk to come out of nowhere and take the gold.
The Oscars are interesting to watch. I love seeing the people who trully are suprised and delighted to win.
There’s something not very healthy about this celebrity thing. We seem to be fascinated by these stars because we want to be like them, yet are all too pleased when they fall from grace. Is this to punish them for not being us, I wonder?
I think it all derives from our need to be ‘special’ and the feeling that our own ‘specialness’ is being overlooked. We need to realize that we are all ‘special’, just for being ourselves.
Hi Susan,
For me, the dream is the thing. Everyone there started out as an unknown and chose to be an actor, actress, screen writer, producer…
Each of us can do this in whatever realms we find to our liking though the world may never see us wearing fancy clothes on TV.
Malcolm
I agree with both of you, tobeme and Secret Simon.
The people who don’t expect to win often have the “most real” demeanor when they go up to get their awards.
But the celebrity and glitz part of it makes me wonder about all of us. Why have we chosen to honor these people above all others without seeing we, too, are wonderful.
Malcolm