Posted on 01/12/2006 12:43:04 PM PST by SirLinksalot
Why I'm skipping the Oscars this year
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© 2006 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Every year since I was old enough to stay up late, I've watched the Academy Awards. This year, however, I have absolutely zero desire to watch the Oscars. In recent years, lack of quality from Hollywood has turned the Academy Awards into a special-interest-group get-together. If you're crazy, gay, have a disability or are a member of a minority race, you'll likely be nominated for an Oscar. If your film tackles a "deep social issue" (normally an issue dear to the hearts of Hollywood's liberal glitterati), you'll have an excellent shot at grabbing a gold statuette.
The combination of declining product quality and rising Hollywood disdain for mainstream America has opened the door to the agenda-film crowd. It began with the 1994 Oscars. "Schindler's List," "The Fugitive" and "In the Name of the Father" all received Best Picture nominations; other excellent films of 1993 included "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Shadowlands," "Fearless" and "In the Line of Fire."
Still, Hollywood had to take a shot at mainstream America, and they found their vehicle in "Philadelphia," throwing their honorary liberal activism award to Tom Hanks for his weak performance as a dying AIDS-stricken gay lawyer in "Philadelphia." Unbelievably, Hanks' cheesy hospital-bed routine beat out Liam Neeson in "Schindler's List" and Daniel Day Lewis in "In the Name of the Father." "Philadelphia" is, clinically speaking, a maudlin, ham-handed attempt at social commentary.
The remaining 1990s were filled with weak movies and weak performances. On average, high-school audio-visual clubs make better movies than Hollywood put together in the late 1990s.
Then, our illustrious decade: With great films scarce and politically mainstream Academy voters even scarcer, 2000 featured the victory of repulsive anti-suburbia and pro-homosexuality hit piece "American Beauty." Of course, it beat out a film lionizing an abortionist ("The Cider House Rules") and another attacking the tobacco industry ("The Insider"). Most disturbingly, the Academy handed Hilary Swank a Best Actress Oscar for playing a transgendered biological girl murdered by a bunch of hicks. And 2002 was the year of the African-American honorary Oscars, when Denzel Washington took home Best Actor for his decent if overrated performance in "Training Day" and Halle Berry took home Best Actress for her highly touted simulated orgasms in "Monster's Ball." In 2003, homosexual agenda films like "The Hours," "Frida" and "Far From Heaven" grabbed the largest share of nominations. In 2004, Hollywood couldn't hold off "Lord of the Rings" any longer, but Charlize Theron, playing an ugly lesbian serial killer in "Monster," won Best Actress. And last year, the Best Picture was forgettable pro-euthanasia film "Million Dollar Baby."
And then there's this year. "Brokeback Mountain," the stomach-churning story of two 1963 cowboys who get cozy while bunking down in Wyoming and then carry on their affair over the course of decades, is likely to grab Best Picture honors. The critics love it, mostly because critics love anything that pushes homosexuality as normal behavior. The New York Times raves about it, mostly because the Times has always wanted to carry a ridiculous story proclaiming that "there has always lurked a suspicion that the fastidious Eastern dude of Owen Wister's 'The Virginian' harbored stronger than proper feelings for his rough Western compadres, and that the Red River crowd may have gotten up to more than yarning by the campfire whenever Joanne Dru was not around." Maybe that's what Pinch Sulzberger thinks about when he watches John Wayne on screen, but the Times should be more careful when speaking for the rest of us. By the way, don't believe the "hit movie" hype – this supposed blockbuster has netted a grand total of $8 million. "Hostel," last week's No. 1 movie, a cheap horror film, has already netted almost $15 million.
Best Actor honors are likely to go to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his performance in "Capote" – this would mark the first time that an actor in a gay role has actually deserved his Oscar. Best Actress will probably fall to Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line," but supporters of Felicity Huffman's transgendered father-mother in "TransAmerica" could push her over the top.
Aside from pimping for GLAAD, the Oscars will provide a platform for other leftist talking points. "Good Night, and Good Luck," George Clooney's blatant attempt to bash the Bush administration through the mouth of Edward R. Murrow, and "Munich," Steven Spielberg's attempt to equate Arab terrorism with Israeli self-defense, will likely garner nominations. And to top it off, Comedy Central partisan hack Jon Stewart (who is less and less funny each day) hosts this self-congratulatory leftist feting.
I won't be watching. Neither will most Americans.
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Benjamin Shapiro is a recent graduate of UCLA and is currently enrolled at Harvard Law School. In "Porn Generation," he explains how mainstream acceptance of pornography is destroying his generation ... and our nation. Ben also shows how students are duped into becoming socialists, atheists, race-baiters and narcissists in "Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth."
I don't know if it ever has been...Citizen Kane, It's a Wonderful Life, Vertigo..what do these films have in common? No Best Picture Oscar.
it sucks....
I thought that the question (a la Joan Rivers) was, "WHO are you wearing?"
Last time I tuned in was maybe about 20 years ago.
LOL!
Should be 'Sidney Pollack's breathakingly dull...'
One of the great things about the internet is that if someone you like wins one of these awards, you can find a clip of just that presentation online within minutes. So you can see what you want without having to sit through the whole show.
In fairness about "It's a Wonderful Life" not winning an Oscar, the year was 1946 and a truly great film, "The Best Years of Our Lives," won. Hollywood has been incapable of making such extraordinary films for at least the last 25 years, maybe longer.
The Oscars, and all the awards shows that came after and patterned themselves on the Oscars, are all about marketing. The concept really has little to do with recognizing excellence. The original idea was to put some gloss on an industry that had been through a number of major scandals -- to repackage a stained industry as a legitimate art medium worthy of glamorous awards.
bump
LOL! I just watched that movie last night.
I was at a cheezy casino show a couple of years ago, a forgettable one-woman song-and-dance show (thank God it was free), and one of her routines was to sing snippets of Oscar-winning songs of the past years. She started with the songs from the 1930's and worked her way to present time. It was interesting that the closer she got to present-day the less recognizable the song was. For example, she started with "Over the Rainbow", "White Christmas", "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", worked her way to "Moon River", "Born Free", "The Way We Were", and starting around 1980 I only recognized a few songs she sang.
Do we work at the same company?
;^)
Brokeback just got Closed out at the SAG Awards. They won Nothing. I think they are going to be upset at the Oscars by Crash or Walk The Line. Ang Lee is probably a shoo-in, but Ledger won't win, and neither will Williams. I doubt Jake will even be nominated.
Hoffman will get best actor (although Im pulling for Joaquin) Witherspoon has it in the bag, and Rachel Weiz will take it away from "Transgendered's" Huffman.
Hollywood doesn't get it. They rave about Brokeback "America's No. 1" when it is barely approaching the 40 mil mark.
They have learned nothing from "Passion" or "Narnia". Heck, Big Momma made 29 million this weekend, almost 2/3 of Brokeback's entire take so far! ROTFLMAO
I am still stunned at that accolades Paltrow gets. She's not that good of an actress, one, and two, who dresses her? Good grief, even the pink number when she won for "Shakespeare" that everyone swooned about didn't even fit her in the bodice! She didn't have enough to fill it out and it looked awful.
Because the movies suck????
I must admit I thought Cold Mountain pretty bad. Glad Renee got it, but only because she SHOULD have gotten it for Chicago. Katherine was schooled in singing and dancing, not so Renee. She deserved it more.
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