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."
"What's an Oscar?"
Well, there was an "Oscar" class Soviet submarine ... but don't know what that has to do with Hollyweird ... other than both have Commie leanings.
Other than that, can't help ya. ;-)
LOL!
Unkempt green fellow that lives in a garbage can.
IIRC like a mainstream American he stayed at home and watched a football game.
I don't think the Oscars are on any more either. I think they're called Golden Globes now.
Got to admit, I liked Philadelphia. But hey, maybe it was because I liked Hanks in Bachelor Party!
I am neither, and I watch the show. Anymore I watch out of nostalgia more than anything else. The "Oscars" as my mother always called them was a family event at my house growing up. With both of my parents now dead, those rituals are more important than ever.
The only good thing about the Oscars is that TCM runs a marathon of Oscar winning movies for a few weeks
beforehand.
I burned lots of them to DVD last year directly from the satellite.
I just have two words for the ladies on Oscar night: Foundation garments.
Darn I guess I will have to miss them this year too. I checked and there is a rerun of World Series of Poker running that night with Jen Harman, Annie Duke and Evelyn Ng. Can't miss that!
It's already off my list -- also the Golden Globes and all the other Hollywood award shows. My husband told me there was a huge scism between the people's choice and the critics choice -- one was normal and the other was gay cowboys.
this year? whats so special about this year. hollywood's been pumping out the trash forever. Brokeback is this year's Cold Mountain. Remember that heartwarming story of AWOL-ing cuz it's the moral thing to do. the moral thing to do is cheer while pirating and the like brings the box office down.
I mean since these a-holes are all into, what's that word, yeah, civil disobedience I say give em a taste of civil disobedience. Bit torrenting movies, it's civil disobedience that bites the hand that disobeys. Gotta love it.
/does not bit torrent or pirate stuff
Monster -- Lesbian seriel killer
Those criticisms might have been valid had they both not been true stories. Like it or not rednecks killed Tina Branden because she was a cross-dresser, and Eileen Wurnos was a lesbian who killed a whole bunch of men.
But it's already inspired a host of similarly-themed remake projects:
HE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON
MY DARLING CLEM
CATFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL
What does advertising go for? $2.95 a minute?
If a bunch of actors want to hand out awards to other actors what's the big deal? I belong to an organization that hands out trophies to mountain bikers, and God only knows we're not important either.
These people (actors) get paid to recite someone else's opinion, then think that gives them credibility when they spout their own.
btw - What is that in picture #3 of post 24?
He is a household name as a mainstream, wholesome type to so many. Yet he plays roles in anti-christian, anti-moral movies which are culture-leaders such as "Philadelphia".
Next up is the anti-christian vehicle "Da Vinci" starring guess who?
Hanks is one of the worst fixtures in Hollyweird today IMO.
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