Posted on 01/13/2006 7:54:16 AM PST by Millicent_Hornswaggle
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.
If there's a phonier, more self aggrandizing "industry" on earth than Hollyweird et al, I'd like to hear of it.
"There are no critics in the Academy hence none who vote for the Oscars."
Yea, you bet'cha.
No Socialists or Communists in the Democrat Party, USA.
No chicken-hawks in the BSA.
It [really] was just about sex.
Republicans are homophobes, racists & bigots.
Have you heard, there's a "Vast righwing conspiracy" (honest). :o)
Democrats fight for the "little guy" (and everything else moral & decent).
"Bush lied. People died".
Need more?
Well you get the idea, huh.
Say, Vic.
...can you spell naive? ;^)
Long before then, even: Stuart Whitman received a nom for playing a sympathetic child molester in The Mark...in 1961.
me too!
Uuum OK. Which branch are the critics in then? The Actor's Branch? The Director's Branch? The Cinematographer's Branch? Critics have their own awards. You don't know what you're talking about.
Brokeback Mountain was a borefest to me personally. However, to criticize it for portraying 2 homosexuals in the West when there have been 75,000 movies made of heterosexuals in the West seems stupid.
Face it, there are homosexuals. If one out of every 75,000 Westerns shows a homosexual relationship you can't complain we are being inundated with this stuff.
There is certainly a higher percentage of Gay accepted themes in film today than ever before. I think it's mostly because it couldn't exist until relatively recently. The overwhelming films made by Hollywood still portray hetero relationships rather than home relationships.
If you want to see a good movie for the most part you are better off seeing foreign films or documentaries.
For my money I thing that Grizzly Man was the best film of 2005 (In some places it is credited as 2004 so it doesn't qualify for the Oscar).
Laurence Olivier received a nom for a playing a sympathetic murderer in Hamlet.
You're right that most Americans aren't going to be watching the Academy Awards this year.
For the same reasons you describe, too.
I wondered why Grizzly Man wasn't getting that Best Documentary nom, thanks for that info. Herzog deserves some sort of Oscar, even if it's just a career award. He's the most daring director alive.
1990: Politically correct Dances with Wolves Beat out Goodfellas
It didn't make the cut for the list of Documentaries. It's a shame. I agree with you about Herzog. At least Robert Altman is getting a Career award.
Congratulations for you ongoing emphasis, there, because I noticed yesterday that FOX commentors are now referring to "BM" as being "about sheep herders." On FOX morning yesterday, someone actually corrected someone else with, "it's a film about sheep herders, let's get that straight."
Ha. At least FOX gets it straight.
Well, it's also been advertised as a WESTERN yet it takes place in 1963.
To me, a western is pre-automobile.
Where would that put Sam Peckinpah's best Westerns (Ride the Hight Country, The Wild Bunch, Ballad of Cable Hogue), where the automobile is an important symbol of the passing of the old West? And hey, what about Roy Rogers and his trusty jeep? :-)
read later
Right! The Oscars are awarded by industry insiders to industry insiders according to whatever agenda fad is current.
Yeah, but Kiran Chetry thought the movie was absolutely fantastic! She looked as if she were going to come out of her chair with excitement. Well, at least she doesn't try to hide the fact that she's pimping for the homosexual lobby. Good going, Kiran. You have earned so much respect from the Fox News Channel viewers.
If Fox doesn't get the libs off of their channel (they've acquired half of the CNN staff already) they will soon find out that many of us can just as well find our news elsewhere.
I skip it every year. Why? Because I, like many others, could care less.
Billy Crystal wouldn't do the show even though they begged him. He was the only thing that kept me watching.
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