NOTE: This is a post about politics, but it is not a political post. Comments of a political nature will be deleted.
The Oscars were last night.
I'm going to make a confession. This Illiterate Writer nearly fell asleep before it was over.
Okay, time for another confession. This Illiterate Writer spent most of the Oscars watching The Walking Dead and The Talking Dead on his iPhone while the Oscars played on TV.
Thank you Comcast for a WONDERFUL live-streaming app.
It is the dream of every writer, actor, and filmmaker to receive and Academy Award. I am no different. However, I do not worship at the altar of Academy Awards. You have to break into the business to get recognized by the business.
Today in the deliberate writer household, I overheard someone on FOXNews talking about how political the Oscars were. This person was mad that American Sniper did not win best picture and, presumably, all six Academy Awards it was nominated for last night. Had I listened longer, I'm sure I would have heard them say that six nominations was too few and that the movie was a victim of some vast left-wing conspiracy to destroy decency and honor in American society.
I feel compelled to say how utterly ridiculous I find this style of rhetoric. For the most part, I am a complete Hollywood outsider, but I do know a thing or two about the industry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not a political organization. The Academy Awards are a fun but utterly unimportant gauge of the industry, A chance to recognize talent that deserves recognizing, and they look at the trends which influenced the industry over the past year.
Yes, Birdman won best picture. It was a movie about an actor. For many members of the Academy, it was a movie that represented their struggles, It was a movie that spoke to them about their lives.
Ironically, American Sniper is a movie that spoke too many middle-class Americans in much the same way. Watching the story of Navy seal Chris Kyle, many flyover State Americans saw the story about someone they already knew, not because they knew Chris Kyle, but because they grew up around men just like Chris Kyle. The reason American sniper touched so many viewers is because it showed an ordinary man sacrificing his life for his country and becoming someone extraordinary. This was not a movie that glorified war, despite what many critics have claimed. This was a movie that showed not only a soldier sacrifice, but the cost of war on the children and wives of the men who go overseas to fight. That Chris Kyle, in real life, was killed while trying to help another vet adjust to life at home only makes the story more powerful.
American Sniper was, essentially, the true story of a Real American hero. The American people have voted with their wallets and awarded American sniper over $300 million in ticket sales—the movie will likely end its theatrical run having earned more than all seven of the other films nominated for best picture combined.
It is safe to say, the American public has identified with Chris Kyle's story.
Should American Sniper have won an Academy Award for best picture? In all honesty, probably not. American sniper was a great movie, but it wasn't exactly A movie that elevated the art form of moving pictures. American Sniper told a great story, but it broke no new ground in doing so.
People tend to forget that art is subjective. For every work of art, there are those who praise it, And those who are critical of it. Sometimes art is intended for a very specific audience, and anyone outside that audience simply is not going to get it.
What happens every year with the Oscars is this: the American public is invited into a private award ceremony conducted within a highly exclusive industry where competition is fierce and success is elusive. The Academy Awards are not meant to be a reflection of popularity for movies, actors, or directors. Popularity is measured in terms of dollars and cents, in terms of ticket sales and DVD rentals. The Academy Awards exists to provide a platform for those within the industry to honor others within the industry they deem worthy of honor.
Yes Patricia Arquette used her platform as winner for best supporting actress to express her views about gender inequalities that exist within the industry, and within society at large. Patricia Arquette is not a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, nor is she part of some political conspiracy. Patricia Arquette is someone who was given a gold statue in recognition for work performed in a movie by people who know a thing or two about movies.
Likewise, common and John legend use their platform as winners for best song to express racial injustices that exist within the industry and within society at large. These musicians are not spokes people for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Is it distasteful for celebrities to use platforms provided to them to voice their political beliefs? That is not for me to decide. As someone who will likely never stand on that stage, it is a choice I will probably never have to make.
If the automotive industry gathered once a year to hand out awards for outstanding achievements in automotive manufacturing, would there be this much controversy if a Lexus SUV won best vehicle of the year over a Ford Taurus ?
So many political commentators complain about Hollywood and movies and actors. They never knowledge the fact that movies are a product of an industry, the people involved are essentially employees–extremely well-paid employees, but employees nonetheless. The fact of the matter is Hollywood represents the American dream in a way no other industry can. Hollywood is responsible for more rags to riches story than any other industry in this country. One does not become a movie star by blind luck, one does not accidentally win an Academy Award.
The men and women who are successful in Hollywood have learned what it tae does not become a movie star by blind luck, one does not accidentally win an Academy Award.
I wish we could agree as a society to stop this insane idolization of Hollywood and recognize it for what it is. Hollywood is an industrial machine that, as a whole, produces the best movies in the world. The Oscars are Hollywood's effort to acknowledge the artists whose work speaks to the professionals in that industry. This year, the work that spoke to them most was Birdman.
As for you and I? Go vote with your wallet, and I'll do the same.
- The Illiterate Writer
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