Spring Break
Oscars not about good filmmaking
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Opinions
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I had the choice between watching the 79th Annual Academy Awards and writing a death penalty research paper on Sunday night. I should have picked the death penalty.
I love movies. I've wasted half my life slumped in a chair watching celebrity-voiced dogs, big guys shooting other big guys and fiery explosions. And, of course, the reason I'm currently single, Master Yoda.
But as much as I love movies, I hate the Oscars.
Now, I could give so, so many reasons why watching this award show is a waste of time: smug political rambling, lame jokes and actors awkwardly trying to read them, and this year, Ellen DeGeneres.
One thing, though, really struck me while watching Sunday night: this is just one big private club for the movie industry. This was self-importance on a scale never before seen - except for last year, and next year or (apparently) unless you live in California.
Most of the nominees and even the winners weren't actually terrible this year.
Thankfully Julia Roberts wasn't nominated, and Martin Scorsese finally got some acknowledgement. It doesn't matter, though.
The academy voters aren't your normal moviegoers - people who enjoy getting lost in a story or a performance. They're just a bunch of movie industry insiders. Why should we care about the self-love fest going on in the Kodak Theatre?
The academy doesn't even care about the winners, people who often have worked their whole lives just to get a shiny little gold man-thing.
They're not really about rewarding excellence in filmmaking. If so, why would they shame winners off stage with music but show numerous long montages on how the film industry has changed the world and continues to inspire us?
The show is about the movie-makers, not the Oscar winners. This private, highly-televised club is all about the money.
It's a business.
The whole point of the Oscars is to remind you that movies are such an important part of your life that you need to watch more and more of them. And never stop. Just keep renting 'em. Hell, even buy a few.
You see a tearful acceptance; the industry smells a sweaty roll of hundreds.
If a DVD has that Oscar icon, the customer might give it more than a once-over. It's got that…thing…on it. It's gotta be good!
I think I know why Jack Nicholson wears those signature shades. He has to ingest ungodly amounts of substances just to sit through this sham.
I really tried to be positive with this column, but I just couldn't do it.
- Josh White is a senior from Carrollton majoring in political science
I love movies. I've wasted half my life slumped in a chair watching celebrity-voiced dogs, big guys shooting other big guys and fiery explosions. And, of course, the reason I'm currently single, Master Yoda.
But as much as I love movies, I hate the Oscars.
Now, I could give so, so many reasons why watching this award show is a waste of time: smug political rambling, lame jokes and actors awkwardly trying to read them, and this year, Ellen DeGeneres.
One thing, though, really struck me while watching Sunday night: this is just one big private club for the movie industry. This was self-importance on a scale never before seen - except for last year, and next year or (apparently) unless you live in California.
Most of the nominees and even the winners weren't actually terrible this year.
Thankfully Julia Roberts wasn't nominated, and Martin Scorsese finally got some acknowledgement. It doesn't matter, though.
The academy voters aren't your normal moviegoers - people who enjoy getting lost in a story or a performance. They're just a bunch of movie industry insiders. Why should we care about the self-love fest going on in the Kodak Theatre?
The academy doesn't even care about the winners, people who often have worked their whole lives just to get a shiny little gold man-thing.
They're not really about rewarding excellence in filmmaking. If so, why would they shame winners off stage with music but show numerous long montages on how the film industry has changed the world and continues to inspire us?
The show is about the movie-makers, not the Oscar winners. This private, highly-televised club is all about the money.
It's a business.
The whole point of the Oscars is to remind you that movies are such an important part of your life that you need to watch more and more of them. And never stop. Just keep renting 'em. Hell, even buy a few.
You see a tearful acceptance; the industry smells a sweaty roll of hundreds.
If a DVD has that Oscar icon, the customer might give it more than a once-over. It's got that…thing…on it. It's gotta be good!
I think I know why Jack Nicholson wears those signature shades. He has to ingest ungodly amounts of substances just to sit through this sham.
I really tried to be positive with this column, but I just couldn't do it.
- Josh White is a senior from Carrollton majoring in political science
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