Just so we're clear that there are worse things in the world than the wrong films being handed awards, let's see what's in the news today (or, more precisely, what should be in the news if journalists had integrity and weren't being man-handled by corporate interests in the name of tabloid manipulation of the lowest common denominator).
Another soldier was killed in Iraq as 6 bombs went off in Baghdad alone. Oh, and insurgents have taken yet another civilian hostage because of our failure to create any security infrastructure in this nation teetering on the edge of all-out civil war. The death count of our troops alone is nearly 3,000...not to mention civilians, Iraqis, and of course the record number of journalists killed. But hey, who cares about journalists. Its their own fault for trying to report the truth that we can't depend on our own government to give us.
South Dakota has now passed a knowingly un-Constitutional law banning all abortion, including in the case of rape and incest, in the hopes of overturning Roe V. Wade under the new Bush-appointed (practically) Supreme Court. That's right ladies...if you are assaulted in South Dakota by a rapist or your abusive, drunken father and become pregnant, you are now required by law to give birth to that child. Oh, and if your life is endangered by that pregnancy, the doctor's must further put your life at risk by exhausting every possible option to save the fetus or they could go to jail. There is no penalty however for the mother attempting to have the abortion, oddly enough. The Governor of SD stated that he believes life begins at conception. Well, if your mother is traumatized and too young/poor/irresponsible to take care of you and resents you for your whole life because you were unwanted and remind her of a horrible event...then I guess your life pretty much ended at conception too. (Note, I think people should act responsibly and cautiously so that abortion is never necessary but I can think of nothing crueler than forcing someone to have a child that they may not be able to care for or raise properly. Why ruin the mother's and the child's lives?)
But just so you know that not everything is awful and that maybe there is some hope of justice...President Bush's approval rating is at 34% (or 38% depending on the poll) with a record dissapproval rating over 54%...so while only a third of the people approve of what he's doing, more than half of the people actually think he's not just so-so but actually doing a bad job. There's talk in the Republican party that Dick Cheney may be forced to resign after the midterm elections since he's completely useless and a huge political liability due to his attempted murder of an old man that he thought was a bird and his ties to Halliburton. Jack Abramoff will be sentenced on March 29th, and will most likely give up even more names of people who accepted his dirty money and encouraged his dishonest deeds. Oh, and 74% of the troops stationed in Iraq think the U.S. should get out of there before the year is out. That's right, 3 out of every 4 people who were talking about how great Bush is and how he's the only one that can fight the terrorists now think that we've made a complete mess of Iraq and they don't want to be anywhere near it. So, things are looking kind-of awful, but at least now people are starting to pay attention and realize what's going on. 2006 is the year to start doing something about it.
Monday, March 6, 2006
Sunday, March 5, 2006
The Myth of a Liberal Hollywood
In a year where there are so many good, important, interesting films, it's shocking that many of the awards went to mediocre, boring movies that many people didn't see. I mean, many people didn't see Capote, but the ones who did realized it was great. Same thing for Munich and Brokeback Mountain and Good Night and Good Luck. But Memoirs of a Geisha won awards, and you know what, even the costumes weren't that good. Oh, but it takes place in the past in another country, so we have to give it awards for costumes.
Here's what I don't understand...You have five films nominated for best picture. Every individual guild and critical organization have all agreed which one of them is the best, and everyone else knows that one of those films is really just a placeholder because they couldn't agree on a fifth film. So, who do we give the Oscar too? Let's not give it to an artful, subtle film with an important message or intriguing story. No, let's give it to the place holder.
I liked Crash when I saw it. I should also mention that I liked Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Baseketball when I saw it. Crash was the only decent movie out at a time when every movie was awful. That's the only reason people went to see it, and the only reason people even remember it. Sure, it has a message, but a heavy-handed one that in many ways contradicts itself and destroys its own point.
Oh, but it's an important film, about racism. Yeah, well so is To Kill a Mockingbird, but that was at least well written and had great performances. Plus, for a film that proclaims to be so serious and real, and tackles the tough issues faced by many groups, its hard to ignore that Crash was written, directed, and produced largely by middle-aged, middle class white people, who were clearly exercising their white liberal guilt and attempting to identify with the struggles of minorities. If people in reality acted like the characters in Crash, you'd never get a word in edgewise because everyone would be speaking in angry monologues, and half the population would be dead because the other half of the population would have killed them in some racial misunderstanding while yelling about how they are mistreated. Here's a hint for writers without subtlety...the reason that racism is such a problem in society is because people don't come right out and say they are racist and yell derogatory things at each other. In fact, they are downright nice to each other (to their faces) and when they do say something about race, its not in the form of a poorly prepared speech, but in a whispered aside.
Brokeback Mountain wasn't even my favorite film of the year. I thought both Munich and Good Night & Good Luck were better...but at least it was a good film. It was meaningful without being heavy-handed. It was interesting without being manipulative. It was well directed (as proved by Ang Lee's win) and well acted (as proved by its three acting nominations), and well written (as proved by its Oscar for adapted screenplay) and well shot. What else does it need to win best picture? Were people annoyed by the hype? Were they afraid it would make Hollywood look too liberal? Or were they afraid that if they didn't vote for Crash they would feel like a racist, instead of a homophobe?
I don't know. But hey, if Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind can be considered "best films", why not some mediocre drivel like Crash. So to all those people out there who think that "Hollywood" is too liberal, too elitist, too out of touch with middle america...they just gave the Oscar to the safe-bet, mediocre, middle-brow, popular, suburban drama starring Tony Danza, Sandra Bullock, and Ludacris. Bravo Hollywood, you've proved us wrong.
And made me sick.
Here's what I don't understand...You have five films nominated for best picture. Every individual guild and critical organization have all agreed which one of them is the best, and everyone else knows that one of those films is really just a placeholder because they couldn't agree on a fifth film. So, who do we give the Oscar too? Let's not give it to an artful, subtle film with an important message or intriguing story. No, let's give it to the place holder.
I liked Crash when I saw it. I should also mention that I liked Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Baseketball when I saw it. Crash was the only decent movie out at a time when every movie was awful. That's the only reason people went to see it, and the only reason people even remember it. Sure, it has a message, but a heavy-handed one that in many ways contradicts itself and destroys its own point.
Oh, but it's an important film, about racism. Yeah, well so is To Kill a Mockingbird, but that was at least well written and had great performances. Plus, for a film that proclaims to be so serious and real, and tackles the tough issues faced by many groups, its hard to ignore that Crash was written, directed, and produced largely by middle-aged, middle class white people, who were clearly exercising their white liberal guilt and attempting to identify with the struggles of minorities. If people in reality acted like the characters in Crash, you'd never get a word in edgewise because everyone would be speaking in angry monologues, and half the population would be dead because the other half of the population would have killed them in some racial misunderstanding while yelling about how they are mistreated. Here's a hint for writers without subtlety...the reason that racism is such a problem in society is because people don't come right out and say they are racist and yell derogatory things at each other. In fact, they are downright nice to each other (to their faces) and when they do say something about race, its not in the form of a poorly prepared speech, but in a whispered aside.
Brokeback Mountain wasn't even my favorite film of the year. I thought both Munich and Good Night & Good Luck were better...but at least it was a good film. It was meaningful without being heavy-handed. It was interesting without being manipulative. It was well directed (as proved by Ang Lee's win) and well acted (as proved by its three acting nominations), and well written (as proved by its Oscar for adapted screenplay) and well shot. What else does it need to win best picture? Were people annoyed by the hype? Were they afraid it would make Hollywood look too liberal? Or were they afraid that if they didn't vote for Crash they would feel like a racist, instead of a homophobe?
I don't know. But hey, if Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind can be considered "best films", why not some mediocre drivel like Crash. So to all those people out there who think that "Hollywood" is too liberal, too elitist, too out of touch with middle america...they just gave the Oscar to the safe-bet, mediocre, middle-brow, popular, suburban drama starring Tony Danza, Sandra Bullock, and Ludacris. Bravo Hollywood, you've proved us wrong.
And made me sick.
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