Rollin' UP the Red Carpet The most offensive thing about last night's Oscar Awards was not Michael Moore's speech calling Bush a "fictitious president waging a fictitious war", but rather Hollywood's hubris in believing that anyone cares what it thinks. In this time of war, terrorism and curtailed freedoms, who would possibly want to see the court jesters standing up and discussing politics? Yes, I consider myself an artist, and I respect the rights of anyone to say whatever they please, but while it's one thing to speak your mind, it's another to pretend that the Oscar's really matter. Conservative and liberal stars alike treated the Oscar ceremony as if it was up there with the Liberty Bell as a sacred institution that needed to be defended and justified. In a sea of tasteful black dresses and nauseating veiled references to the war (a sampling: Barbara Streisand: "I am glad that I live in a country that guarantees every citizen, including artists, the right to say and to sing what you believe.", Nicole Kidman: "Why do you come to the Academy Awards when the world is in such turmoil? Because art is important.", Adrien Brody: "Whether you believe in Allah or God, may he watch over you, and pray for a peaceful and swift resolution to this war."- Susan Sarandon, muzzled by virtue of being Death Patrol Girl, still managed to get out a peace sign.) the Academy sought to elevate itself to a level that matched the tenor of our times. Of course, what America really needed was for Sally Fields to tell us that we really really liked her or maybe some random streaking. The last thing Americans tuned in for was four hours of somber treacle. You can't blame the Academy entirely. After all, it had to figure out what the appropriate response to a four day old war would be (POSTPONE THE DAMN SHOW!); balancing the needs of Harvey Weinstein with the needs of the nation. All things considered though, there were some moments worth enjoying. Both Meryl Streep and Kathy Bates seemed to deliver their presentations with a refreshing measure of contempt and boredom, with Bates breaking down halfway through her sing-song TelePrompTer spiel and deliver an aside, "Hey, what do you expect here?" in her usual hoarse cackle that somehow manages to make everything that comes out of her mouth sound like a four letter word. Streep, for her part, was either very drunk or winningly sober as she looked out on her colleagues and the whole glittering affair and just laughed. P.S.- Mr. Moore, congrats on your Oscar. You may be the Rush Limbaugh of the Left, but "Bowling for Columbine" was an amazing work about America and you certainly deserved to be recognized for your work.

posted by Japhy at 3/24/2003 01:29:00 PM || #