Naive Rants
Ive gotta say, I often dont care a whole lot how a movie does come Oscar time. Most movies that receive Oscars dont really deserve them for any merit that I can see and, therefore, dont deserve my notice. For the most part, movies in general, and Hollywood specifically, have fallen so far from what they purport to be that I cant understand the personal need to have industries that exist solely for the making, augmentation, and distribution of movies. Music, to a large extent, suffers from the same problems that movies do.
With some of my feelings out in the open, it is important to state that Oscars are movie professionals voting for movies they think have some merit. These are people rewarding their own. Its not like the public gets a say in what is deemed Best Picture or Best Male Actor or any other category. And yet, we as a viewing, consumer public are made to believe that the Best designation is true.
The Oscars are tantamount to buying off a baseball game. The studio with the most money and the most influence in a given year is going to win. Upsets are rare and very few. Oscar sweethearts can maintain that status so long as the paychecks and gifts keep flowing.
With that said, I just read about Annie Proulxs comments in The Guardian newspaper, a British rag, where she claimed that the adaptation for her short story, Brokeback Mountain was robbed of a Best Picture Oscar.
Now, I hold no real love for a homosexual lifestyle and in truth find the thoughts of one rather repungnant. However, people have a right to choose and if they choose that path it doesnt mean I have to hate the individual, just the lifestyle and choice.
So, Brokeback Mountain was an underdog that a lot of people thought deserved more than the three Oscars it was awarded. Great. It might have. However, that doesnt mean that it was going to win.
People, in this country and around the world, assume that just because we have shows like Will and Grace on TV and we spend so much time talking about a particular alternative lifestyle that there are a lot more people who live this lifestyle than there really are. We think, because politicians pander to special interest groups that these groups have larger followings than they really do. In a political arena, sure, thats probably true; but in the real world, the world that matters, constituencies and consumers, the truth is more pervasive than one in which a sexual minority has clout.
Will and Grace is a funny show. Just ask my roommate. Ask me. Ive watched enough episodes to be able to tell you that it is funny for what it is and not what it is preaching. However, it took moving in with a fan of the show for me to watch even one episode. Otherwise, I wouldnt be interested.
That still doesnt really answer Ms. Proulxs comments, though, about her film not getting a Best Picture Academy Award.
Ms. Proulx, like you will ever read this, you need to realize that if current estimates are correct, the gay and lesbian population in the United States is such a minority that it is almost non-existent. The people of the United States, as indicated by a radical president and his followers and support, are not willing, yet, to consistently support the theme and lifestyle of your work. Regardless of the artistic merits of your short story or the film based on the short story, the Academy and the public at large do not agree with you or your sentiments.
Your sentiments are rather self-centered and show a lack of understanding and awareness of the very culture you wish the Academy would be in tune with. Granted, Hollywood is out of touch with its consumers, but that does not mean that they are out of touch with what will and does sell to the conscience of this country. You, maam, are very out of touch.
Granted, your movie has touched lives. Several people who have watched it have expressed their appreciation for something that has spoken directly to their experience. It might even speak directly to your own experiences, but, again, it does not mean that the majority of people who make movies or watch movies, the vast majority in excess of 90% of the population, can relate to your writing or a movie based on it.
You, yourself, have won awards for excellence in your chosen field. Congratulations. However, expecting the Academy to award you where the publishing world is willing to acknowledge your excellence is like asking a child to pick the prettiest picture. Hand them a lot of colors and see what happens. Chances are, you will be disappointed again.
The Academy is not an organization that can be predicted and just because the Spirit Awards chose to name your movie Best Picture does not mean that this reflects the viewing public as a whole.
There are so few movies that are good to choose from these days, that artistically merit an award, that something which speaks directly to the voting body (people who actually make movies) is more likely to choose the element that speaks to them. Crash (not Trash) does that.
Maam, it is not often when someone can sit down and say that another persons opinion is wrong; especially in this day and age, but your opinion is wrong because your opinion is based off of an emotional argument and not off of the facts as they stand.
Your work may inspire thousands and tens of thousands and may go a long way to help make alternative lifestyles more accepted in this country, but to expect what you demand now is naïve and stupid. More, you decided to voice your opinion where it doesnt even matter to this voting public and where your message might receive more attention.
Congratulations. Youve won Best Naïve Rant in my book.