I watched the Academy Awards tonight for the first time since, I think, 1989. As a result of a particularly painful experience watching the Oscars that year, I have since sworn off awards shows. I've always hated the way that awards shows are so self-congratulatory, insular, and disconnected from any trace of reality.
This year, with Jon Stewart as host, I felt challenged NOT to watch the Oscars. I've had a lot of admiration and respect for Jon Stewart ever since he took on Tucker Carlson in 2004: "You people are hurting America." I watch his show when I can, and find him funny and frequently insightful.
So Sasha and I sat down to watch the Oscars, both working on various projects while passively watching. And I was a little surprised at two things... First, the movies that were up for awards all looked pretty good. You see, we haven't seen very many movies this year... The only ones I'd seen, incredibly enough, were MARCH OF THE PENGUINS and STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Clearly, we have to get out to the movies more (and maybe try working a little bit less). Second, the awards show actually seemed pretty well paced (short speeches!), and it didn't have very much of the "Look at us, aren't we great?" vibe that most award shows seem to have. Granted, some of the material (like Tom Hanks getting attacked by the orchestra in the "what not to do" as an awards recipient clip) didn't work at all... but it's live TV, and I can cut them some slack. I was actually really touched by how honestly affected some of the award recipients seemed (I'm thinking of Philip Seymour Hoffman, but there were many others). And Jon Stewart had some good bits (like coming back from commercial and being "caught" telling the audience why Scientology is so great).
All in all, I found the whole show to be kind of intimate and human, which really surprised me... And, ironically, it feels really good to be reassured by Hollywood, in a nation where it seems like Hollywood is the only real power base that isn't afraid to challenge the dominant ideology. It seems to me that most corporate interests, most of the media, most politicians, and most of the public either believe they are benefitting by direction the country is taking, or seem to feel that they have nothing to gain by speaking out.
So, yes, the Academy Awards actually gave me hope for what our country is capable of... The entertainment industry, which is based on fantasy, "star power," and who-knows-who, seems a lot more real and authentic than our government these days, which seems to be experiencing a near-total lack of anything approaching effective leadership (and I'm not just criticizing the party-in-power here). The Oscars demonstrated more leadership, conviction, and heartfelt warmth than any white house press briefing, presidential photo-op, or political speech I've seen in a long time.
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