POLIWOOD: Are the Oscars Corrupt?
Lionel Chetwynd and I – two guys who have been voting in the Oscars since the early Paleolithic Age or, in my case, 1983 (whichever came first) – discuss whether the Oscars are corrupt in the new Poliwood. Without giving it away, we compare the OScars to other awards and elections on the corruption scale. Can our Oscar votes be bought? Well, I can’t speak for Lionel, but for myself – make me an offer. [I hope you're kidding.-ed. That's for me to know and you to find out.] But seriously, folks, on the show I do admit that I was bought in the past… well, almost… by the French. They gave the best parties. Sadly, no more. The rules have tightened. Lionel and I go over those rules on the show, just so you know what to expect as the annual carnival begins. You can watch the show here.
I don’t give a damn about the Oscars. At most, I might spend five minutes a week worrying about this no longer important event. Richard Dreyfuss long ago said that the Academy nominations themselves are all that truly matters. Deciding on the actual winner is a result of pure backroom politics and manipulation. The situation has gotten much worse in the last decade. I rented Slumdog Millionaire at a Red Box location maybe nine months ago. It blew my doors when I learned this mediocre film “earned” 2008’s best picture and other major awards. Political correctness is the only sensible theory to explain the bizarre vote of the majority of Academy insiders. I simply don’t have the time to invest in such nonsense.
Yes, but who cares? There are so many “awards” shows now, that NONE of them matter. Everybody wins. And that’s the problem. Hollywood is so self-centered, has egos so fragile, that everyone has to win an award. It’s all bullshit and none of it matter. Basically, who cares?
The Academy awards have been an orgy of glitzy self-congratulatory rubbish for at least a couple of decades.
I basically agree with all of the above except… to David Thomson, as a voter in this silly festival, I have never really been manipulated. The sad truth about why movies like Slumdog Millionaire now win the Oscar is that there aren’t any good ones anymore. Occam’s Razor, I’m afriad. Nobody bribed anybody. If it were only that much fun.
Those voting for today’s Academy Awards are perhaps often similar to adherents of a religion that nobody any longer really believes in. They seem like Episcopalians simply going through the motions. Old habits don’t disappear overnight. The important question is this: will the generation born especially after 1990 give a damn? I doubt it very much.
Political correctness is the number one villain in this tragedy. I definitely sense in countless movies of our present era a desperate need to prove one’s obedience to the masters of the zeitgeist. At best, their situation may only be one or two steps above of what was endured by the typical citizen of the former German Democratic Republic. There is no hope for them. New institutions must begin and completely replace those of yesterday.
I should also add that Hollywood is finished. If nothing else, California’s awful economic climate renders it uncompetitive. It will take the state minimally five years to turn things around. The world simply will not wait that long.
#4 Roger that Roger ! If I get it…sincerity and honesty and integrity are the qualities brought to bear at all times in holyweed’s oscar gambit.
sho nuff Rog..baby, and…I believe you may be the last unmanipulated man living south of Bakersfield.
There aren’t many movies that I get excited about anymore. With respect to the technical aspects of movies (lighting, design, etc.), movies are much better than they ever have been. But, it is getting to the point of “who cares?” It is expensive to go to the movies unless you go for a matinee or get some coupon. Many movies simply don’t seem interesting. I rarely hear people talking about movies they say like I used to.
The proliferation of awards shows has diluted the meaning of the Academy Awards. Furthermore, Hollywood has a mixed relationship with authority. Hollywood thumbs its nose at authority as often as possible and wears its countercultural heart on its sleeve. But the Oscars are as “establishment” a thing as there is. Hollywood actors seem to crave getting an Oscar, but resent the entire concept of establishment. The Oscars were a once-a-year thing. Now with the other wards shows, you could get sick of these people (if you actually watched, which I don’t).
What most people don’t realize is the Hollywood product has become globalized. The domestic market accounts now for only about 30 percent of the take from box office, DVDs and other revenue sources including TV. The global market doesn’t care about dialogue, nuance, irony or any of the other qualities that once made you like movies. They are geared for the teenage market. This means explosions, car chases and bodacious babes. And also anti-Americanism. Films reflect the view foreigners have of the United States. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t drag in that 70 percent. The Oscars are a tribal rite for Hollywood, which has always based itself on a culture of self congratulation. This is why nepotism and brown-nosing are so endemic. Also why hostility toward the world beyond Hollywood is so prevalent. The Roman Polanski case perfectly demonstrates the schism. The good thing is the digital revolution will gradually at first and then rapidly erase Hollywood’s role in the culture.
Count me as one more who pays not the blindest bit of attention to the Oscars. It’s just the film industry as mutual admiration society’s annual round of self congratulation. It just isn’t important outside the Hollywood bubble. As for the politics of it all, it’s probably like someone once said about academic politics. They’re so vicious because the stakes are so low.
Roger, I absolutely believe you when you say you haven’t been manipulated. I’m just curious why you’re even interested in participating any more.
There are some movies that I think are masterpieces and am glad to see them honored: Amadeus and English Patient come to mind. I would like to see Clint Eastwood get an Oscar for his directing. He is a rare acting/directing talent. I don’t know why we need the Academy Awards show though. It seems like a throwback to days when we did not have instant communication. Just vote and announce the winners.