"Awards" Saturation

It used to be a big night: the Academy Awards, a once-a-year event where the best movies of the year were recognized and honored, where those who received the individual awards were truly grateful, and where no one felt the need to make a political statement or bash someone else. The very rarity of it made it a spectacular event, and mere mortals showed up to gawk at the larger-than-life celebrities who arrived at the red carpet. It was almost like getting to visit Oz when the stars were there. Of course, it was before my time, so I'm only going by the accounts I've read.

Now, the Academy Awards are one of any dozen of events where self-centered divas come together to pat each other on the back, tell the American public what they are supposed to believe and how they are supposed to fell, and impose their crooked lack of immorality on the rest of us. I've lost count, but there must be half a dozen elongated awards shows that cater to television and movies, a couple of others that do the same for theater, and then I have absolutely no idea how many that recognize award winners in the music industry. They just had another one last night, a real breakthrough that put it above Afghanistan, the health care debate, and anything else on CNN's website. Oh, yeah, this one will be a milestone in history because it featured a boy kissing a boy. That's hot on the wire this morning. Of course, I had to take CNN's word for it because I couldn't tell who was a boy and who was a girl from the picture.

Whether it's a drunken rapper stealing a microphone from Taylor Swift, or a drunken Amy Winehouse (whose only attributes I have been able to figure out are that she changes rehabs faster than boyfriends) accepting another award, these shows have lost all meaning.

The awards shows have lost all touch with reality. Who actually watches the movies that win the awards? When was the last time that a movie someone really liked actually won the best picture award? Remember "Brokeback Mountain?" From the hype, you would have thought it was an all-time box office record holder, but it was not. Actually, it was a flop, and if it had not been about two cowboys in love, it would have been ignored. The movie died out in cinemas across the country, and then filled up whole racks at WalMart as they tried to sell the DVD's. It's destined, of course, for the two-dollar bins at Hastings, because no one really liked the movie.