Watched the academy awards last night. The show was one of the worst I can remember. It began with the usual pre-ceremony red carpet celebrity walk, and the interviewers from Channel 5 were excellent - but what is that entire two hour part of the program all about? The known and unknown are captured as they supposedly arrive and walk the torturous five hundred foot red carpet path headed to their pre-assigned seats in the theatre. This display on the entry path consumes more time than a Republican political debate - and is twice as meaningless. Year after year the pampered celebrities wander aimlessly towards the theater, bumping shoulders with their fellow pretty people and stopping at each microphone held by a Hollywood Press person. The press people are strategically standing in the middle of the surging crowd. They stop as if they have no choice, and proceed to prattle about the beautiful multi-thousand dollar dresses and tuxedos that almost defy describing.
There are some who simply don't want to be noticed. They arrive, at a press microphone, usually alone but not always, invariably dressed like a designers nightmare. Black dark glasses, overlong green hair, sky blue pants or skirts worn with chartreuse underwear on the outside of the garment. This confection is often topped off with a bright red hat bearing a slogan like "save the whales" embroidered in sparkling silver. These shy and bashful people almost always have to be pried away by two big bouncers so the next guest can get in the spotlight.
The next guest, and his or her partner for the night, is invariably blond and dressed in red, white or blue. If a male star, he will have forgotten to comb his unruly hair and will twist and turn his neck as he is interviewed to wave at his fellow artists. It a female she will have a garment on that carefully uncovers as much skin as possible. Up top the girls have two ribbons of fabric descending from their shoulders to their waists and each fastened modestly with Gorilla adhesive tape to their breasts. More specifically to their nipples. Presumably the politically correct rule has been changed. Breast exposure is acceptable provided the nipple is thoroughly covered with some kind of pastie. This, of course, is designed to attract the opposite sex - in Hollywood, this seems to include any other sex whatever.
Two or more hours later the guests enter the theatre itself and find their assigned seats. The more rich and powerful are in the front rows and the lesser folk are up there high in the back near the ceiling.
And the show begins with the black host with the big smile tells everyone that the show is biased against black people. There are no black artists as candidates. Regardless, he will press on because he needs a job. Meanwhile, outside the theatre, a black crowd salted with a white face here and there, has formed a large and vocal mob of "rap artist speaking" morons. They are led by the Reverend (of what) Al Sharpton and his minions.They lead the amplified (spontaneous)rabble with their pre-printed signs, posters and hand-out folders.
They, the protesters, do have a justified grevance. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has, for years, avoided mention of talented and deserving minority people in the film community. The Academy deserves condemnation big time. The President, acknowledging the wrong, has promised to correct the situation. She has done so on television, radio, magazines, and newspapers.She did so on the auditorium stage during the show tonight.
What more can she do? The black and latino community knew of the problem 50 years ago. Why didn't they do something about it? The whiners and criers come out of the woodworks for causes like equal opportunity, and they have thousands of film industry agreeing with them. The dummies have much more effective support than the Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson/Malcolm X types. Come on people, hitch your wagon to the right horses.
There are some who simply don't want to be noticed. They arrive, at a press microphone, usually alone but not always, invariably dressed like a designers nightmare. Black dark glasses, overlong green hair, sky blue pants or skirts worn with chartreuse underwear on the outside of the garment. This confection is often topped off with a bright red hat bearing a slogan like "save the whales" embroidered in sparkling silver. These shy and bashful people almost always have to be pried away by two big bouncers so the next guest can get in the spotlight.
The next guest, and his or her partner for the night, is invariably blond and dressed in red, white or blue. If a male star, he will have forgotten to comb his unruly hair and will twist and turn his neck as he is interviewed to wave at his fellow artists. It a female she will have a garment on that carefully uncovers as much skin as possible. Up top the girls have two ribbons of fabric descending from their shoulders to their waists and each fastened modestly with Gorilla adhesive tape to their breasts. More specifically to their nipples. Presumably the politically correct rule has been changed. Breast exposure is acceptable provided the nipple is thoroughly covered with some kind of pastie. This, of course, is designed to attract the opposite sex - in Hollywood, this seems to include any other sex whatever.
Two or more hours later the guests enter the theatre itself and find their assigned seats. The more rich and powerful are in the front rows and the lesser folk are up there high in the back near the ceiling.
And the show begins with the black host with the big smile tells everyone that the show is biased against black people. There are no black artists as candidates. Regardless, he will press on because he needs a job. Meanwhile, outside the theatre, a black crowd salted with a white face here and there, has formed a large and vocal mob of "rap artist speaking" morons. They are led by the Reverend (of what) Al Sharpton and his minions.They lead the amplified (spontaneous)rabble with their pre-printed signs, posters and hand-out folders.
They, the protesters, do have a justified grevance. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has, for years, avoided mention of talented and deserving minority people in the film community. The Academy deserves condemnation big time. The President, acknowledging the wrong, has promised to correct the situation. She has done so on television, radio, magazines, and newspapers.She did so on the auditorium stage during the show tonight.
What more can she do? The black and latino community knew of the problem 50 years ago. Why didn't they do something about it? The whiners and criers come out of the woodworks for causes like equal opportunity, and they have thousands of film industry agreeing with them. The dummies have much more effective support than the Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson/Malcolm X types. Come on people, hitch your wagon to the right horses.
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