Perspectives on the Oscars

I really wasn't even going to bother discussing the Oscars this year - to be honest, I could care less, especially considering what a political soapbox opportunity for the Left that such things have become in recent years.  I view the Oscars in much the same way in recent years that I view the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - simply put, they are all a waste of time that can be spent doing something more constructive with one's life.  Unfortunately however, the Oscars are an unpleasant reality, and their existence does compel conversation in daily life at some point, so here we go.

Another inspiration for sort of tackling this was from a History professor at my alma mater, Southeastern University.  Dr. Alan Snyder has written some insightful commentary over the years on his "Pondering Principles" blog, and although I don't always see eye-to-eye on every issue with him, I do have an interest in what he says.  Dr. Snyder countered much of the hoopla over the Oscars with his own recommendations of movies over the years, and I think that is a brilliant idea.  So, I am going to do that here myself.

I mentioned The Promise first because it was a movie that came out in theatres last year, and it was especially significant to me because its story line deals with an issue that is very much a part of me - the Armenian Genocide of 1915.  Although the main actor (Oscar Isaac) was Hispanic, he played an excellent role as the main protagonist of the film, a young Armenian doctor who, when the Genocide happens, takes refuge in a remote Armenian village.  He witnesses the atrocities of the Turks, and eventually escapes with his French-born Armenian love interest, a philanthropy worker, and an American journalist (played by actor Christian Bale).  Veteran actor James Cromwell also does a magnificent job playing Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, who was the American diplomat who blew the whistle on the atrocities committed against the Armenians at the time.  It definitely should have won an award honestly, but I have my suspicions as to why it didn't - the Turkish government still to this day denies that the Genocide ever happened, and it has invested a lot of resources into debunking the facts of this horrific event.  Fortunately, many Hollywood celebrities have stepped up and did the right thing, and they span the political spectrum - Left-leaning actors such as George Clooney have joined forces with more conservative actors such as Dean Cain to advocate for Genocide recognition, and their efforts are to be commended.  The Armenian Genocide is one of the few issues, as a matter of fact, that many on the Left side of the political spectrum actually do agree with conservatives like myself on, and it is my hope that someday soon the US will formally recognize and commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide - Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and so many others. 

Another excellent film that came out last year which was totally ignored by the Oscars primarily because it was a Netflix release was a picture called The Fundamentals of Caring.  The main protagonist in the film (played by actor Paul Rudd) is an out-of-work writer who is down on his luck and needs to make some cash fast, so he takes a course and signs up as a caregiver.   The assignment he is given is working for a single British ex-pat mother whose teenage son Ben is paraplegic and is bound to a wheelchair due to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  In time, the guy and the kid form a bond, and the story is actually very inspiring.  Two things really stood out though.  For one, a caution - the language in this film is not exactly PG in content, as the "f-bomb" is dropped several times by all the main characters.  The second is the role that Selena Gomez plays in the film - she is totally different in this character than her bubble-gum Disney Channel persona, that is for sure (maybe she did it as an emotional release from hanging around with that Bieber twirp perhaps?).  In the film, she plays a runaway hitchhiker named Dot, and to be honest, she is appealing - she looks cute, but also is very rough and street-savvy in this role. She develops an interest in Ben (the crippled kid who is the star of the movie) and he initially is infatuated with her - they end up more or less dating at the end of the film.  Once you get past some of the "f-bombs" and raw humor in the film, it is actually an endearing story and I believe should have been Oscar-worthy.  And, by the end of the movie, you are hoping Dot and Ben get together, and they actually do.  It is a movie I would recommend strongly, albeit I would also attach a disclaimer for some of the language.

I am not going into a lot of the others of last year's movies, although my wife did enjoy the new Guardians of the Galaxy sequel that premiered (she likes that endearing little tree creature, Groot).  Bottom line is that some movies which should have received recognition didn't at the Oscars, and many of the ones that did were pure crap.  Again, though, I view the Oscars kind of like I view Yahoo news feeds, Rotten Tomatoes reviews, and most contestants on "American Idol" - totally irrelevant to me personally, and honestly I have better things to do with my time such as watching good movies.  It has been interesting over the years that many good movies that should have gotten some recognition are just passed over, ignored, or relegated to cult followings - one of those was the 1998 film Smoke Signals, which I have seen dozens of times now and is one of the best movies from an American Indian perspective I have seen.  I also add to that category 1994's Swing Kids, which featured some great music and also shed light on another aspect of Nazi cruelty at the time, the persecution of a counter-culture of German kids who liked big band music and Western fashions.  The third film of interest for me as a history buff is 2008's Valkyrie, which had as its storyline a failed but courageous 1944 plot by Colonel Klaus von Stauffenberg to assassinate Hitler - despite his standing as a Scientologist flunkie, Tom Cruise did a great job portraying Stauffenberg in the film, and even looked like him!  Another film that I felt should have gotten more recognition than it did was 1985's Cotton Club, which centered on the gangster culture of 1920's Harlem in New York City.  Cotton Club also featured a fantastic soundtrack - Lonnette McKee's touching rendition of the 1930's classic "Ill Wind" is one of my favorite musical moments from that film.  One thing though about Cotton Club to recall though is that it can also be a racy film to watch too, as it does have some very R-rated scenes that I would caution against regarding younger audience viewing.  There are others I could mention, but we'll stop there for time's sake.  Bottom line, the Oscars often do not truly reflect good taste in film, nor do they really reflect what the viewing public likes.  In recent years, the Oscars are more of a political rally than an awards show anyway, and thus they lose credibility in that not everything receiving what used to be a prestigious award necessarily deserves it (same could also be said these days of the Nobel Peace Prize - talk about a stupid joke in many cases!).

I am thinking about maybe doing my own little synopsis each year of things I think should win awards but often get passed over, and in doing so I wonder who would see it the same way?  It is just a thought I may or may not pursue, but definitely worth thinking about.  Thanks again for allowing me to share.