Oscar awards make me sick.

[garybeck]

Imagine if they had a 3 hour tv show on prime time every year to announce the awards for the people who did the most good in the world -- like feeding the hungry, or discovering cures for diseases. We live in a world where athletes and movie stars get put up on a pedestal with standing ovations, and people who devote their lives to making the world a better place barely get mentioned in the newspaper.

[Angry Dragon]

1. This country loves its kings and queens

even though we fought a war to get rid of them

[TexasTowelie]

44. Some of the LGBT members on DU might disagree about the "queens" part of your comment

since that war continues today.

[dballance]

48. Say What?? It's Clear "Queens" in this Context Refers to Hollywood Personalities Being Treated...

treated like royalty. I don't see how you can draw any conclusion from the OP that would bring LGBT people into its meaning or would offend us.

[TexasTowelie]

101. See post #100.

[OwnedByCats]

71. Wow

Really? Are you actually serious? That was not a reference to homosexuality at all.

Good grief

[TexasTowelie]

102. See post #100.

[Katashi_itto]

79. The PC handwringer crowd. The reference wasnt about LBGT in the slightest. Wake the hell up.

[TexasTowelie]

103. See post #100.

[HappyMe]

82. Um...no.

Sorry, but that wasn't a reference to any member of the LGBT community. Kings and queens in this instance refers to royalty, nothing more.

[TexasTowelie]

104. See post #100.

[nadinbrzezinski]

93. Confused

When did that post refer to the LGBT community?

[TexasTowelie]

105. See post #100.

[TexasTowelie]

100. As someone who supports the LGBT community in every possible way,

I apologize for taking the remark out of context to make a point that hatred still exists towards the LGBT community. In hindsight, it may have been appropriate to include the tag with my post.

I know what it feels like to be the subject of hatred and ridicule since I've been dealing with it virtually every day over the past year or so. I'm currently living with my brother in the home of my deceased father and have been dealing with depression and the ravages of diabetes since I'm having difficulty dealing with the red-tape of trying to obtain my prescription to control neuropathy. In addition, I am also dealing with other changes in my medication regimen such as being switched to a cheaper anti-depressant and returning to insulin injections since I can no longer afford to purchase the second component of the insulin pump (it's an Omnipod and that component costs $38 and lasts for 72 hours).

My unemployment compensation ended at the end of 2012 and my brother has attacked me for not taking any job--even those that earn 25% or less of my previous salary. I used to work as a analyst/programmer for an insurance company and I never worked as a general laborer since I was not physically fit for those vocations. I'm dealing with shortness of breath and chest pains related to keto-acidosis along with light-headedness from blood pressure medications. The only other social services that I qualify for in this screwed-up state are food stamps and I would have to travel nearly 50 miles (one-way) with my psychotic asshole brother who despises me to apply for benefits since I no longer own a vehicle. Up to the time that I became unemployed I was independent and I've tried hard not to burden others with my problems.

DU has been a community where I've found people of similar political philosophy and a sense of belonging. I have no other human contacts in this right-wing town since I wasn't from here originally and don't have the funds to enjoy any social activities. I have to ride the bus nearly 90 miles to Austin to interact with any of my other friends which I haven't done in nearly two months. I drifted into a nocturnal lifestyle while I was a caregiver for my father and haven't been successful changing back to daytime hours since it would mean having to put up with my brother's hatred and abuse for even longer during the day. The only "family" that I have are my cats (one of the two disappeared earlier this month) and the people that I interact with on DU.

Once again, I'll conclude with an apology to anyone that I may have offended since my remarks were not meant to be an attack on anyone else or to be insensitive to others. I'm trying hard to get out of this fucked up situation where I've been subject to verbal and physical abuse while also trying to keep a positive attitude so please cut me some slack.

Thank you,

TexasTowelie

[Katashi_itto]

106. Hang in there dude, I am diabetic too, one reason I practice martial arts so much

to maintain fitness. I ended up with a triple bypass after that became a real fanatic for Kendo and Iaido.

If you cant find anything in Texas. I live in New Orleans, be happy to look for stuff for you out here, lots of oil companies here, Cheveron especially. Also try usajobs.com like of govt work available, the sequester is throwing thing into dissarray but it worth a look.

[OwnedByCats]

108. It's ok

I hope things get better for you soon!

[mia]

2. Barf your heart out!

Movies can have a powerful influence for good.

[Moses2SandyKoufax]

3. It must suck to be forced to watch something that you hate. n/t

[cliffordu]

4. What you said...

[garybeck]

7. I'm not watching it. I just can't go to any website without it being in the headlines

you'd think someone found a cure for cancer.

[Moses2SandyKoufax]

13. Of course the Oscars will appear in several website headlines.

It's an event with an enormous world-wide audience. WTF do you expect?

[onenote]

17. You could read a book and get off your computer.

Just a suggestion offered in the spirit of trying to protect your health.

[mia]

22. Who else has a wider audience?

Why belittle the effect of a few celebrities, who can inspire others to also do what they can in their own spheres of influence?
We each do what we can with the gifts that we have at the moment. Tonight it's the turn of the Oscars.

Tonight we celebrate the actors, musicians, cinematographers, producers, directors, etc, etc who care for our world and how it is evolving.

[go west young man]

35. Totally agree.

Top that with the fact that many celebrities do some fantastic charity and humanitarian work. Sean Penn comes to mind, The Redgraves, George Lucas, Brabara Streisand, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and many, many others work to make the world a better place. Here's an excerpt from a Save The Children article to back up the power of celebrity.

Justin Forsyth, the CEO of Save the Children, believes otherwise. “In my experience, the benefits of celebrity are not fabled but real – and can produce very concrete results. Without the campaigning energies of Bono, Bob Geldof and Richard Curtis, for example, I don’t believe 46 million more children would be in school today in some of the world’s poorest countries,” Forsyth countered, remembering the success of the Make Poverty History and Drop the Debt campaigns.

[WinkyDink]

62. Poor baby.

[nadinbrzezinski]

94. It's like a news story or something.

Geez

[JustAnotherGen]

98. Welcome to my world

The night of the Superbowl! Boring! Nothing of value there. But everyone creams their jeans over it. Here's what I do . . .

I go to the movies on Superbowl Sunday evening!

[name not needed]

28. Agreed.

There needs to be three hours of prime time devoted to the suffering of people forced to watch TV against their will.

[MADem]

5. Well, there's this--available all year long, not just one night a year.

http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/

[garybeck]

11. that's my point.

nobel prize winners barely get mentioned in the media. oscars get way more press. I think that says something about our society.

i know there are tools to research how much attention various events and issues get in the media and on the internet in general. i'm sure if you compared the oscars to the nobel prize, the oscars would probably get 1000 times more attention, tweets, facebook posts, etc.

I think if they had a TV show for the Nobel prize and they hyped it up like they do the oscars, it would probably get a lot more attention and the people who win would get the recognition they deserve. but there's no money in that so it doesn't happen. the media and the film companies do this to hype their industry. it's a marketing ploy and it works.

[JI7]

18. but people who get nobel prizes would usually be the types who dont want

all the glamour and other stuff which is what attracts the media to the oscars.

the people involved in oscars are directed working in the media so being on tv, giving speeches etc is more natural for them.

why do you assume everyone wants that type of attention ?

[MADem]

23. Sure they do.

And they are mentioned across a wider variety of "media" than Oscar winners are. It helps if someone from the "home country" wins one, certainly--if an American wins, the US papers go crazy, if a Brit wins, the UK papers go nuts, if an Afghan won, they'd be dancing in Kabul--that's just the way it works.

The Oscars are a big deal for the American film industry. It might not be curing cancer, but it does employ a shitload of people--and not just in USA, either. AND....it brings amusement to people, both in overpriced theaters, and for a buck/buck fifty at a REDBOX.

You'll see clips of Oscar winners on the entertainment shows for the next few days, a little bit on the news tomorrow (and that will be that), and you'll see stories in the newspapers (the stupider the paper, the more column inches) and the glossy magazines you see at the grocery check out.

I doubt you'll see any mention of Oscar winners in Scientific American, Cosmos, or International Health News or any of the industrial/technical journals that are published all over the world. But Nobel Prize winners? Sure. They'll get plenty of coverage, and people who understand their achievements and work in those fields will read up on what they did.

I'll bet if the Nobels could get an audience, the networks would air them--it's not like they're averse to profit. But no one is going to sit through those Nobel awards ceremonies. They're in ten different languages, and dull as old dishwater. You would have to PAY me, frankly--tell me who won, if there's a dramatic clip, slap it up on YOUTUBE, pass around the link, and leave it at that.

It has nothing to do with "good works," it has to do with entertainment.

I thought one of entertainment's best Democrats did a fantastic job as host of this year's awards. He kept it moving even though there was a lot to slog through, and it was fun.

I like a little fun--and most people I know like a little fun, too. I don't think it's a sin, really.

[Bluenorthwest]

73. You are assuming that fame and adulation are rewards when they are in fact annoying bits of

a job description. Nobel Prize includes cash in excess of one million US dollars. If asked at any future date if you would like a million dollars or some 'press' take the million. If you are offered the million and the press and can refuse or accept either, take the money, reject the attention. Although people like to say 'rich and famous' a much better thing is to be rich and unknown.

[WinkyDink]

6. Why didn't you just bake a cake, then?

[JI7]

8. what has one got to do with the other ? maybe people who cure disease, feed hungry etc

don't care to get dressed up for some award show on TV and worry about making a speech and other shit .

[greymattermom]

9. NBC and ABC

My daughter was on both nightly news shows as part of Pick Up America when they won the "do gooder" awards. The NBC news crew filmed at my house for 3 days to make a 3 minute segment. They do cover this topic.

[TwilightGardener]

10. Who the hell is going to watch boring nerdy do-gooders

get awards for soup kitchen duty or lab research?

[garybeck]

12. I would. n/t

[Journeyman]

32. Then you must have had a rousing time at your city's last Community Service Awards . . .

You did attend, did you not?

So there you have it. Where would you rather your local heroes receive their accolades, from mindless millions who are interested more in what they wore than in what they accomplished, or from their immediate neighbors, those who truly appreciate what they do and who offer to help whenever asked.

There's where you need to be. Leave the inconsequential to their irrelevancies. You'll be better for it and they wouldn't notice if you were there or not.

[brooklynite]

70. But it wouldn't be nearly as much fun...

...if you couldn't also complain about the shallowness of the audience watching mindless entertainment for a few hours, would it?

[LibDemAlways]

14. I understand what you're saying. The entire

Hollywood industry is the most self-congratulatory bunch on the planet. But it's been that way for a long time and I don't see it changing. I frequently joke that my husband should be up for "best software," but no one would watch that show for sure. My big objection to the Oscars these days is that whatever class the show once had way back when is long gone. It's gotten crass.

[JI7]

16. the problem is there are too many award shows

and they all seem leading up to the oscars. but the news is just too full of it.

if it was just the oscars it wouldn't seem too bad.

[Beaverhausen]

25. Do you have any idea how many people are employed by the film industry?

Thousands. Including me. Thank god.

[LibDemAlways]

36. I'm not putting down people who work in the industry. My husband's

grandfather was a union painter at Producer's Studio in Hollywood many years ago. His brother-in-law is a special-effects pyrotechnic guy. What I think rightfully grates the original poster is the attention the awards are given. Ordinary working stiffs in most professions are rarely publicly honored, and neither are most of those who toil at the studios. I'm a teacher and I certainly don't see many awards shows dedicated to the work we do - which is every bit as important as acting in front of a camera.

[Beaverhausen]

38. Oh for fucks sake.

If there is one industry that we do well, it's entertainment. I work at a big studio as an exec assistant and I'm proud that we won awards tonight. This town is full of people who's livlihoods depend on this industry. I won't sit by and let people shit on it. Do others deserve accolades? Yes but don't poo poo ours. Jesus.

[WinkyDink]

56. As a retired h.s. teacher, I find your complaint silly.

[KharmaTrain]

75. Teachers Are Honored Here...

It's called the Golden Apple Awards:

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,28

My children are teachers...their greatest awards are when their students accomplish something new or better than they did yesterday. There's no award or price attached to that...

Cheers...

[Blue_Tires]

107. My issue has always been not knowing

the criteria used for judging one actor/film/director better than another...Has that ever been revealed?

[mwrguy]

15. It's a self-licking ice cream cone

[Starry Messenger]

19. It's an industry that employs millions, many unionized.

CA doesn't really need to apologize for what it chooses to celebrate.

[JI7]

20. who are you hoping gets the nobel prizes this year ? what did you think of the medal of honor award

for Romesha ?

[Initech]

21. Then you'd love the Razzie Awards.

[RedCappedBandit]

24. Stop questioning the status quo, you damn trouble maker!!

[WinkyDink]

57. It doesn't take any bravery to say "Waaaahhhh!"

[KingFlorez]

26. There's CNN Heroes

Every year, a few people from around the world are chosen and given an honor for the good work they do. That aside, most people who do work like that aren't looking for accolades or any sort of attention, they do what they do without fanfare and like it that way. Some even decline awards sometimes, because they don't need an award to validate their work.

[grahamhgreen]

41. +1

[RebelOne]

99. Right. I was also thinking of that show. n/t

[CreekDog]

27. you would have a point if the movies that won were frivolous but they weren't

they were movies with incredible stories, powerful imagery, artistic awareness and almost all of them some critical story about a historic happening or moment.

it's not like tonight was all about fawning over "She's The One" or "Twilight" or something.

I mean tonight, we had Argo, Lincoln, Life of Pi, even Django.

[Orrex]

29. I'm sickened by people who post self-righteous "look at me" threads on DU

Instead of feeding the hungry or discovering cures for diseases.

Where are our priorities, people?

[go west young man]

37. Ditto!

[Summer Hathaway]

30. So sorry for your tummy upset

Take two chill pills, and have your girl fax my girl in the morning.

[xxqqqzme]

31. One of my PBS

stations re-ran the last installment of Downton Abby.

[tblue37]

33. Well, at least the spectators are not likely to

get hit by flying pieces of hot metal like at some other spectator sports.

It is always gonna be bread and circuses--or at least circuses. The Republicans are doing their "Bah! Humbug!" best to make sure that no one gets any bread except themselves and their paymasters.

[defacto7]

34. There's a time for reality

and a time for fantasy. Sometimes people just want a little entertainment with no strings attached, no reality in their face... we get the real world a whole lot these days. Call it a "time out" thing.

FYI, I looked over the list of winners tonight and noticed the only movie I saw on that list was Lincoln. I had never even heard of the rest. I use to watch movies all the time... but I don't even know what's out there now. I guess I just spend too much time on phys.org.

[Bluenorthwest]

74. If it was all about fantasy and 'no reality' there would not be awards for documentary films.

But there are. You have not heard of them....but I recommend them all, and here is a guide to the 5 nominees from last night. Not much 'time out' and lots of real world involved.....

Searching for Sugar Man – Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
5 Broken Cameras – Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers – Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky, and Estelle Fialon
How to Survive a Plague – David France and Howard Gertler
The Invisible War – Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering




http://news.moviefone.com/2013/02/04/best-documentaries-oscars-2013-nominees_n_2617904.html

[defacto7]

110. Thank you very much!

I'll look into these. I used to be a real movie buff at one time but I just don't get out much for film these days. I should do that. I like documentary and "out there" stuff which doesn't seem easy to find in Utah except maybe during the Sundance Festival.

[nvme]

39. over a billion people

How can it not be noble and worthy? Everyone of us who watched were removed from the mundane for a little while. The weight of living disappeared for a few seconds. Perhaps a few lives were changed during the process.

[pnwmom]

40. You seem to have a low sickness threshold. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

88. No kidding.

Of all the things over which one would display such angst, this doesn't even hit my radar. It's not like anyone is holding a gun to folks' heads and forcing them to watch.

[madokie]

42. Gary you have a choice to not watch

I'm not a tv watcher, when I do I watch the science channel so I never watch the award shows because I don't know what they're talking about so why bother. Thats how I get around that problem you have.

[Skittles]

43. I agree, which is why I don't watch them

style too often wins over substance

[DesertFlower]

45. i haven't watched in years.

too much funny bullshit -- people laughing at jokes that aren't funny. and i don't care who's wearing what.

i had a lot of old law & order episodes recorded. that's what i watched.

[YOHABLO]

46. If you're in the biz you probably know how hard these people work ..

I enjoyed ''Lincoln'' very much and am planning to see ''Argo''. I would love to see the foreign films .. I wish we had more access to these films made in other countries. We've lost all the movie rental places .. and now the book stores are going away. Very sad. I don't watch the Oscars anymore ... they are getting pretty desperate, it would seem. All this ''glamor'' is too hard to relate to when you are so poor and they make millions for just one movie. The priorities in this country are way out of whack. I know these actors are generous .. some of them, but the price of a ticket to watch them in a movie theater, the way the movies should be seen, is getting way too expensive. (sigh)

[MotherPetrie]

47. I agree -- IMO it's a ludicrous, pathetic spectacle

[WinkyDink]

58. Eat your spinach.

[graham4anything]

49. Hollywood employs millions and ALL are union people. GOOD union people.

and every city in the nation has a movie theatre which employs vast numbers of workers to work there.

And they bring in food to the theatre, which makes the companies that provide the food very happy (most of which are good UNION workers, especially the truck drivers that transport the goods).

And most people that venture out to the movie theatre and pay their money to see it are hard working 99%ers who like to have a little entertainment in their lives with their loved ones.

And having no movies or awards would lead to having nothing to play on all those wide screen tvs.

BTW, watching sports is as trivial as the movies, yet hundreds of millions do.

Including most union people.

People who don't want to watch, can simply turn the dial.AND WATCH TALKING HEADS being paid big money yammer on about politics (and they get their own awards too.)

Books are there to be read (though authors hawk their wares on tv, and love when someone makes a movie out of their book too).


OR watch a tv show, which has the emmy awards.

So many choices in life, one don't need to spend 4 hours watching the Oscars if they don't want.
That is what the remote button is for.
Press off and voila, there is no TV Oscars.

[bowens43]

50. I agree with you the oscars are as much a ridiculous waste of time as sports....

anything to distract the people from what is going on in the world around them. Mindless , meaningless drivel.

[graham4anything]

52. How do they distract?

If you got rid of the millions of jobs Hollywood provides, what would you wish those
UNION workers do with their time while they are sitting around doing nothing?

And you need to multiply the # of jobs just from Hollywood out to every other industry in the world that makes anything that remotely has to do with entertainment, like TV sets.

Without Hollywood and the entertainment industry, there would have been NO Tv entertainment, therefore NO computers.

Computers after all are just mindless entertainment themselves, and not a luxury envisioned for all more than a decade or so ago.

People did quite nice without them for thousands of years.

BTW, that means getting rid of ALL cell phones too. Just mindless drivel people wasting time on Facebook and tweeting and texting.

Birds should tweet, not people.

and Facebook is probably the single biggest dreck history every had, but I don't want to tell people what to do with their time.

[WinkyDink]

59. Are you in any way serious? Theatre and sports go back to Ancient Greece, FGS.

And probably way further back than that.

WHY DON'T YOU JUST WHINE ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION?

[Bluenorthwest]

78. Tell me how you think this film, nominated last night, is mindless or meaningles or how it

distracts people from what is going on in the world. It's your assertion, feel free to tell us why this film is such a waste of time:
"The first-ever Palestinian film to be nominated for best Documentary Feature by A.M.P.A.S®, the critically-acclaimed 5 BROKEN CAMERAS is a deeply personal, first-hand account of life and non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village surrounded by Israeli settlements. Shot by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, Gibreel, the film was co-directed by Burnat and Guy Davidi, an Israeli filmmaker. Structured in chapters around the destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village upheaval.
http://www.kinolorber.com/5brokencameras/

Now show us why this film is drivel:
"HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making."
http://surviveaplague.com/synopsis


The Oscar show is by far the largest promotion films like this get, a nomination equates to a wide audience and a win equates to a huge audience. Last night, millions of people around the world heard of these films and the other nominees for the very first time.
But you say they are mindless drivel designed to distract from 'reality'. How so?



http://surviveaplague.com/

[MadHound]

51. They do, it's called the Nobel Prizes.

Peace, Literature, Science, etc.

[HiPointDem]

54. 'they' = some norwegians. and those prizes are political.

henry kissinger won the 'peace' prize, for godssake.

[WinkyDink]

60. Swedes, but whatever.

[HiPointDem]

64. actually, the committee = norwegians. and always has. but whatever.

Since the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, the Peace Prize has, in accordance with Alfred Nobel's will, been awarded by a committee of five, appointed by the Storting (the Norwegian Parliamant), but without the committee being formally responsible to the Storting. According to rules laid down by the Storting, election to the committee was to be for a six-year term, and members could be re-elected.

The committee's composition should reflect the relative strengths of the political parties in the Storting, but the committee has elected its own chairman and deputy chairman. It was never required by the rules and on some occasions the matter has been debated, but so far all committee members have been Norwegian nationals.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/committee/

[WinkyDink]

68. My mistake for skim-Googling.

[muriel_volestrangler]

112. The Norwegians only choose the Peace Prize - all the rest are chosen by Swedish committees

The process of selecting the Nobel Laureates is exclusively handled by the Nobel Prize awarding institutions.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Prize in Economic Sciences)

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine)

The Swedish Academy (Nobel Prize in Literature)

The Norwegian Nobel Committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament (Nobel Peace Prize)

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_organizations/

And only the Peace Prize is 'political', as you dismiss it.

[WinkyDink]

63. Ahem. Obama.

But you threw out "Kissinger" for some fake "cred," right?

[HiPointDem]

65. i threw out kissinger because he's a particularly egregious case of a murderer who got a peace

prize.

millions of deaths to his credit.

this thread is about the political nature of the nobel prizes, not obama. not everything is about obama.

[HiPointDem]

53. what kind of makes me sick is that you know all their gowns and decor cost millions; also you

know that there's a propaganda aspect to a lot of these films.

[WinkyDink]

61. Oh, brother. No, the gowns didn't cost "millions." Re: "propaganda"---NS, S. Are you new to movies?

[HiPointDem]

67. "all their gowns and decor cost millions" = collectively, all the gowns, decor, etc. cost millions.

i didn't mean an individual gown cost millions.

[NYC Liberal]

55. Ever hear of the Nobel Prize?

Many of those awards get extensive coverage - especially if the recipient's work is especially extraordinary or groundbreaking.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

66. Doesn't CNN have a heroes awards show every year? Personally, it irks me whenever there is

something light and mindless on TV, or any other event that has no intrinsic value other than
entertainment or humor....you are made to feel like you are hurting mankind by watching it. I want to
say "lighten up"

[brooklynite]

69. Is your complaint that we don't honor good works, or we don't do it with production numbers?

[LWolf]

72. Were they on?

I didn't realize. I spent a peaceful, quiet evening curled up with a book.

The tv still would have been off if I'd known.

[HappyMe]

76. Well, poor you.

Turn OFF the computer. Read a good book. Depending on your time zone, why not ask an elderly neighbor if they need anything from the store. Go buy some non-perishables to take to your local food pantry.

[Whisp]

77. I watch to see the gowns.

Some were so very nice. Other than that it doesn't really do anything for me, but I still enjoy it a bit. I haven't seen one of those movies so I can't really get into it and cheer for anyone. Although Life of Pi sure looks good, which I may find the time and trouble to see one day.

One thing we noticed tho, overall it was sort of a tribute to the old days. There was a bit too much looking backward and not enough looking forward but maybe they do that every year and I haven't noticed before.

[Bluenorthwest]

80. Ignorance kills. Knowledge = Life

http://surviveaplague.com/trailer

[BlueStreak]

81. Predictable dialog. Lousy acting. "Comedy" that isn't funny. Forced, contrived "tragedy"

That's basically what 99% of the movies give you, and I have no interest in enduring 150 hours of crap on the chance that I will eventually see 90 minutes that actually represents some talent other than blowing things up.

There are so many other things we could be doing to stimulate our senses and/or do some good with out time here on earth.

What a waste.

[Bluenorthwest]

83. Tell me how these films are a waste

"HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making."


http://surviveaplague.com/trailer

"The first-ever Palestinian film to be nominated for best Documentary Feature by A.M.P.A.S®, the critically-acclaimed 5 BROKEN CAMERAS is a deeply personal, first-hand account of life and non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village surrounded by Israeli settlements. Shot by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, Gibreel, the film was co-directed by Burnat and Guy Davidi, an Israeli filmmaker. Structured in chapters around the destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village upheaval.
http://www.kinolorber.com/5brokencameras/


I'd say the Oscar show functions to help weed out the crapola and highlight the excellence, offers world wide promotion to films like the nominees above which can not afford to purchase such promotion and help audiences find the gems that should be seen.

[Javaman]

84. So you are bent out of shape over an awards show that show cases movies stars

whose profession is being in the media.

Huh, how about that.

That's like saying I hate farmers markets because they showcase vegetables.

[Paladin]

85. Pick Up Your Phone, That's Ben Afleck On The Line.

He's going to tell you that his movie winning Best Picture is utterly meaningless, because you didn't tune in, last night.....

[demwing]

86. Well you're not supposed to eat them, silly!

not fit for human consumption...just saying.

[Iggo]

111. This gum tastes like rubber!

[KurtNYC]

87. The goal of curing cancer is to cure cancer. The goal of being famous is to be on awards shows, etc.

As individuals, none of us control what is or isn't put on TV. The audience is NOT the customer -- the advertisers are.

A daily onslaught of vapidity and false values designed and tested to make the audience feel inadequate until they buy something; that's what television is and always has been. The 1820s brought us the Industrial Revolution which increased the supply of goods dramatically. Advertising was invented a few decades later to feed industry; the job of television is to manufacture demand (and, as noted by Noam Chomsky, to manufacture consent). It is a bubble that is easily escaped though.

Simply turn it off.

[Apophis]

89. Agreed.

And making headlines this morning is who wore what to the Oscars. Really? After all the crap that's going on in the world, they focus on fashion?

[EastKYLiberal]

90. Movies make my world a better place. nt

[nolabear]

91. Sad. The arts are so endangered and artists dismissed. I suspect you misunderstand.

The world has always seen artists as over the top and strange, and they (we) are. In part they are just like that and found a creative outlet for the compulsion and in part they, if they're lucky, can make a good Lu ing. But they themselves are a large part of the art, and it is far from easy. It consumes them. So being hailed for doing good work has always been important. And their work gives us ways to think about things in new ways. TED notwithstanding.

[nadinbrzezinski]

92. Your tv comes with a remote, right?

What about the on/off switch?

FYI I had a wonderful time watching worst cooks in America. I am with the millions who no longer have an interest in it. I don't watch the Super Bowl either.

Try that.

[slackmaster]

95. TV isn't about making the world a better place. It's about making money.

HTH

[SoCalDem]

96. America (for a very long time) has been a leader in "entertainment"

Like it or not, the entertainment industry is a vast thing, employing millions of people..(many/most are union people)

No matter how poor someone is, they can always appreciate a joke, a song, a painting, a movie.

Art has always been with us, from the first cave paintings , to chanting by the fireside.

Humans automatically compare, and choose "the best".

The Oscars are a bit "over-the-top" to be sure, but the people who win...and the people who don't, are for the most part using a LOT of their fame and fortune to shine bright lights on many of the problems we all face as humanity.

Let's let them have their Super Bowl, their Daytona 500, their Indy 500, their Kentucky Derby, their Wimbledon, their March Madness, their Mardi Gras, etc.

The money made in Hollywood may seem outrageous to many, but watch the credits sometime, and look at all the paychecks & family incomes that are attached to every movie... That's not "nothing".

[MicaelS]

97. Then the cure is not to watch one ever again.

Probably help if you never watched the Golden Globes, People's Choice Awards, etc, etc, etc.

As others have pointed out the American (note that word) Film Industry provides a lot of very good, high paying jobs for American Union members. If the price of those jobs is 3-4 hours a year of self congratulation by the beautiful people, then so be it.

[SpartanDem]

109. Sanctimonious.

1: hypocritically pious or devout <a sanctimonious moralist> <the king's sanctimonious rebuke — G. B. Shaw>

2: Feigning piety or righteousness

3: garybeck