You're PROUD of that?
Monday, March 6

A quick followup here (written on my lunch break here at work - I hope no one minds).

I don't read a great many blogs, but I do like Wil Wheaton's. He focused in on Clooney's acceptance speech too, but from a bit of a different perspective:

I loved this thing that George Clooney said when he accepted his Oscar:

I, too, am proud to be out of touch.

Wil, being proud of this disconnect from the rest of the nation is the exact reason the Democrats lost in 2004, and the reason they will continue to lose if they don't get their heads on straight. Because instead of trying to convince Joe Average America why they're right, Democrat Hollywood just rolls its eyes and shrugs its shoulders and insipidly insinuates that the majority of the country (that voted for Bush) is stupid. Do you really think middle America doesn't sense that you basically think they're idiots? Do you think they don't see the way you dismiss their views and opinions as not even worthy of consideration?

A lot of people talk about the Democratic party having lost it's direction. I don't think that's the biggest problem. It's that it's lost its connection. When Howard Dean is the most in-touch person you can find to lead the party, you've got a problem.

Oh, and for the record, how was Hollywood on the frontlines of the AIDS crisis? I must have missed that because it seems to me they did their best to hide the problem just like everyone else. No one in Hollywood was falling over themselves to let us know the real illness Rock Hudson was suffering from until it couldn't be hidden anymore. And the Band Played on was great, but lets not forget that it was hindsight, not a cautionary tale. And civil rights? I find that a little ironic when in the next breath Clooney mentions Hattie McDaniel, who had to play a blatently racist role to pick up her oscar, and also had to sit at the back of the room during the ceremony. Yes, it was a great step to give her an oscar, but let's not re-write history and forget about the type of character she had to play to get it.

The funny thing is, I actually agree that Hollywood in general has a positive social impact on our country. But Hollywood's message is being diluted by a raging sense of self-importance that's turning the middle-of-the-road voters away.

Don't be proud to be out of touch, Wil. Be scared.

-CJ

Traditions
Monday, March 6

For the last four or five years, my wife and I have had a tradition on Oscar night - we go out and buy a tasty selection of appetizers like buffalo wings, taquitos, etc., and we watch the oscars together as we munch on them. It sounds so simple, but tonight, as my mom (who was in town for the baby shower) joined us in our tradition, it struck me as something very special. The truth is that if my wonderful wife is the one who remembers to shop for the food every year when the Oscars roll around, and it's because of her that we have something that will probably continue as our family grows and the years pass, and it brings a smile to my face to think about all the years I have to look forward to sitting down with some pot stickers in front of me and my wife at my side as we watch the Hollywood illuminati pat themselves on the back for three hours. It's nice, and it's nice to have.

Okay, sentimentality is over - let's talk about the Oscars.

John Stewart was, as expected, damn funny. Did anyone else get the impression that the audience was actually more offended by John's ribbing of Hollywood hypocrisy than by Chris Rock's? It was almost like they expected Chris Rock to hold up the mirror and remind them that they're really not that important, but when the white guy did it, they stifled their laughter and looked at each other like "isn't this guy supposed to be one of us?"

Case in point - Stewart makes a joke about how the oscars are the only time the Hollywood crowd gets to vote for a winner. Funny, and a not-so-subtle reminder that the rest of the country doesn't quite share Hollywood's agenda. This seemed to bother George Clooney so much that upon accepting his award seconds later, he felt it necessary to remind everyone that despite the fact that America was mostly Red State during 2004 - it shouldn't stop Hollywood from speaking out. Okay, now considering he was accepting an award for a very political move, his sentiment was well-placed. But then he went on to remind us that Hollywood has been on the forefront of practically every important social advancement in America. To illustrate this, he brought up Hattie McDaniel, a black actress in Gone With the Wind who won an oscar as early as 1939. Nice point George, but don't let it escape your memory that because she was black, she wasn't even allowed to attend the movie's premiere.

And furthermore, let's also not forget that Hollywood continually pays its male stars more than its female stars for equal work. It also continues to let its male actors work well into middle age while actresses are generally over-the-hill and relegated to grandmother roles by the time they're 38. And name a single popular black actor who had great success without first having to play a thief, drug addict, pimp, or prostitute.

Don't get me wrong, I like George Clooney - I think he's a great actor and a funny guy, and while he could have coasted through the rest of his career making romantic comedies and cop movies, he's actually attempted and succeeded in making some really great movies that have something to say. I just think it's important to remember that Hollywood is as full of it as the rest of us.

Generally, the ceremony went well, but I was a little confused during Kathleen's York's performance of "In the Deep." Was that a song for Land of the Dead? I ask because there appeared to be a gaggle of zombies shuffling around a burnt-out car her as she sang.

Also, congratulations to Three 6 Mafia for winning an oscar and accepting it with genuine joy. That's the best acceptance speech since Cuba Gooding Jr.

I've got more thoughts, but it's late and I need to get to bed.

-CJ