Oscar ceremony causes inner conflict
I watched the Oscars this week, and as always, when it's over I feel conflicted.
No matter how I try to pretend I am above such things, I do enjoy a dose of pop culture every once in awhile (and by "every once in awhile," I mean "every day"). So when this queen mother of all celebrity events rolls around, I greedily watch to judge the dresses, see who is with whom on the red carpet, who wins, who loses, and who makes the most asinine acceptance speech. And while I am entertained, I am always left thinking that Hollywood is a bunch of self-congratulating narcissists, and wondering why I waste hours of my life watching them pat each other on their sequined/tuxedoed backs.
Then, not three awards later, four of the five nominated documentary films dealt with the war in Iraq and how America is screwing it up or Guantanamo Bay and how America's screwing that up.
The Gitmo piece won, and of course the director had to spew his irrelevant political opinions for as long as the orchestra would let him. The lovely moment from earlier was ruined for me.
Then came the listing of the year's Hollywood deaths. This segment always touches me-memorials are emotional, and with each face that flashes on the screen I am reminded of the contribution that person made to the entertainment and happiness of movie lovers around the world. The last face before the segment's fade to black was that of Heath Ledger, and this felt very strange for me. My husband and I have talked about this young actor quite a lot in the past month, because he is our age, he is in several films we love, and because he seemed like a genuinely good guy. It has come out after his death that he may have had a drug problem, which may or may not be true, but he also had a baby girl the same age as my son. We feel about Heath Ledger the way earlier generations must have felt about Marilyn Monroe, or James Dean-sad and heartsick and somewhat strange, because we miss him even though we never knew him.
One moment of this year's Oscars I enjoyed guilt-free was the speech made by the couple who won for best song for "Falling Slowly" from the movie "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova-he a musician from Ireland, she from Czechoslovakia. Their love song was sweet and refreshing and I was very glad they won. After their names were announced and they made their way to the stage from the very back of the theater, Glen stumbled through his thanks in a charming brogue, and then Marketa stepped up to give her acceptance speech-and was promptly cut off by the orchestra.
She walked away resigned but dignified. After the commercial break, however, Oscar host John Stewart insisted the girl get her chance to give her speech, and she did, glowing with happiness.
I enjoyed that brief moment of sincerity and kindness amid all the grandeur.
