Keep the Oscars!

I haven’t seen any of this year’s Oscar movies, and I still enjoyed watching the Oscars. It was enjoyable as a show on its own. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Yes, it is an “awards show”, but the awards nor the fierce competition was never what interested me. I follow the Oscars for the show.

Given this, I do believe that the industry should still have awards ceremonies. Not for the sake determining what really is the year’s “best picture”. Most film enthusiasts realized quite early on that the such award shows have largely divorced themselves from that idea (isn’t it awfully pretentious to make such categorical claims on a subjective idea in the first place?) Instead of keeping these awards ceremonies for their original purposes, of handing out awards for the sake of handing out awards, I believe that they should remain, even if just for show. I think so for a simple reason: that it’s entertaining to watch. Perhaps even more so than the movies themselves. And in a world where the film industry is growing more decentralized every year, these award shows keep a sense of unity to the film industry. In a world where other poles of filmmaking (like Bollywood), and modes (like independent film) are growing in influence, it makes you believe that Hollywood still is what it always has been, which isn’t so bad. And again, watching Hollywood celebrate its former glory in paying tribute to classic films (or Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley, Michael Douglas and Adrian Brodey present the Best Actor award) is entertaining and forces one to appreciate these films and hopefully watch them afterwards!!!

~ by leandrofilm on February 26, 2009.