Tone Deaf

Am I really about to attempt connecting the Academy Awards with the current meltdown of the American economy and the not-at-all shocking lack of effort on the part of politicos to do anything to fix it? No. They share one commonality: a wealth of tone-deafness, though.

Frivolity first. I've ranted privately about the lack of important, non-technical and not-definite nominations for the two best films of the year, The Dark Knight and WALL-E. Snubs abound also for Bruce Springsteen, Clint Eastwood (not that I'm sad about that one), and Leonardo DiCaprio. I realize that many voters don't care about the ratings of the TV show (and I'm the first person to say that they shouldn't), but while I hold the naive view that those same voters should be voting for the five best films/actors/directors/etc. of the year, I'm aware that some, if not most, nominees are voted not because they deserve it this year, but for other reasons.

Take The Reader. No, please, take it. Seriously, though, this is a film that is produced by Harvey Weinstein, so the cynics assume it must be an Oscar nominee thanks merely to Weinstein's sway over the Academy. Sure...unless the more morbid and recent rumor that this is a sentimental vote for two of the other producers, the late Anthony Minghella and the late Sydney Pollack, is even remotely true. Or, maybe it's their appreciation for Stephen Daldry, a director who the Academy has nominated every time. Or maybe they think it's a good movie. Why is that always the last choice? Well, because the Academy doesn't always vote for the best.

I remember a few years ago, when Entertainment Weekly did secret interviews with Academy members who were also past nominees/winners. Though they didn't do the interviews together, all agreed that The 40-Year Old Virgin should have been nominated for Best Picture. You won't find an argument from me (2005, that film's year of release, was as weak a year for movies as 2000 or 2008 was), but there was no love for that film at the Oscars. The amount of passion in these people's voices was shocking, since it didn't change anything at the awards. But passion usually loses to politics. This year, that's come at a price: tone-deafness.

Stereotypes are usually over-the-top and ridiculous, but a few are buried in truth. The Academy is not actually filled completely with people as old and homophobic as Ernest Borgnine, but enough of its members match that description. The Academy isn't always in love with movies about the Holocaust, proven this year because...only one got nominated? The Academy doesn't snub animated films, because WALL-E got six nominations, and may likely win the award for Best Original Screenplay (no argument from me if that's the case). The fact that it's snubbed at Best Picture and Director? Well, there's no excuse. The Academy doesn't snub genre movies because all three Lord of the Rings movies got nominated, and one won! Well, sure, but many others have argued that The Dark Knight wasn't just more successful, but it spoke to the time it was released in. It made comments on politics, American and abroad, without shoving those comments down our throats. And hey, Heath Ledger will probably win a big award, right?

People do like seeing movies they enjoy get recognized by Hollywood. Yes, most popular movies aren't great. Some are. Two came out this year. People responded to them strongly. The Academy doesn't care and chooses to block itself off from the rest of the country. They may not care now, but when no one is willing to throw down a few bucks for the movies, they will.

But that still isn't important to me. The economy is. The economy is and has been in a recession for a long time now. And so what does Washington do? Nothing but sit on their hands. Now, I'm a proud Democrat, and I strongly support President Obama. And, honestly, I'm not going to get on his case here today. I am going to get on the case of many other Democrats, for letting the MINORITY dictate shit. I get very frustrated when Republicans, who actually lost the election, get to hold off on sending a stimulus package to the country, to the people who put them in power. I'm just as frustrated because I hear many politicians on both sides tell us that it's time to put money back onto Main Street, but--hang on a second, Main Street? Main Street? Are we that stupid in this country that we need to be told that Washington wants to focus putting back money in a normal person's pocket in the most contrived and cliche fashion? Are people that stupid?

I hold out a bit of hope that they're not. I say there are enough smart people out here that understand what politicians are talking about without cliche-littered phrases. So, for now, we have to deal with the tone-deafness of most people who run this country. It doesn't matter if over 60,000 jobs were cut in this country TODAY if John fucking Boehner doesn't get to show his President that he, the MINORITY LEADER, is the real boss in Washington. Tone-deaf, Boehner, you are tone-deaf. Get off your high horse and wipe the shit-eating grin off your face so I can tell you to your face: Fuck you and get us some fucking help.

And here's your soapbox back.