HOW THE OSCARS FAILED ME

Going from dressing up for the Oscars to possibly watching.
By Shoshana Greenberg (lyricist/bookwriter)

I used to worship the Oscars. At 12 years old, I put on my fanciest Bar/Bat Mitzvah dress and pretended I was at the 1995 ceremony. As I grew older, I continued this tradition with my sister. We had photo shoots before the ceremony (we took pictures of ourselves). In college I got friends to dress up with me. Sometimes I pretended I was nominated, sometimes I was merely a presenter, but I was always a part of it, even if it was all in my head.

Shoshana's Oscar glamour shots

Then, in 2005, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was not nominated for Best Picture. I was shocked. I couldn't understand why it wasn't nominated. I had disagreed with the winners in the past, sure (Gladiator over Traffic??), but, to me, Eternal Sunshine... was a masterpiece, the best movie to come out in years, yet it was only nominated for Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Kate Winslet was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role). Suddenly the Oscars were not the truth about movies as I had for so long believed. They were not the best pictures or best actors and directors. They were a sham. A lie.

 
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind trailer

I stopped trying to see every Oscar-nominated film. I still do watch the ceremony, but I do so half-heartedly, and always in jeans or pajamas. I don't really think the Oscars are a sham. They just are what they are, but they will never hold the same fascination for me as they used to. Woody Allen, who is nominated this year for Midnight in Paris, once said,

"The whole concept of awards is silly. I cannot abide by the judgment of other people, because if you accept it when they say you deserve an award, then you have to accept it when they say you don’t."

With that in mind, it's hard to put any stock in awards or the pageantry of award shows, yet there are good parts to them too. Awards do honor people, even though they can't honor every deserving person. They also include my favorite montage: the In Memoriam.

While I will not be dressing up or going to an Oscar party, I will probably check in on the Oscars tonight. Maybe I'll get sucked in and watch the entire show. Maybe part of me will still pretend I'm there.

 

SHOSHANA GREENBERG is a writer, lyricist, bookwriter, and playwright.  http://about.me/shoshanagreenberg
EMAIL HER |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

Comments

[Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)]

Drew over at HitFix called the Academy Awards the equivalent of electing Prom King and Queen. I totally agree. Another friend of mine recommended awarding the nominations, but not a "winner" -- because crowning a winner immediately says that a single performance/movie/element is better than everyone/everything else, which is patently absurd.

And Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was a truly wonderful film. It's on my DVD shelf...love it.

[Shoshana]

I definitely agree. How can we pit works of art and performances against each other? It's so silly.

[Donna]

Very much agree with Woody Allen and George C. Scott. Oscars are a popularity contest with studio driven campaigns. Too many times the Oscar is handed out for the wrong reason. Kidman? Cher? Swank beats Benning twice? Makes a stomach turn.