Many reasons for low Oscar ratings
The 90th Academy Awards show was held Sunday, and the results for The Herald Oscar pool are in. I beat The Beebs (and so did a lot of other people)! My one regret, that probably cost me first place, was voting with my heart and not my head for Best Picture. I loved “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (with a disclaimer for strong language), and with two of the major acting awards — so did the Academy. But for reasons unknown, the more artistic (thus “Oscarworthy”) “Shape of Water” took home the big prize.
In my mind I knew that it was the type of film that would win, but my heart just couldn’t let go of the feelings invoked, and the subsequent pondering of materials viewed. Oh well , they say you can’t win them all.
The broadcast had its lowest all-time viewership ratings! I believe there are many reasons for the lack of ratings, and present them here:
• Lack of movies people saw in theatres. Of the nine Best Picture nominees, only “Dunkirk” (14) and “Get Out” (15) made the Top 20 at the Box Office.
• Length of telecast. 3.5 hours of the actual broadcast, plus the hours of the red carpet arrivals, makes for a lot of time glued to the television.
• Scandal/hypocrisy of Hollywood. The Harvey Weinstein revelation, not a real revelation, but finally somebody blowing the whistle on a wellknown and extensively used power dynamic long prevalent via the “casting couch” that it seems everybody knew about, but nobody did anything about.
• Jimmy Kimmel. Back for his second consecutive year, Jimmy makes a living on late-night by regularly attacking half of the country (oddly enough, 60+ million voters chose Trump). Couple this with Jimmy’s previous behaviour on “The Man Show” — with regular derogatory segments entitled “Girls on a Trampoline” and “Guess What’s in My Pants?” and he becomes easy to dislike. To my knowledge he has not publicly apologized, nor has he been vilified, for his less-than-pious behaviour towards women in the past, and yet he opens this awards show as a champion of equality!
We, the common folk, can see through the pomp, the ceremony and the hypocrisy. An old Dutch proverb, loosely translated states “I can’t hear your words, because your actions are thundering in my ears. I believe, that we, the audience, are a lot smarter and more sophisticated than they give us credit for.
Now don’t get me wrong — it is not all bad. The musical performances were outstanding, and many deserving individuals received their due credit (even if only by being nominated/recognized). The movies are still a wonderful art that allow us to be transported, if but for only a couple of hours, to places unimaginable!
To be able to learn, to escape, to dream, to feel, to be moved — these are just some of the great reasons why going to the movies has been, and should be, embraced and enjoyed by all for years to come. Let Hollywood pat themselves on the back — we the people tend to know better. See you at the movie theatre! Please feel free to contact me with your comments or feedback — even an idea for an article –— len@moviemill.com.