Academy Awards: dog and pony show

DEAR EDITOR:

If we were to go back in history and research the advent of and the happenings of the Olympic Games we would get a real lesson in rewarding people with special talents.

During the original Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, champions were not awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals as they are today. Instead, ancient Olympic victors were awarded an olive branch twisted into a circle to form a crown. The wild olive, called kotinos, had deep religious significance for the ancient Greeks.

No gold, no silver, no medals. Maybe a poem extolling any accomplishments; possibly a statue or some other symbol of accomplishment.

Today it’s somewhat different. There are medals; there are media tributes and, in some cases, monetary awards.

Right now you are probably thinking “What do the early Olympics have in common with today’s Oscar presentation?”

The simple answer is not much. But there are some similarities.

As most of us know, the Oscar is a representative symbol of accomplishment by actors in movie roles. The ones who usually win are, for the most part, talented as well as financially compensated for their talent and are usually financially set.

Brings up the question of special “gift bags” for Oscar recipients. This year each Oscar winner will get a “gift bag” valued at $160,000. That means that with 24 categories there will be handouts of approximately $3.8 million. Imagine what that money could do for areas of need rather than areas of greed. How may homeless could it assist?

How many children could it feed? How many animals could be saved? The list could go on forever identifying needs more fitting. Yet in the past, the Academy has given gift bags out to winners. Why not make a charitable donation in the Oscar winner’s name to some charitable cause instead. To do what they are doing now is both shameful and disgusting, in my opinion.

It’s great to recognize Oscar recipients with an Oscar for recognition. To do what the Academy is doing is paying patronage to corporations to promote their products and services and get the tax benefits.

When will this end?

Ron Barillaro Penticton