We just don’t care about sermons from super rich celebs
IT IS awards season! Which also means it is that time of year when we can hear endless political sermons from celebrity millionaires. Most fans of this ritual agree that the season got off to an especially good start this year. During the Golden Globes last month actress Meryl Streep used an acceptance speech for a “lifetime achievement” award to berate the American people for not voting for her candidate in November’s election.
Perhaps she was so angry because – as it soon became clear – Streep was labouring under a heap of delusions about the new US President.
During her long and emotional speech it became clear that Streep appeared to believe that President Trump is planning to deport everybody born outside America.
She listed all the actors in the room who had been born outside America, educated outside America or who had once played roles based on someone who doesn’t live in America. For instance, Ryan Gosling (she pointed out) is from Canada. At the climax of her speech Streep insisted: “Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. And if we kick ’em all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.”
OF course Streep’s sermon was greeted with a standing ovation and huge praise from her peers. It was as if she was the only person standing between the star of La La Land and Guantanamo Bay. And all agreed on how “brave” Streep was.
You have to remember at times like this how much the word “brave” has been devalued by these people. Those in our societies who actually are brave – soldiers and firemen, for instance – do not have endless awards ceremonies slapping each other on the back. You have to go to an actors’ awards ceremony for that. The actors’ definition of “bravery” has become “saying the same thing as everyone you know”.
Streep’s sermon certainly got everything off to a roaring start. The next great event in this bore-spotting season was in London where this past Sunday we had the Baftas. And while most of the world saw celebrities and royalty tripping along