Sunday, March 27, 2022

What about the suffering of the Iraqi people

AFP Tweeted:


#BREAKING #Oscars holds moment of silence for Ukraine
We'd like to have a moment of silence to shor our support for the people of Ukraine currently facing invasion, conflict and prejduice within their own borders.
We ask you to suppor Ukraine in any way you are able. #STANDWITHUKRAINE


Where to start?


How about where is the moment of silence for the Iraqi people?  We'll never get that.  We'll never honor the Iraqi people or acknowledge their suffering.  We don't even get a moment of silence when it's time to remember those in the film industry who passed away in 2021.


 

A TV voice actor -- failed rilm actress and hasn't been hired for a TV series since 1998 -- took to the stage at the Academy Awards tonight and wanted to speak.  She wasn't winning an award -- nor will she ever -- but she was a presenter who couldn't stick to the script.   I don't know what I'll enjoy more -- Mila being destroyed by Ashton and her leaving in tears or her staying with Ashton and enduring the mental abuse that she's already experiencing.   


She lives in a house of cards that will collapse at any minute.


I guess for Mila, trying to hijack the Academy Awards was a natural moment.  Go back to your voice acting, you can surely be proud that millions and millions of young girls will grow up watching your portrayal of a teenage girl who is treated like s**t by her entire family.  What a wonderful world view you will have imparted, Mila.  


A moment of silence, please, for Mila's pathetic life and sad, sad career.


Amy Schumer also wanted to talk current events.  Why?


The broadcast was supposed to be about 2021's films.  Apparently, that topic didn't interset Amy -- maybe because she has no film career?  Or mabye because she's really not into films.  In the future, these 'comedians' need to be funny and they also need to understand that they are the hired help.  This is not THE TONIGHT SHOW, you're opening monologue needs to be worked on and polished and it's not about current events.


Yes, Amy, you were the hired help.  You were there on stage to pass the time.  You weren't there to share your politics, that's not why you were hired.  


Winners can say whatever they want, it's their moment, they can use it however they want.


I've always felt that way.


And I've always felt that presenters and hosts need to stick to the script and not go off on current events.


When Bob Hope (and he hideous Frank Sinatra) got angry because Bert Schneider made remarks against the Vietnam War, tough.  They should have kept it off stage.


I agreed with Bert, yes.  But it was Bert's moment, he had won the Academy Award.  As Michael Moore did decades later.  The winner can use that moment however they want.  


But it was wrong of Bob and Frank to plot and plan an on air statement during the broadcast.


You can make your acceptance speech about whatever you want.  It's your moment on the world's stage.  


But that is not the case for those who present or host.


The winner is representing themselves.  The hosts and the presenters are supposed to be representing the Academy.


It was a shameful night.


We saw the rampant racism on full display.  Remember, the people of Ukraine look like 'us.'  They have blue eyes, they're 'civilized.'  Remember that garbage -- p.r. crafted spin -- that ended up in our newscasts?  


Well that same attitude was on display at the ceremony.


Arabs?  Who cares?  Apparently, no one onstage representing the Academy.  Over a million dead, a million Iraqis.  No moment of silence for them.  Never a moment for them.


This was a worlwide event.  Grasp that.  And the clowns on stage made it a point to spit on the Arab world.  Grasp that.  A moment of silence . . . for White people.


Grasp that.


They should be ashamed.


They're so courageous, those paper tigers on stage, so courageous speaking out in support of a war that the government of the United States wants.  Let's not pretend this was a moment of bravery.  They lapped the boots, that's all they did.  They wanted to prove that they were 'real.'  All they demonstrated was how pathetic they actually are and how ashamed of film they truly are.  If they took any real pride in the industry, they'd grasp that what the industry does is important and worthy of note, they don't need to pretend to be 'real' because this is a real industry -- one that employees millions.


It was a ceremony to honor film.  But film was not enough for them.  No, because film is not good enough for them.  We couldn't have a night celebrating the arts because we invited non-artists to the stage.  Next time, let's let the Emmys grab the trash like Mila and Amy and let's try to keep the Academy Awards focused on their purpose: Honoring films.


I am glad that Jane Campion, Riz Ahmed, Aneil Karia, ENCANTO, Jessica Chastain, Kenneth Branagh, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Jenny Beavan, Ben Proudfoot, Linda Dowds and Justin Raleigh and Stephanie Ingram, Sian Heder, Questlove and Joseph Patel and David Dinerstein, Ariana DeBose and many others won.  There were a lot of worthy winners this year.


Will wasn't among them.  And never let it be forgotten that while they pretended to be against violence, they gave the award to a bad actor, Will Smith, who just a little earlier, resorted to violence.  He should have been arrested for assault and taken off in cuffs.  He degraded himself and he degraded the industry and did so at the industry's most important event, one watched around the world.  Next time, remember, trash doesn't deserve awards.  Maybe next time, don't open your ceremony pretending to care about LGBTQ rights while you're also giving a Best Actor Award to the industry's most notorious homophobe.

 

Ava and I have to do at least three more paragraphs before we're done with our piece.  We stopped it this morning  but we'll do a quick finish starting as soon as this goes up.  We're not covering the Academy Awards (or even mentioning them).  We are covering DISNEY+, HBO MAX, NETFLIS and HULU.  We need ten minutes to pull together a conclusion for the piece and then we'll do a quick check for spelling and then post to THIRD.


Kat's "Kat's Korner: Joss Stone and Judy Collins crash and burn" went up this morning.  The following sites updated: