Oscars Analysis: Part II

Kate Winslet wins for Best Sympathetic Nazi

One of the unspoken things that's been going on at the Oscars for years now is the Holocaust situation. It is a rule of the Academy that every film that even remotely touches on the Holocaust will be automatically nominated for an Oscar (the "Holocaust Rule"). It doesn't matter if the movie's crappy, or if they have non-Jewish actors such as Daniel Craig and Liam Neeson playing Jews from Germany with Irish brogues, films about the Holocaust are apparently above reproach. If you hated Defiance and you're Jewish, you're considered a terrible person and embarrassment to the religion; if you're not Jewish and thought The Reader was boring and lame, congratulations, you're now an anti-Semite. It is also an Academy rule that during retrospective parts of the Oscars, scenes from Holocaust movies must be spliced together into a Holocaust Megamix over violin music.

As a result of this complete lunacy and because, as I noted above, all Holocaust films must be nominated as it is part of the Academy's founding constitution, I propose that for future years there be separate categories for Holocaust movies so that the Academy doesn't have to shut out movies that would have otherwise been nominated for awards if it weren't for Holocaust films stealing their spots. For instance, The Reader could have been replaced by The Wrestler for Best Picture if there was a separate category for Best Holocaust Film, and somebody else could have won Best Actress if Kate Winslet was instead nominated for Best Sympathetic Portrayal of a Nazi in a Holocaust Film. There could also be an award for Best Portrayal of a Jew by a Non-Jew. I think we can all agree that is a very good idea.

P.S. I'm Jewish so I can't be an anti-Semite.

Oscars Analysis: Part I

Dog necklaces = very good idea

I normally maintain a strict policy against watching the Oscars, a) because superior shows such as Rock of Love Bus and The Amazing Race are on at that time, and b) watching celebrities praise each other repeatedly and then get awards for spending 6 weeks out of the year working and making millions of dollars grows a little tiresome after the third hour or so. In any event, I ended up watching part of it this year because Megan gchatted me that Mickey Rourke was wearing a choker necklace with a picture of his dog Loki who died last Monday encased in glass, and I wanted to show my support for that necklace and also for people who thank their dogs in their speeches, which is appropriate and key. Maybe I just haven't been paying close attention for the past several years, but this year the Oscar lunacy was out of control.

First of all, the song and dance number with Hugh Jackman and Beyonce was so embarrassing I had to turn off my tv and hide my face in a pillow. Under no circumstances is it acceptable to break into song while in the middle of talking (with the sole exception being Les Miserables which is VERY acceptable), and if by some chance it was acceptable, the most immediate way to make it as unacceptable as possible is to include top hats, canes, red ice dancer costumes, tuxedos and medleys featuring olde tyme songs such as Singing in the Rain. The sheer absurdity of Queen Latifah who USED TO BE A RAPPER singing "I'll Be Seeing You" over a montage of dead actors was literally too much to bear.

Second of all, this year, it seems they instituted a new format for the Best Actor/Best Actress categories, whereby past winners had to stand up on stage and deliver the most overwrought, hyperbolic monologues known to mankind, thereby embarrassing themselves and the nominee. Everyone talked about how "fearless" and "courageous" the nominees were, like they were animal tamers in a zoo and not movie actors. Meanwhile, the person being nominated had to sit there, look wistful and hold back tears and then at the end of the speech mouth ridiculous things like "I love you" and "thank you so much" to the presenters. And yet, during all of this, no one seemed to notice that Sophia Loren was standing on stage despite the fact that she appears to have been dead for three years. Now I finally understand that when CNN and all the corny news sources refers to her as a "timeless beauty," they are merely referring to the fact that she has been taxidermied and makes Weekend at Bernie's appearances occasionally.

P.S. Upon enlarging the Mickey Rourke photo, it appears that he also has a diamond encrusted pin of another dog. This pin is also acceptable.