THE TRUMP KISS UP-THE WHITE OSCAR KISS OFF

A NEVER DISAPPOINTING SPECTACLE

"The greatest meeting of land and water in the world"

        Francis McComas  20th century water colorist

  More from majestic Big Sur below.

WHITE MEN BEHAVING WEIRDLY

   New Jersey Governor Christie's endorsement of Trump speaks not only to Christie's skill at playing kiss up, it also signals how the Republican Party is likely to circle around the improbable candidate.

    Speculation abounds; what does Christie seek? Vice President? Attorney General? Who from the Republican establishment will follow next? When? A strong showing on Super Tuesday raises the likelihood of more ring kissing.

     It is also likely Cruz and Rubio and/or affiliated PACs will begin to dump on Trump with everything they can find that would damage him and his reputation. That flack might weaken but not kill his improbable charge but would remain "out there" for the fall general election. So traditional Republicans, the mainstream variety, continue to find themselves in a trick box

WHITE FACE AT THE OSCARS

   If I had directed the Oscar telecast emcee Chris Rock would have shown up in white face. My friend Jim suggested Rock walk an elephant on stage, park it there through the entire evening and say nothing about it. What Rock said and how he did it made points but the issue is not going way.

   It is clear to frequent readers I oppose discrimination of any sort. However there is a lot more to the current fever in Oscarland than race, sexism, ageism and fairness.

    At the core is our complicity in making the award show  a strong cultural pillar. Professional craft and guild awards have been turned into a near spiritual horizon event. Shame on us. Sure I love film too but after all is said and they done they are merely entertainments produced by an industry. The film industry is about one thing, money. It's business first and last. That the Oscars have become such a cultural icon complete with weeks of breathless lead up coverage about who will win and who will wear what and etc. is just more business. No diseases are cured, no wars are ended, no children are educated, no poor are fed.

    If we are inclined to make a big deal about awards then our media blitz machine could be dialed to the Nobel Awards. That's real serious and even earth changing stuff. Or we could focus on the Pulitzers, not "based on a true story" as in Hollywood parlance, but recognition for excellence in telling real for sure true stories.

    I know, we are a celebrity worshiping culture and we love our buzz and gossip and speculation-but really, they are only awards given to mostly to the rich and famous.

    I see a lot of film and as I posted previously I saw performances by African American actors I thought  deserving of nomination, but I am not an Academy member. That's the point. These professional awards, given by a private academy, are not supposed to be about equality, freedom, civil rights, or any thing of value or social justice. It's a private club giving awards chosen by their members. 

    The Academy is mostly white and male. The film industry is like most business in the world, mostly run by men. Film makers are in the business to earn profit. That good films, independent films, meaningful films ever get made is amazing. Giving thought to equality, fairness or even balance is not something studio bosses or investors even think about. 

    There are no government dollars involved so in truth the only influence advocates for greater diversity have is public opinion and deciding not to spend to see films. I agree there is a social justice morality here, but the Academy is a private club giving out awards in a voting process that is suspect to begin with. Studios budget to campaign for the Oscar. There is also the "politics" of the studios.

     A documentary I produced, wrote and directed won a national Emmy. I'm proud of that and while a panel of professional journalists and broadcasters were the judges, in the last analysis even that Emmy is simply a professional award given by a private organization. 

     Maybe we could just put these things into a proper perspective and pull them down from the Olympian heights from where we as a culture have placed them. Perspective might be helpful.

     I'd bet you the industry would continue to make films-and billions of dollars-if the Oscars were expunged from our memory and from the public conscience.

     In all of the trappings of this years telecast there were two realities of note. Spotlight being selected as film of the year is further affirmation of investigative reporting in general, the Boston Globe's investigation in particular and hope for all victims of Priest sexual abuse. Lady Gaga's performance of Til it Happens to You, surrounded by dozens of victims of sexual attack, was poignant, important and of more significance than most of the awards. And it was "true life" courage as well.

MAJESTIC BIG SUR

    See you down the trail.

IS OSCAR COLOR BLIND OR BLIND?

AVOIDING BEING WASHED UP

    Something is amiss in Hollywood and friction over the Oscar nominations is the smoke signal.

     The make-believe world of the film industry cannot use special effects to escape a few painful realities. Debate over to or not to boycott this years Academy Award presentation is  one plot turn. Another is will the Academy do something about its award deciding process?

      The Academy is made up of Branches, relating to the various skills and crafts of film making; directing, acting, cinematography, writing, design, editing, and etc. Membership comes only through a sponsor and though the Academy is private about who belongs, an LA Times investigation revealed statistics that show it is a predominately white male organization. Some say the representation of male and female membership is roughly equivalent to the percentage of people working in film, but there's no way to be sure. Even that however does not speak to a couple of other story lines.

       The film industry itself is a largely white enclave notably in the film studios and leadership, and mostly male as well. As George Clooney noted recently the current debate about the whiteness of this year's nominees goes mostly to the lack of African American talent but says little about Hispanic under representation that Clooney says is another problem.

       Close to the core of this friction is a legitimate debate-Many believe the Oscars should recognize achievement and not be about pushing for diversity. It is an award, not social engineering. That's touchy in this age of racial sensitivity and lingering racism. It's even touchier when one consider the majority of Academy voters are white and male. True, the Academy is the private club of an already self indulgent professional culture so in a theory, one can argue, they can run the club house however they wish. But this is the 21st Century and we know about colonialism, imperialism, feudalism, racism and bias. And after all who makes the industry important? Movie goers! The fans are the ultimate power here. 

         Though we are marketed to, hyped, pitched and hustled we decide fates and fortunes by deciding to watch or not. If we are more than white males, it would follow what we get should be about more than white males. And that is true, but the disconnects exists.

        Personally, I can't understand why Will Smith did not get a nomination for his courageous role in Concussion-based on  a real character who too was brave and historic. As I watched Straight Outta Compton I wondered why Oshea Jackson, Jason Mitchell or Corey Hawkins were not considered for supporting actor roles. I have yet to see Beasts of No Nation, but people whom I respect say Idris Elba was excellent in his role.

         Nothing against those who have been nominated. I've seen most of the nominees and indeed there has been masterful work. But I have to wonder if there were more women, more men and women of color in the process of selecting and eventually electing the winners, would we see more diversity.  I think so.

        The end of this drama is to be written. Will we see a large scale boycott? Will Chris Rock emcee or boycott? If he works, how will he handle the issue? Will a presenter or a recipient do a Marlon Brando?  Will viewers shun the telecast?  Will commercial sponsors show guts?  Could an ad agency advise a big sponsors to tailor a special message respecting the quality of the nominees but lamenting the lack of diversity? Perhaps the biggest mystery is what will the Academy do about fixing what is clearly a problem in a system that bears a lot of resemblance to a plantation?

A MOMENT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE 

    We pause here under our blooming Jade, a sign of good luck, prosperity and friendship to congratulate our eldest on the birth of her daughter, our first grandchild. Congratulations also to our other daughter, an RN who was part of the delivery process. Everyone is doing well, including grandmother who can't stop smiling. Grandad got the news on the tennis court and had to wipe away a few tears before he got back to playing. 

     God bless that little darling and all of her generation. It gives this boomer more incentive to care about justice, fairness, peace and planetary health.

      See you down the trail.