Cultural Extinction
By Michael Ramirez March 12, 2023
Oscar Season... Y-A-A-A-A-A-W-W-W-N.
I always wonder why people are so absorbed in the spectacle of the Oscars. Now granted, I am grateful to the entertainment industry for putting out the infrequent good movie -there seems to be more quantity and less quality these days. They certainly deserve recognition and accolades for their work. Some of it is truly amazing. Some of it…
But the Academy rarely nominates the movies or actors that I or American audiences seem to like.
Now, popularity is not a measure of excellence, I know. That is clearly demonstrated in our national and local election results. Sometimes I wonder if some of the voters are smoking the same substance as the Academy. The answer is clearly, yes.
The family-oriented movies with good, strong moral lessons seemed to be ignored by the Hollywood elite but are championed at the box office. (continued below)
The Academy always seems to pick these weird movies nobody has seen, reflecting the darkest parts of humanity, stories full of malice, enmity, and immorality, with themes catered to Hollywood’s political and social sensitivities.
That can be ignored. What bothers me is the bellicose, condescending political speeches that permeate the stage year after year.
Is there anything worse than watching a bunch of preening richly compensated peacocks selling sex and depravity, lecturing us on greed and morality, justifying their condescending tone because they have assumed the identities of giant fictional characters they play on the big screen?
Yes. A culture that values celebrity over substance.
My family kidnapped my mother one year and took her to Florence, Italy for her birthday. Unfortunately, we did not realize it was fashion week and the streets were overflowing with humanity.
Suddenly, a multitude of camera and boom mics waded through the crowd. We turned to see who they were following. It was “Snooki” from Jersey Shore. She was pulling her rolling luggage through the cobblestone streets of Florence with a mischief of paparazzi recording her every movement.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I only roll my luggage from the taxi cab to the hotel.
I turned to my brother and said, “This is why America gets such a bad rap. People look at this and they think, this is America! I do not understand this obsession with celebrity. They have done little to earn fame. People used to be arrested for peeping in their neighbor’s windows. Now, it is called entertainment…” And as those words were leaving my mouth, my sister-in-law, a very intelligent woman, and my niece were pushing me aside to run after her and get an autograph.
The rise of Commodus and the fall of Rome.
Have a great week!
Best,
-m
P.S. Here is one of my favorite Oscar cartoons as a bonus:
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