Oscars -- A Mixed Goodie Bag

The 84th Annual Academy Awards were a mixed bag for me. An example was Meryl Streep’s third Oscar win for her wonderful portrayal of U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” I am glad that Streep broke her 29-year Oscar drought. I’m disappointed, however, that it had to be at Viola Davis’ expense.

First, I think that the Academy takes Meryl Streep and her acting prowess for granted. I think she should have won for playing Karen Silkwood in “Silkwood” (1983) or for “Out of Africa” (1985) or “The Bridges of Madison County” (1995) or “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) or “Julie and Julia” (2009). Streep inhabits almost every role she plays. She’s a chameleon. But I believe Academy members, while awed at her acting ability, tends to believe she’ll be nominated later or tends to give someone else a chance.

After Davis’ Screen Actors’ Guild win for her role as housekeeper/nanny Aibileen Clark in “The Help,” I thought she was a shoo-in for best actress, becoming only the second African-American female thespian after Halle Berry to take the statue. I saw “The Help” and noticed in Davis’ eyes and her posture her transformation from an oppressed maid with small dreams to a woman with hope, even in the dawn of the civil rights era. Davis was the heart of that movie, which was nominated for best picture while “The Iron Lady” wasn’t. But I will give Davis credit for being gracious in defeat to her friend Streep. As my sister Black Woman Blogging said, “Davis is kind, smart, and important. And inspirational.”

I saw “The Artist” on Saturday at the Varsity Theater in Davis. I liked it. The dog Uggie tugged at my heartstrings. While it deserved its five Oscars, I thought it was a good film but not a great one. A great film, in my opinion, is one where you see it numerous times and find something new in each viewing. “The Artist” had much breadth, with its homages to “A Star Is Born,” “Citizen Kane,” “Singing in the Rain,” and some Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, but it lacked depth. Yet it was good enough to be the Academy’s flavor of the year.

I’m glad Christopher Plummer finally got his long-awaited Oscar for “Beginners.” I’m happy that Octavia Spencer won for best supporting actress for “The Help.” While her role as Minny could have been written off as another sassy maid, it was her compassion and conviction buried beneath her tough exterior that carried the performance.

As for Jean Dujardin, his best actor win ranked with Roberto Benigni’s win for “Life Is Beautiful.” I doubt that I will see Dujardin in another film shown in the United States. Frankly, I think George Clooney should have netted his second Oscar for his tragicomic portrayal of Matt King in “The Descendants.” I think the Academy felt it needed to award an actor along with its flavor-of-the-year film.

With the technical awards, I was off my game. I expected the Harry Potter finale to take some awards. Instead, four technical Oscars went to Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo.”

Host Billy Crystal did a “pretty good” job. At least he wasn’t the awkward couple that was Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I’m not sure if the Oscar producers will invite Crystal back next year. It is difficult to have a host who is funny yet respects the acting audience.

So, what did you think?

Fault Lines

I am seeing a disconcerting trend in the United States of people not listening to each other, disparaging others who don’t share their views, and jealously protecting their own interests. If this trend continues, I would not be surprised if this nation falls apart within my lifetime.

In Oakland, the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, where I was trained to become a newspaper journalist, offers a diversity training program called “Fault Lines” that teaches participants how to talk to their coworkers across divides of race, class, gender, generation, and geography. I believe we are a nation divided by multiple fault lines that include these categories – and politics and sexual orientation.

A recent example of this trend is the string of comments on Twitter after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announced today the overturning of Proposition 8, a California constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage. While there were many “tweets” of celebration, some disparaged Christians who supported the amendment. Not all Christians in California supported Proposition 8.

Another example I noticed was an entry in the online publication Benicia Patch in which a resident attended a January 25 meeting in Fairfield addressing housing and transportation. Kathy Kerridge wrote that she made a comment and was told by an audience member that if “you don’t agree with me, you can move to Russia.” When Kerridge asked a woman who opposed paying more taxes for transportation how would blind people get to work without public transit, the woman replied that they should walk.

On a national level, the candidates for president claim their biggest goal is to defeat President Barack Obama. However, I have yet to hear how they would address the housing crisis or help boost the economy to create jobs, or how they would deal with the soaring cost of health care. And how would tax cuts for the wealthy help the middle class and the poor? Or do they care?

Before things get out of hand, can we all sit together and discuss our concerns without shouting or name-calling or eye-rolling? My fear is that if we don’t start working together to solve the problems of this country, the United States will rupture along one or more of these “fault lines.”

Writing Diva