Polone on the Great Oscar Farce (New York Magazine)
As a kid I remember sitting in front of the TV with my family, like millions
of others, in one of the largest non-sports audiences of the year, absorbing
the drama and the gaudy clothing worn by beautiful people, and staying up past
my bedtime to find out who won the big award: Miss America. But, over time,
our changing values and the obvious irrelevance of the beauty pageant caused
me and most Americans to dump the silly institution on the trash heap of
cultural obsolescence. Soon, lying next to Miss America on that dump will be
Oscar.
Whereas at one time Miss America represented the ideal for a woman in this
country, the Academy Award may still be associated with the pinnacle in
filmmaking achievement; but like Miss America, the Oscar has lost its
relevance and value. Whether people realize it or not, it would be a benefit
to the entertainment industry, as well as the moviegoing masses, if we just
learned to ignore the Oscars.
As with that misogynistic competition, in which women’s bodies are dissected,
judged, and then held up as a false ideal for the public, I can’t see the
value in …