TV Watch: The Oscars

Every year the Chicago Posse gets together and watches the Oscars. We've made a game of it - get the whole ballot sheets, see who can guess the best, that kind of thing.

Thing is - it seems like every year it turns into more and more of a guessing game. Largely because every year - it seems everyone has seen less and less of the movies involved. This year we almost saw Babel, The Departed and Pan's Labryinth. almost. But not quite. The vast majority of our movie watching - even in a group - has moved to DVD. Since Oscar flicks are routinely later in the year and then rushed to DVD ... that means unless you catch "the buzz" early on and try see a movie before it's even nominated ... you'll probably be introduced to it during the awards show.

This would work for me if I actually trusted the Oscars as a viable measure of worth. Instead, it's just a fascinating machine of Hollywood politics, marketing and social engineering. Isn't that why they ended up cancelling E3?

It's still fun. The Oscars have a lot in common with a reality show - it's a chance to watch a lot of people embarass themselves willingly. Hollywood is probably way to encapsulated to realize that a lot of people find the self-glorification dated and humourous at this point. It's just strange that every year it seems like I see less and less of the movies involved.

And yes - before everyone chimes in - I completely plan on seeing Pan's Labryinth.


tagged: television