Posted by: junkfoodmedia on: January 8, 2010
So I haven’t blogged in awhile. It’s not that there aren’t things to blog about, it’s just that I’ve been distracted by other endeavors. I have lots of rantings in my head, but nothing substantial or interesting enough to fill an entire entry. So instead, I’ve decided to let out some rants, free up my mind, and get some things off my chest. So here it goes.
‘Tis the season for the usual cavalcade of celebrity award shows. You know, the endless display of yearly awards to the actors/directors/writers/ and others essential in making movies and television work. But lets get real people, how many annual award shows do we really need to fulfill the egos of the Hollywood elite? Here is a list of shows I just thought of, I’m sure there are many I’m leaving off, but here it goes:
The People’s Choice Awards
The Academy Awards
The Grammys
The Country Music Awards
The Tonys
The Emmys
The S.A.G Awards
The American Music Awards
The Golden Globes
The MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards
Need I continue? Is this really necessary Hollywood? Give me a break. Are celebrities this desperate for recognition and approval? Don’t get me wrong. I am completely guilty of watching the Academy Awards every year with my mother, and I enjoy it, but when you step back and look at all of the hoopla, it’s a bit ridiculous. In my ten years in the social services, I have observed one colleague receive an award on one occasion. She was recognized for her twenty years of service to the domestic violence community. Now that is cause to celebrate. But hers only came once in twenty years. So why not have award shows for people doing important work for years at a time? What about the teachers, social service providers, doctors, police, firefighters, janitors, waitresses, bartenders, in summary the people who are essential to the infrastructure of our communities?
You know what else bugs me? Smug celebrities on the red carpet. Lets take for example Angelina Jolie. I can’t stand it when she is asked the usual questions on the red carpet, such as “What dress are you wearing?” and she responds as if she is far too important to be mingling and answering ridiculous questions. Sure, the questions are ridiculous. I personally can’t wait for someone to say “Simplicity pattern 7865.” But let’s face it, that’s not going to happen.
Sure Angelina, you are doing some important work. Every once in awhile you rent a mansion in a foreign country and visit with the locals. Great. But it’s nothing compared to the workers who teach in dangerous neighborhoods for Thirty Thousand a year. It’s nothing compared to the people who take care of the homeless day in and day out at the shelter. It’s nothing compared to the person working to help women obtain restraining orders from their abusive partners. It’s great that she donates some time and money, but to act as if she is better than her Hollywood colleagues is offensive to someone like myself, who has done real social service work on a daily basis for very little pay. Smile Angelina, answer the questions, you get paid a lot to do that. Until you leave your million dollar movie deals to teach full time in the inner city for twenty five thousand dollars a year (assuming she has a bachelor’s degree), you will be a celebrity, no better, no worse.
