Do you really care about the Oscars?

Entertainment.

Movies are ultimately about entertainment, the Oscars are ultimately about entertainment. Part of the industry is to build up "personal"-feeling relationships with the actors -- it's another opportunity to see them "in real life", out of character. (Though of course, they're playing the character of "movie star" -- or "ingenue" or "aging tough guy" or whatever...)

I watch, when I watch, for the clothes, and sometimes (depending on who's the host) for the entertainment value of the ceremony itself. Jon Stewart has promise there, more likely to watch because of him.

I saw crash and thought it was a pretty good movie. I liked how each character both proved and disproved the racial stereo types that they held about each other. To me it was still just a fun way to spend a couple of hours though. It was thoughtful but I would hardly call it life altering.

(Sorry, for my humorously intended bait but I guess I am an inherantly positive person, even while willing to debate a subject, and topics designed for merely putting something down don't usually impress me as serious).

"Crash" was a fun way to spend a couple of hours?

Fun?

Sorry, I don't get it. As a matter of fact, I would have trouble sitting down and seeing the film again because it turns over the ugly underbelly of our society that unfortunately does exist.

Explain what I am missing here. What exactly am I supposed to get out of the movie?

If you actually want your life altered, I suggest you go to a vet.

Wow... that was funny.

You are the one claiming that movies are "intellectually thoughtful" and "hope for more films that aren't just for entertainment but have something to say about society and the human condition." So tell me, what am I missing?

So maybe a bit of the star/hero worship thing??

Well, the interest in celebrity. Self-perpetuating. (They're celebrities 'cause they make movies and wear fancy clothes to occasions to celebrate the movies that they made...)

I dunno if it's worship, per se.

If you don't know what you're missing, did you fall asleep during the movie? Film critics will also disagree with the movies that get nominated but this year it looks like the lists of top ten movies is pretty close to the five nominated films.

Worshiping movie stars? Not on my agenda but I suppose there are those who do. If the writer, director and actors, as well as all of the collaborative artists working on a film, aren't communicating anything to a moviegoer than I would think letting them take two hours out of your life for just pure escapism adds up to a pretty dull life.

So is your life altering experiences coming from books, church, the local chili cook-off?

Who's trolling now, LW?

If you get such a kick off of movies then by all means i hope you find what you are looking for.

There are some people out there that take their favorite celebrities pretty seriously.

So am I in the minority here? Am I the only one that finds the Oscars to be nothing more than a big feel good party for Hollywood?

I enjoy the Oscars. It is the only awards show I watch.

Admittedly, it has a lot of flaws. Some that gripe me are:
--Why should there be separate oscars for acting for men/women and for lead/supporting? There aren't separate oscars for men/women writers or lead/supporting makeup.
--Awards often go to people for extended achievement rather than for a single performance/contribution. For example, Paul Newman certainly deserved an oscar, but not for "The Color of Money". And the Best Picture award for "The Return of the King", although deserved, was certainly bolstered by the preceding two films in the trilogy.
--Political and social trends influence even what gets nominated. For example, "The Seventh Seal" was never even nominated because of Ingmar Bergman's politics at the time.

Thanks for checking in, Equus. Do the nominations/winners ever effect the movies you see? In other words, have you ever gone to a movie simply because you saw something on the Oscars that caught your interest?

Hey, good point about male/ female actors vs male/ female writers. Never thought of it that way.

A way to spread things out, maybe? (As in, twice as many awards at the top...)