Many events happened on May 16th. Some tragic,
(the quelling of the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943) and some that revolutionized
our world, (Theodore Maiman made the first laser operate at the Hughes Research
Laboratory in California, by shining a high-power flash lamp on a ruby rod with
silver-coated surfaces, 1960) and so many more.
But my focus landed today on another event that happened May
16th. The first Academy Awards were presented. (1929)
Why would my mind focus on such a nothing thing? You’d be
just to wonder about my brain’s degree of feebleness. Could the current Hollywood writers' strike be ringing my bell? Not really, though there's a tenuous connection. Hear me out.
The OSCARS, as we have come to call these yearly bashes, are
a strange thing when you bother to think and really contemplate them. Displays
of vanity and self-congratulations of an industry most of us consume but are
not part of. They are also too long and much of these evenings are clunkily not
entertaining. And yet---
And yet, many millions the world over watch them live.
What started as a fifteen-minute presentation and dinner at
a Los Angeles hotel (the Hollywood Roosevelt) with nicely dressed people, has
grown into a global event that testifies to one thing: The American cultural
power grip. It’s monumental, actually.
Love it or not, it is what it is. We didn’t need to wear
T-shirts that screamed “America First.” The Oscars said it for us.
It’s also significant that they are losing their audience in
recent years. Maybe this is another testament that our cultural dominance is
waning.
History is like that. Mileposts to mark rises, falls, and
the long road keeps on keeping on.
4 comments:
Well, my family, which now consists of my husband and I, my brother and wife, and his daughter, would think May 16 is important because it's a family member's birthday. (My brother.)
The Oscars, like the huge televised sporting events, is largely a matter of big-buck advertising. Car companies, luxury watches, etc. pay a lot of money for the privilege of having such a big market. Not to mention all the fashion designers who allow the stars to wear their clothes for free and be photographed for the publicity value.
Interesting thoughts about the Oscars and American culture dominating. Is it waning? I don't really know. I think not when I think of how popular American media is.
May 16th is the Feast of St. Simon Stock--he was given the brown scapular by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the 13th century. I wear one :)
I don’t watch Academy Awards, though I did when very much younger. It soon grew too long and too uninteresting. I would rather spend my time creating or being outside or reading a book. If Oscars night is less popular now, that’s no surprise.
Interesting post. It's another celebrity mania event. I also don't watch.
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