BetterMost, Wyoming & Brokeback Mountain Forum

Our BetterMost Community => The Polling Place => Topic started by: Brown Eyes on January 20, 2007, 07:16:52 pm

Title: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Brown Eyes on January 20, 2007, 07:16:52 pm
So, if you're boycotting, what are you planning to do instead?  Screen BBM? 

If you are watching the Oscars this year, have your feelings still been changed about the Oscars (one way or the other) following the Brokeback fiasco last year?
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Brown Eyes on January 24, 2007, 12:11:37 am
Did anyone even watch the nomination ceremony?  I didn't.  :-\
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: delalluvia on January 24, 2007, 12:46:02 am
Nope, not watching, not checking out the nomiation shows either.  What am I doing instead?  Whatever I want.  There are always other movies to watch, books to read, stuff to write, the net to surf. :)
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Brown Eyes on January 24, 2007, 12:47:12 am
Nope, not watching, not checking out the nomiation shows either.  What am I doing instead?  Whatever I want.  There are always other movies to watch, books to read, stuff to write, the net to surf. :)

I totally agree Bud!  ;D
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: ednbarby on January 27, 2007, 09:17:01 pm
I'm still not watching.  I'm planning to screen BBM instead.  Starting precisely at 8:00 p.m., EST.

I *will* be watching the Independent Spirit Awards the Saturday prior, though.  And looking forward to it more than ever since I am now a voting member of Film Independent.

 ;D
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: MaineWriter on January 27, 2007, 09:37:45 pm
You need another option in the poll: I'll watch part of the Oscars. Because, knowing me, that's what I will do. I have never ever gotten through the whole show...not even last year. Now, I am grateful for that, since I didn't witness the BBM debacle. When I watch, I usually make it through about 75 minutes of the show (which generally gets me to best supporting actress) and then give up in boredom and frustration. This year...I may turn it on for my usual hour or so, or I may not bother, since the nominees are so dull.

I didn't watch the nomination annoucement, I didn't watch the Golden Globes...this year is more like my usual behavior. Last year, because of BBM, things were entirely different. And to be honest, I really miss that...it was fun last year, even with the disappointing outcome from the Oscars.

Leslie
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Brown Eyes on January 27, 2007, 11:46:05 pm
OK Leslie!  :-*

I added two more options.  And, you should all be able to change your vote if need be!
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Fran on January 28, 2007, 10:01:58 pm
I will be watching the Oscars, and I have, for the most part, gotten over the heartbreak of last year.

Last year was probably the first time I really cared about who won, and I obviously was pulling for Brokeback Mountain to win in all of its categories.  This year I think I've only seen two of the films nominated for anything -- Little Miss Sunshine and Babel -- and I'm not pulling for anyone.  I'll be watching the Oscars purely for the sake of entertainment, the same way I watched in previous years, excluding 2006, of course -- to see who's wearing what, who flubs their acceptance speech, how the nominated songs are performed, etc., etc. -- but I don't care  about who goes home with what Oscar.  There's no chance of heartbreak this year.   :)

I am also hoping that Dakota Fanning presents nothing as she made me cringe last year.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Lynne on January 29, 2007, 05:08:17 am
I will not be watching.  Except for last year, when I watched on purpose, I may have paused while flipping past.  Now, I watch virtually no TV at all - only DVDs, so flipping past won't be an issue.  With any luck I'll be in MI or comfy watching my DVD at home.
 8)
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: southendmd on January 29, 2007, 06:06:59 pm
I'll watch some.  I'm curious about what Ellen might do.

Also, I'm a sucker for the "In Memoriam" segment.  That's often the only part they get right. 
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Lumière on February 01, 2007, 07:51:43 pm
Hey Amanda --  :)

There should be another option:  "I don't care.."

I am not big on award shows, I watched the oscars last year because of BBM..
I don't even know what night it is on ..  :)  Guess I won't be watching it..
On the other hand, I like Ellen DeGeneres. 
She is hosting it, right?  I might check out a bit of it to see how she is doing ..  8)
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: opinionista on February 01, 2007, 08:16:07 pm
I have no choice but not to watch it because here in Europe is aired way too late in the night, and way too early in the morning. But if the Oscars were aired earlier in the day, I would've boycott it anyway.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: serious crayons on February 01, 2007, 08:17:17 pm
I will never respect the Oscar process or care about who wins the silly trophies. I won't cheer for any particular movie or actor or director, no matter how much I enjoyed them, because I know a win is absolutely meaningless.

That said, I may wind up watching. I vowed at first to boycott, but now I am not sure what I'll do. If I had a Nielsen box on top of my TV set, I wouldn't for sure. But I don't, so my presence or absence doesn't matter to anyone but me. It's a big cultural event, and I'm interested in what's happening in our culture, even when it's stupid.

But no champagne this year!  :laugh:
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Jeff Wrangler on February 02, 2007, 02:45:45 pm
There should be another option:  "I don't care.."

I am not big on award shows, I watched the oscars last year because of BBM..

Right there with you, Milli! Didn't watch before last year. Ain't watchin' this year.

Maybe I'll watch Brokeback Mountain on DVD that night.  ;D
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Karan13 on February 02, 2007, 06:54:12 pm
I love the Oscars , i sit up till the early hours watching , yes maybe it is a crock of shit , but i enjoy it it`s over the top it`s glamorous and i watch every year , as i`ve always said a movie is `Whatever You Want It To Be ` it`s what you remember and take away from the cinema with you , not what some silly farts decide is `Good Enough` it`s such a personnal thing , yes i adore BBM i would of loved to of seen it win , but i don`t hate Crash because of it , it`s like saying you lost the `Egg and Spoon Race` at school so you`ll never touch eggs again , childish. In the UK we aren`t so `Over The Top` in awards ceremonies , so i love to see the gushing tears , i love the Red Carpet glamour also , hey whats wrong with watching all your fav glamourus stars strutti ng their stuff.
Come on the women haven`t eaten for a month , the guys have had a top to toe , back sack and crack wax , they`ve all kissed that many asses , their lips don`t even need Botox , support them for Fucks sake ! xxx kaz
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Sheriff Roland on February 02, 2007, 07:12:48 pm
What part a "Hell No" don't ya understand!
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: dot-matrix on February 04, 2007, 03:09:30 am
Nope not watching, came across this blog on yahoo recently which offered and interesting perspective on the whole thing and makes some nice points.  I especially like the highlighted paragraph...

I hear that one of the reasons "Brokeback Mountain" didn't win Best Picture this year is that "Crash" is about Los Angeles, which all the actors and writers and directors who live out there can relate to, and none of the characters in "Brokeback Mountain" ever come close to setting foot in a big city.

I can sort of understand that. Now, I don't live in wide open country, and I don't live in a big city either. I grew up in a small town of under 100,000 people, and now live in an even smaller village of about 5,000 (about 10 minutes away from the small town). The small town, Racine, was once portrayed in the Goldie Hawn - Mel Gibson flick "Bird on a Wire" as having a Chinatown in it; I can assure you that it doesn't. But the people who make films live in cities that do have Chinatowns in them, and perhaps they can't relate to a city without one.

So anyway, as a gay man, I'm supposed to have liked "Brokeback Mountain" for the gay content alone. I'm supposed to like "Will & Grace" for the same reason, even though I have a really hard time relating to its characters. I understand the dynamic between Will and Grace, and perhaps once upon a time between Will and Jack; but most of the time, I can't figure out why these characters hang around each other at all. And yet, in spite of the shallow one-dimensional characters and the substitution of attitude and name-dropping for wit, "Will & Grace" managed to win an Emmy.

Was Hollywood's snub of "Brokeback Mountain" a way of making up for the overhyping of "Will & Grace"? Were the voters telling us "You're here, you're queer, get over it"? Well, maybe. Or maybe the Academy would have prefered a movie in which Jack Twist went to Hollywood, got all famous and went to fabulous parties and did cocaine and completely left Ennis Del Mar pining sadly away back in Bumfuck, WY until some tearful reunion scene as Jack, dying of AIDS, returns to his roots to die. Or better yet, Ennis shows up at Jack's palatial estate, because that would be in L.A.

Well, I'm sure "Crash" is a very fine movie. I wanted to see it when it was in the theatres last year, but it wasn't here in East Boondocks, WI very long, and my partner wasn't interested in seeing it at all. None of the best picture nominees were on local screens for more than a week (I don't think "TransAmerica" played here at all). The only Oscar nominees we've seen have been "Brokeback Mountain," "King Kong" (technical awards), and "Capote."

And, being from East Boondocks, I can't say I really care all that much about what film gets the Academy Award For Best Picture. A couple of years ago, we saw both "Saving Private Ryan" and "Shakespeare In Love," and do you remember which film won Best Picture?

http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Park/1131/archive2.html

Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: ednbarby on February 04, 2007, 10:06:26 am
Yes, he does have a good point, there.  What's sad is that Will & Grace doesn't begin to portray gay characters that most gay men can relate to.  So if the folks who pick the Emmy winners think they were being really forward-thinking and accepting, they were fooling themselves.  I wonder if the gay men who do like Will & Grace might just be a tad homophobic themselves - they seem to be buying into that whole idea that all gay men are impeccably dressed and fastidious, don't like watching or playing sports, and love to shop - are basically girly-girl women in men's bodies.

I basically think that most people in the Academy looked at it this way:  "Brokeback got its nomination, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Musical Score.  That's enough."  Or moreover, "That's all they're gonna get."

I still think they punished Heath specifically, as did all the other major award-giving bodies, because they couldn't get their tiny little minds around the idea of basically an American icon being gay.  So much so that most wouldn't even watch his performance.  How ironic that the person they bestowed the award on instead played a gay man who happened to be a prancing queen.  And I don't care what anyone says (even Heath himself), I still think he didn't do it all that well.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Sheriff Roland on February 04, 2007, 11:36:41 am
Yes, he does have a good point, there.  What's sad is that Will & Grace doesn't begin to portray gay characters that most gay men can relate to.  So if the folks who pick the Emmy winners think they were being really forward-thinking and accepting, they were fooling themselves.  I wonder if the gay men who do like Will & Grace might just be a tad homophobic themselves - they seem to be buying into that whole idea that all gay men are impeccably dressed and fastidious, don't like watching or playing sports, and love to shop - are basically girly-girl women in men's bodies.

I basically think that most people in the Academy looked at it this way:  "Brokeback got its nomination, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Musical Score.  That's enough."  Or moreover, "That's all they're gonna get."

I still think they punished Heath specifically, as did all the other major award-giving bodies, because they couldn't get their tiny little minds around the idea of basically an American icon being gay.  So much so that most wouldn't even watch his performance.  How ironic that the person they bestowed the award on instead played a gay man who happened to be a prancing queen.  And I don't care what anyone says (even Heath himself), I still think he didn't do it all that well.


Gotta Disagree with yer first paragraph

It's humour & I can laugh at the humour of the first ever successful gay comedy in tv history. That it got repetitive in it's humour was part a it's charm. Just like there are all kinds a straights out there, there are a lot a different gays too (mor a em are like Will than Ennis, but ya didn't hear that from me). Words like "fag, homo & queen", gay men have been reclaimin fer years, so they don't hurt as much as they useta. Not everyone's all a those things, but I for one am not any kinda handy man, and I don't watch sports (exceptin bullridin). Bryan is interested in how he dresses (usually expensively!) and even buys all kindsa shampoos. He loves shoppin, and eatin well at restaurants. OK so he's not a prancin queen, but his best friend in Winnipeg's a cross dresser - and we cant ease each other (ta some extent) like they do in the series. All I'm sayin is there are all kinds - that kind (as portrayed in Will & Grace) happens ta be the funnier variety, taken ta the extreme. Swishy does exist in the gay community, it's just not the only existin thing.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: ednbarby on February 05, 2007, 12:07:02 pm
Oh, I know Swishy exists in the gay community.  And I have no problem with it - some of my best friends are swishy, in fact.  ;)

Seriously, I know that there are all kinds of gay men.  I work with several and have been around several more, and of course they run the gamut from Ennis to Carson Kressley.  (Don't know any cross-dressers or transsexuals personally, but I know they're out there.)  My problem is that I don't think the mainstream media know that there are all kinds of gay men.  Or if they do, they don't choose to portray them in more than one way.  I don't count HBO and Showtime among the mainstream media.  And they're the ones who got it right.  David on Six Feet Under is more effeminate than not, but his partner Keith is a cop who could (and does) kick anyone's ass.  Queer as Folk and The L Word have managed to show us a whole spectrum of gays and lesbians, too.  These are the groundbreakers.  Not Will & freakin' Grace.  Every character on that show is nothing but a caricature of a real human being.

Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on February 12, 2007, 01:45:52 am
I will be watching the Oscars, and I have, for the most part, gotten over the heartbreak of last year.

Last year was probably the first time I really cared about who won, and I obviously was pulling for Brokeback Mountain to win in all of its categories.  This year I think I've only seen two of the films nominated for anything -- Little Miss Sunshine and Babel -- and I'm not pulling for anyone.  I'll be watching the Oscars purely for the sake of entertainment, the same way I watched in previous years, excluding 2006, of course -- to see who's wearing what, who flubs their acceptance speech, how the nominated songs are performed, etc., etc. -- but I don't care  about who goes home with what Oscar.  There's no chance of heartbreak this year.   :)

I am also hoping that Dakota Fanning presents nothing as she made me cringe last year.

                 I agree, with what she said...all of it.  I wil watch for Ellen's benefit.  I also dont want to miss one of the biggest chances to
         watch the fiascos that people call clothes and put on.  In front of the worldwide and most ridiculously rich coutures, and Jewelers.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: David In Indy on February 13, 2007, 11:58:43 pm
I'm not watching that. Not after what happened last year. I was outraged and I still am.  >:(
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: David In Indy on February 14, 2007, 12:07:11 am
Oh, I know Swishy exists in the gay community.  And I have no problem with it - some of my best friends are swishy, in fact.  ;)

Seriously, I know that there are all kinds of gay men.  I work with several and have been around several more, and of course they run the gamut from Ennis to Carson Kressley.  (Don't know any cross-dressers or transsexuals personally, but I know they're out there.)  My problem is that I don't think the mainstream media know that there are all kinds of gay men.  Or if they do, they don't choose to portray them in more than one way.  I don't count HBO and Showtime among the mainstream media.  And they're the ones who got it right.  David on Six Feet Under is more effeminate than not, but his partner Keith is a cop who could (and does) kick anyone's ass.   Queer as Folk and The L Word have managed to show us a whole spectrum of gays and lesbians, too.  These are the groundbreakers.  Not Will & freakin' Grace.  Every character on that show is nothing but a caricature of a real human being.



I LOVED David and Keith in "Six Feet Under". They were two gay characters I could really relate to. SFU addressed homosexual topics in a truthful and realistic manner.

Will & Grace just gives me a massive migrane.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: twistedude on February 15, 2007, 02:11:05 am
Thanks, but...no thanks. never again, Unless, by some miracle, there's a make-up call that's deserving (considering the quality of Brokeback Mountain, that seems unlikely).
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Front-Ranger on February 16, 2007, 12:25:45 pm
I heard you were going to join us in Bay City, Julie! I'm looking forward to meeting you! We will not watch the Oscars together!

Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Marge_Innavera on February 16, 2007, 12:33:39 pm
I work on Sunday nights, an overnight shift, and would love to be in Bay City but will be watching along with you - not on a big screen, unfortunately, but I'll have my trusty portable DVD player with me.   ;D

Last week I was in L.A. for a reunion of school friends, and we went to the Kodak/Graumann's complex as part of our sightseeing. Very interesting but I hated even going near the Oscars venue as they now have a bank of signs with years and the Best Picture choice for that year listed. The first thing you see getting on the down escalator is 2005 CRASH BEST PICTURE.  Ugh.


I didn't watch the Oscars last year as I had a very bad feeling about it, and I suspect it will be a long time before I watch them again.  If I want to look at funny bloopers and ostentatious outfits, there are other venues.  So I voted "boycotting" even though I'm working - if I had the night off, I still wouldn't watch.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Marge_Innavera on February 16, 2007, 12:38:14 pm
It's humour & I can laugh at the humour of the first ever successful gay comedy [ Will and Grace ] in tv history. That it got repetitive in it's humour was part a it's charm.

You know, Will and Grace reminds me so much of the first mainstream sitcoms with black characters. They were generally comic characters and appeared to have no sex lives to speak of but at least they were there and they weren't necessarily playing servant characters and/or buffoons. And ditto the "groundbreaking" shows about single women like That Girl.   IMO Will and Grace is limited and will be dated in a few years but it was a necessary step.

What's going to be the huge breakthrough in media, though, is when gay couples start to appear regularly in commercials. That's when we can assume there's a seismic change in the making.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: serious crayons on February 25, 2007, 12:35:12 pm
What's going to be the huge breakthrough in media, though, is when gay couples start to appear regularly in commercials. That's when we can assume there's a seismic change in the making.

That's right. Gay couples and interracial couples -- the last two TV-commercial taboo. I think I've actually seen both, but only an ambiguous, don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it shot as part of a montage (mostly of more "traditional" couples) for some hipsterish product.

Might be my imagination, though. Has anybody else seen this? This is way OT, but I'm curious. I should probably start a new thread, but I'm not sure there's enough to say about it.

The real breakthrough will be when gay or interracial couples are in typical "Honey, what's for dinner tonight?" commercials.
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Penthesilea on February 25, 2007, 01:55:37 pm
That's right. Gay couples and interracial couples -- the last two TV-commercial taboo. I think I've actually seen both, but only an ambiguous, don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it shot as part of a montage (mostly of more "traditional" couples) for some hipsterish product.

Might be my imagination, though. Has anybody else seen this? This is way OT, but I'm curious. I should probably start a new thread, but I'm not sure there's enough to say about it.

The real breakthrough will be when gay or interracial couples are in typical "Honey, what's for dinner tonight?" commercials.

Maybe you should really start a new thread?
Self-evident I haven't seen the commercial you're talking about. But I have seen Ennis and Jack used for advertisements twice. Yep! It were advertisements in magazines, but I don't know if there were any tv commercials with our boys.

The ads were for a car, a van or minivan from VW, the Touran. The general idea behind it was to promote a minivan not to the typical minivan buyers, in particular families, but to other target groups. They did a whole series of ads along that line, Ennis and Jack were only one example.

Our boys were seen from behind on the hill were the "ain't queer" conversation takes place. Jack lying on the ground, Ennis still standing with the rifle in his hand. You know the shot. The slogan/caption was: It's not necessary to have children in order to drive a Touran.

What a joy to see this ad  :D! This ad was also attached to the BBM DVD in Germany, I'll get my husband scanning it at his office and will show it to you.

I also saw a kind of "commercial" in a photo studio, were I had my picture taken. They always have examples of their work hanging on the walls and mostly they have albums you can skip though. The photographer were I was, had those albums in different categories: families, groups of adulds (friends, coworkers, etc.), siblings, couples and so on. In the album with couples there was a gay couple, too.

So the taboo is broken here. But still it's so rare that it caught my attention (well, Ennis and Jack would have caught my attention in any way  :)).
Title: Re: Oscars 2007: To Watch or Not to Watch
Post by: Arad-3 on February 26, 2007, 03:04:31 am
I watched the Oscars.  I wouldn't boycott it over BBM not winning cause there are allot of other movies I like.   But this year I really watched it cause  Ellen was hosting and I just love her. And I wanted to see if Al Gore's won for his eyeopening  documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" Which he did and I was very pleased.

I found the whole show very drab and boring. I hate to say this cause I love her but I don't think Ellen brought any life to it at all.  The most fun I had during it was my daughter and I made a list and tried to name all the 79 Academy winning movies. We got 39 of them right. That was fun!