Positive Energy at the Oscars

by Brett Parker

I’m not one of those film critics who likes to analyze an Oscars telecast. No offense to anyone that does, but I really don’t see the point. I don’t feel a grand cinematic statement can come of it. No matter what transpires during an awards telecast, it can’t change a single frame of any of the movies nominated (Saving Private Ryan admirers are all too aware of this).

To give a close analysis of the telecast feels too much like stating-the-obvious. Sure, I could write about how tear-jerking it was to see Heath Ledger’s family accept his Oscar, or how I think Mickey Rourke should’ve won the Best Actor Oscar, or what a wonderful host Hugh Jackman turned out to be, or how hilarious Ben Stiller’s Joaquin Phoenix impression was, or how amazing Amanda Seyfried looked during the big musical number, but I’m quite sure you were already aware of all this.

I’ve decided, however, to focus on a portion of the show that deeply affected me in a much unexpected way. I’m talking about the presentation of the acting awards. This year it broke away from the traditional mold and tried something that was truly touching and uplifting. I never thought a segment of an awards show could evoke such strong feelings, but such was the effect of this dramatic touch. I’m sure many haters will be knocking this approach in the week to come, so I’ve decided to show my utmost respect to this admirable new approach.

When an acting award is presented, we all know the drill. A past recipient walks onto the stage and announces the nominees while clips of their work are shown. The envelope is opened, the winner is announced, and we take in the acceptance speech. Probably takes two minutes to pull off, bing-bang-boom. Yet this year, the formality was shaken up. Instead of just one past recipient brought to read the nominees, five were brought out, each from various eras of film. These talents ranged from Angelica Huston to Adrian Brody. Instead of simply reading the nominees, each presenter focused on a specific nominee and showered them with individual praise, highlighting what made their performances so special and why we cherish them as actors. Each nominee looked genuinely touched as they each received mini-monologues of kindness in their honor. Even though only one of them could bring home the trophy, each one was made to feel equally special and important.

What an admirable thing this was. The media tries to paint the Oscar races as a cutthroat competition. This shake-up of presentation helped to deflate a sense of competition and create a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. We basically watched as legendary performers took time out to highlight positive things about the nominees and show them how appreciated they are. You can’t help but be touched by that. We always hear about the idea that just to be nominated is an honor, but for the first time, I truly feel what that means.

Now I’m sure there are grouches and cynics out there who are ready to tear this approach apart in an attempt to prevent it from happening ever again. One could argue that this presentation was too long, a bit contrived, and overflowing with ass-kissing. Perhaps that’s true. Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, JR certainly strengthened those arguments. You can either look at the glass half-full or half-empty. In my eyes, I think it’s really cool to see actors of different generations spreading positive energy to each other. Too many times in this industry, and in this world, we are so quick to criticize and tear people down. It’s the easiest thing in the world to create anguish and a frown. How much more rewarding it is to spread joy, encouragement, and make people smile. We need more of this nowadays, more than ever.

As I sit at my computer this early morning, I feel a bit like Jerry Maguire for being enormously compelled to write something that’s perhaps overly touchy-feely. But like Mr. Maguire, I don’t care. My old college acting teacher used to lead this exercise in which the actors would sit in a circle and we’re required to pay a positive compliment to each and every one of their peers. This exercise was greatly rewarding and made me realize we need to pump more positivity into the hearts of those around us everyday. I was reminded of this revelation watching these Oscar presentations. If you still don’t understand where I’m coming from, go out and pay a generous compliment to at least five people in your life and see how you feel afterwards.