So last night the Emmys took place, and if you're anything like me, you were curious to see how political the awards would be. I was watching to see if the best comedy in the world, NBC's "The Office," would clean up the show, but the winner of many awards was the extremely biased HBO miniseries Recount, which chronicled the 2000 election and recount hysteria in Florida--from the viewpoint that the Bush campaign stole the election.
Presenter after presenter implored Americans to vote this year, and it was painfully obvious that each presenter wanted to tell Americans whom to vote for, but they were also aware of the backlash that would cause among fans and viewers and they didn't want to hurt Obama's election as they hurt Kerry's bid in 2004. Martin Sheen urged voters to vote "at least once" on Election Day. I was puzzled by that--did I hear correctly or was that a not-so-subtle endorsement of voter fraud? Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert managed to get away with what the presenters could not do explicitly--be political. Colbert's musings on his bag of prunes and how an "old, shriveled prune" was the choice for him this year, even though it would be four more years of the same, produced smirks from the Hollywood elite, but came across as overused, not funny, and too overtly political. Colbert and Stewart were singing to the choir--now, if they has joked about Obama too, they might have come across as equal-opportunity offenders, but of course they would not dare do that. Too bold, too risky.
Overall, despite the explicit attempts to be apolitical, the Emmys (ironically) were staged with heavy political undertones, and the fact that a provocative, politically-biased miniseries reaped the most awards and attention only added to politically-charged atmosphere at the awards show last night. And having each celebrity presenter extol the virtues of voting and urge us commoners to vote does not endear me to their cause or candidate. They just come across sounding preachy, and when you watch an awards show, you want to be entertained--you are trying to escape politics and political lecures. So, in a nutshell, I do not think the tactic of trying to be neutral and encourage Americans to vote for Obama was successful.
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5 comments:
First of all Brandon, I admire how you try to sound like you know what your talking about, but you crossed over your statements. Fisrt you said, "if you're anything like me, you were curious to see how political the awards would be," but at the end you said,"when you watch an awards show, you want to be entertained--you are trying to escape politics and political lecures." So you watched to see how political the awards could be, but at the same time you were trying to be entertained, and not wanting to listen to political lecures? First of all, I think it was ridiculous that you waste your blog time, talking about how actors were spreading their opinion on air. If you don't agree with their opinion, IGNORE IT! Take a break every once in a while, everything isn't always political. I think if you were sincere about politics and you were an actor you would spread you opinion on air! I know I would! But if you say Oh, we can't shouldn't talk about our opinion on something that is on for etertainment, then i suppose we shouldn't thank God for an award because we'd be spreading our opinion because someone would get offended! Then they'd type a 3 paragraph blog about how they were offended because they had a differen't oppinion! You used the term "painfully obvious" that they were telling America who to vote for! Oh, yah i cried because it hurt me so much! America doesn't have to listen! When Martin Sheen said to vote "at least once", SO what? He messed up! Give the guy a break! So next time you watch the Emmys sit back and relax. Pop some popcorn, grab a soda, don't get offended that easily!
Your friend,
Hi Blue Eagle--
First, there is no contradiction in what I said. I (as a political junkie) and others like me knew that the Hollywood crowd would politicize the awards, and I wanted to see how that wound transpire. However, when I said "when you watch an awards show, you want to be entertained" I was refering to the collective "you" of most Americans. Most Americans who are apolitical or cynical about politics or just don't care want to be entertained, but not preached at. So no contradiction.
Second, I don't care what actors say, but I think it hurts their cause. And no, if I were an actor, I would have my opinions, but I wouldn't denigrate the other side by calling their candidates and figures derogatory names or offending millions of my fans. Celebrities can have their opinions, but many are not qualified to give their opinions on economics, much less politics. Most Americans don't mind celebrities having political opinions and even being vocal, but I think many cross the line when they attempt to use their status and leverage to influence the vote or preach to Americans on how they should vote. They end up alienating a large portion of their consumer base in the process and hurt their candidates.
But you are right--no one should take them seriously. I did pop some popcorn during the Emmy's, but I would have been in a better mood had "The Office" won more awards.
Bandon i see the side your looking at but you kept the item of God inconspicuous? What do you think on that issue during an award show?
--anwser back--
Your friend,
Shouldn't a athletic star be able to thank God on t.v. after a great game? Or would that make some one angry because they want to be entertained not "preached to".
-your comments-
Thanking God for winning an award is not the same as espousing a political view. A celebrity can and should thank whomever they want and whomever is an inspiration in their life. Making a cheap political shot iterating support for a political cause has nothing to do with winning the award. When a celebrity thanks God, they are not preaching--it's not as if they are directing Americans to also thank God or to visit their church, etc. Political statements are intended to influence and instruct--Thanking anybody is not meant to persuade the audience--it just informs them of the mindset of the award recipient. I highly doubt anyone is offended when someone thanks God in the public arena.
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