Tonight I am watching anything but the Oscars. Channel surfing, reading blogs on the web and even laundry.
Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoy TV shows, movies, music and art. But why on God’s green earth does every segment of the entertainment industry need an awards show/event?
We – the general public and the 99% PAY these people good money for their work. yeah, we know you’re famous. We made you that way. I do not understand why each artist needs to walk the red carpet getting their picture taken a 1000 times, get interviewed about shit I don’t care about, dress in multi-thousand dollar wardrobes and hideous clothing (if you can call it that) to walk on stage and receive a trophy for simply doing your job that we already paid you to do. All I can think of is get over yourselves. A bunch of elitists with a talent that gets shared across the world. It reminds me of the movement that everyone gets an award. Even the worst player on the worst team.
I know some of them start foundations and the like to help people, but I don’t know of one single person who has benefitted from any one of them.
Hell, I bet more people have benefitted from Tom Golisano in New York and Florida than some movie star. Does one person deserve all of that nonsense? I know a lot of first responders that save lives. Sure, they might get an award (some were skipped in the Rochester area last year) – but any firefighter, police officer or paramedic worth his (or her) salt does not do the job for an award. They do it because it’s a calling they cannot ignore. Same goes for doctors, nurses and the rest of medical personnel. Lest not we forget the military – RED, or Remember Everyone Deployed
There is only one guy I would like to meet that is famous. Mike Rowe. Ya know why? Because he is a champion of the everyday working man. He promotes the jobs that make life possible. That was his tag line in his Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs. He still does that work through his own foundation. We have pushed children into the digital world and they idolize the people on TV and the radio. (And I overheard two guys in the coffee shop discussing how the radio will be obsolete in 5 years) They are being set up to do jobs that don’t exist. Blue collar trades jobs need some serious boosts in numbers. But if a kid is never exposed to it in school, they don’t know if they like it or not. Shop class was a staple in my high school path.
I know I stepped on a soapbox and maybe veered off target a little bit. I have always wondered about these awards things, but not to the philosophical ideations I have now since I was a little kid.
When I first started in broadcast news I was always reading a blog called “The A Block“. One of the topics was not to expect a pat on the back for doing your job. It pretty simple concept actually. Direct and to the point. You get paid to do your job – and it had better be good work. That’s why you were hired in the first place.
If you watched the Oscar’s for the entertainment value I guess I can’t fault anyone for doing what they want. We do live in America. But how about the next time you see someone doing a good deed, or a stranger in the street, say “hello” “nice job” and even perhaps a smile. There are more little guys than famous big shots that make a living taking selfies.
