THE OSCAR ISSUE / HUFFINGTON / 02.10-17.13
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about this issue
a note from our special issue editor, michael hogan
falling for
oscar, flaws
and all
Y FATHER taught me to despise awards shows. “If I want
to watch the movie, I’ll watch
the movie,” he’d say. “Why
would I want to watch these people congratulate one another?”
And he isn’t some lunkhead. He’s actually someHuffPost
Executive Arts &
thing of an actor himself,
Entertainment Editor
Michael Hogan.
with a long list of credits at
the Right Thing and My Own
the local community theater.
Private Idaho were routinely
I respected his opinion, and
ignored, and I learned to aplater molded it to fit my own punk-kid
preciate the Oscars for what they are: a
resentment. In college, my best friend
celebration of cinematic quality, and a
was always saying things like, “Can you
healthy counterbalance to Hollywood’s
believe Art Carney won a freaking Oscar
box-office obsession.
for Harry and Tonto?” My response was
Sure, that idea of quality can be
always the same: “Who cares? The Osquirky, even eccentric. Because the
cars are bullshit. They never reward any
Academy members are who they are
of the good films.”
— old, white, male, obsessed with the
Only years later did I fall under the OsHolocaust — there are lots of great movcars’ spell. I still found them silly, but I set ies that aren’t Oscar movies, and lots
aside both my childish loyalty to dad and
of Oscar movies that aren’t great movmy adolescent outrage that films like Do
ies. (What do Extremely Loud and In-
WENDY GEORGE
M