Academy Awards burnout: one man's media overload

The Academy Awards. I can't take it anymore. I realize that I am at fault for checking my Google Reader for film blog posts about the changes in the Oscar ceremony, the cheat sheets for those who haven't seen the nominated films, the survival statistics of Oscar winners, the Vanity Fair after party, the acceptance speeches drowned out by the orchestra, the battles for the underdog nominations, the battle for the Best Actress Oscar, the red carpet lineup, Oscar winner leakage, the possible Slumdog Millionaire sweep, and the Marlon Brando-style possible return-from-box-office-poison triumph of Mickey Rourke. Will host Hugh Jackman be able to persuade the audience to forget Australia? In the past, I used to co-write an Oscar prediction article with Dr. K, but this year I'm burned out on the whole glutinous mass of news coverage, previews, studio promotions, commentaries, commentaries on commentaries, and all of it swirling about in a sheer constellation of hype. No more! I may go live in a cave until Monday. I may hide in a soundproofed room and listen to whale sound tapes. I may regret it later, but whatever happens, I will try to get far far away from the Oscars.

Comments

bd said…
It sounds like you took one too many sips from the firehose, FDr.

The full-hype(r) coverage is indulgent even for an industry known for glorifying unbridled narcissistic excess. It is understandable that you'd get burned out.

If you do happen to hazard a glimpse at the Medusa, perhaps through the mirror of Tivo or ET, I'm sure your reflections will be fun and interesting.
T.S. said…
Oh, sir, I don't blame you. I've set myself up for emotional failure by deciding to write on it before the ceremony and doing some after-show discussions. Oy.

But JUS is so right: indulgence of the first-order. I'll agree also that your thoughts will be interesting once you emerge from the cave.
Unknown said…
I know where you're coming from. I have like 6 more movies to watch before the ceremony to adequately make my "predictions". And I feel like we are (my husband and I) the only people in the world who did not care for Slumdog Millionaire.

I say take a break, step away from the set and enjoy the "real world"! ;-)
Anonymous said…
By goodness, I know the feeling. it's not only the talk of the blogosphere, but Australian cinemas are currently being inundated with all the contenders. For once, it would be good to go to a cinema and not feel guilty about watching a popcorn action flick in place of a Oscar nominated film. Let's just get the ceremony over and done with I say....
sophomorecritic said…
I actually had no idea you were a man. You seem to be writing from such a feminist perspective. Am I the only one to notice this?

Get Smart was about the stupidity of men, you thought The Happening was good because it showed man as appropriately helpless, I can cite more examples.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, i just found that curious
Jason Bellamy said…
Wait, what is feminist about the perspective that man (as in mankind, I presume) is helpless in "The Happening"?
JUS, T.S., Yonica, and Anders,

Thanks for your understanding. My soundproofed chamber is all stocked with food, wine, and whale tapes.

sophomorecritic,

I may appear to be sort of feminist (and what's wrong with being feminist?) because I like to write about the crisis of masculinity in movies. Where can one find the self-assured men exemplified in Howard Hawks films nowadays? Also, I was raised on Pauline Kael, so some of her influence may also show.
Richard Bellamy said…
Actually, it has always been clear to me that FilmDr is a man - even though his insightful, well-written articles might take a feminist stance. The big tip-off for me was in the sentence just down from the image from The Wild Bunch: "He has been writing about movies since 1997."
Thanks, Hokahey. I can, however, understand sophomorecritic's confusion. I too have been uncertain about the gender of the occasional blogger. Perhaps I should write more macho posts on films like A Fistful of Dollars. At any rate, I have been enjoying your blog Little Worlds.
PIPER said…
Okay, I know you're sick of it but I think you should do a post about the diseases people who kiss the Oscar statue get. Think of all the hands that touch that thing and then someone places their lips on it.

Filthy.

This year the Oscars were a turning point for me. I learned two things. 1) I will never sit down and watch the Oscars alone with my wife again. It's boring.

2) I will stop taking them so seriously and just enjoy the spectacle.
Thanks for the tips, Piper. I did end up watching some of the Oscar ceremony, and the show was decent, if predictable. I mostly liked watching Ben Stiller lampoon Joaquin Phoenix. Now we can get on with our lives.