Best Leading Actress does matter

February 28, 2012

Best Leading Actress does matter

Last night the 85th Academy Awards were presented across the globe on TV screens, computers, and other social media devices. Known as the Oscars, this glamorous award ceremony takes the attention of all news and media once a year. At one time, it was the most watched awards ceremony in the world with nearly 39 million viewers. Needless to say it is a huge platform for American culture, and the entertainment industry.

Winners of the Academy Awards are generally regarded as 'the creme de la creme' in the film industry. Any one who earns an Oscar statuettete also gains a huge amount wealth, prestige and power. The most closely watched categories are the artistic ones: Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Director.

Through the years

The Academy was started in 1927, when American society was a very different place to live for many populations. Since that time, the nation has ended racial segregation, granted women the right to choose, and legalized gay marriage-in several states.

In recent years, The Academy has had difficulty attracting viewers to its program. The world is changing rapidly, and American society is becoming less polarized and more inclusive to different ideals of family, work, and education. Generations to come will not look to the Academy to set any standards of artistic excellence if they do not realign their values to include artists from diverse backgrounds.

A Contest

Beyond the awards show, I know very little about the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Like most of the American public, I tune in for the awards ceremony, and forget the Academy for the rest of the year. Last night, Meryl Streep won her third Academy Award for Best leading Actress. Having been nominated fourteen times, she was long overdue to win her third statue. She is undeniably the strongest woman acting in the American film industry today, and in her younger years, she was also more talented than the younger Hollywood actresses are today- my opinion.

In 2008 Meryl Streep lost the Oscar to Sandra Bullock for a film called The Blindside. Meryl Streep has also lost to Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet,Gwyneth Paltrow and other young-ish White actresses. Would it have been so unbelievable for her to lose to Viola Davis, a twenty year stage veteran and two time Tony winner?

Old Hollywood Glamour

Last night the Academy had a chance to make a dynamic change while staying true to their ideals of classic Hollywood.

Best leading actress does matter, more so than any other category. In any country around the world, the standards of feminine power and beauty matter. The woman who the powers that be hold up as the ideal woman/beauty becomes a national symbol, and reference-whether you agree or not- for women in all roles of their lives.

Just visit the MET and look at the changing depictions of women from the Bible and beyond. Every era has its ideal woman, (Victorian age, Antebellum South) and they shape the character and ideals of a country- whether you agree with them or not. Especially now when America is grappling with the rights of the modern woman, female symbols are more important in our country than ever.

Having inclusive standards of beauty-Asian beauty, Native American beauty, African Beauty, Indian beauty- is a powerful political statement. It goes beyond lifting low self-esteem. It counts in the entertainment industry where Beauty equals power and commercial success.

The Next Era

In order to stay relevant, and necessary this institution known as the Academy, needs to take the good and leave the bad. There is nothing wrong with sticking to the glamour of Old Hollywood. I think that was an exciting time in American history; the fashion (flapper dresses, pearls) the hair (bobs, finger curls/waves) and the lifestyle (Great Gatsby anyone?). It was also a time when our nation was deeply divided by race, and class. How about retaining the glamour of Hollywood, and presenting a new Hollywood where race does not determine the value of an artist's work?

The Academy has obviously become a wealthy American institution that is not going anywhere soon. And that is part of its problem. It is not going anywhere new, and the coming generations will not need it in the future. At the moment, the Academy is untouchable, and presenting very racist ideals has not caught up with them yet. Oh, but their days are numbered.

Young people of all economic backgrounds- that I teach in schools and organizations around New York City- are much more savvy and less tolerant of shady beaurocracy. With the use of the internet, the younger generations know how to get past the exclusive gates and secret membership to find out how these elite non-profit organizations are making their wealth. And if any of their wealth comes from Federal dollars, then I'm sorry they are responsible to the American public. Period.

On one hand, like the Miss America pageant, this Awards show is little more than a contest. However the power, exposure and influence that our country has over ideals of exclusive beauty around the world can not be ignored. With 39 million viewers, this platform is too large for it not to be used wisely. If the Academy does not fix this problem now, in fifty years, there will be no future artists to step into the shoes of those Academy members who cling so stubbornly to a lost past.

Progress. Change. Transform.

Ponya

So what does the organization do anyway? And why do we even need it? Go to www.oscars.org.

Octavia Spencer, Best Supporting Actress, The Help, 2012