Random Thoughts – Randocity!

What is it about entertainment awards shows that make people want to watch?  Is it the women’s dresses, the celebrities or what?  Whatever it is, I really don’t get awards shows.  Further, I don’t get why news outlets feel compelled to show us these boring affairs.

What’s the point?

First, think about where you work.  Then, ask yourself if you have ever gotten an award simply for doing your job?  Rarely, if ever.  So, why does the entertainment industry feel compelled to pat themselves on the back by giving out awards?  If someone excels at doing a job well, that’s what the company paid you to do.  They didn’t pay you to do a poor job.  So, do you deserve an award for simply doing your job?

Celebrities are paid to act, sing, dance or whatever.  They’re paid to do it well.  In fact, the point to them paying the actor at all is to make sure the movie or music is done well.  Sure, some of the quality is in the hands of the producer, director, writers and other technical behind-the-scenes people.  But, a convincing performance is the basis for much of the quality of the entertainment.  Again, that’s what they are paid to do.

Red Carpet

So, why do people feel compelled to watch celebrities strut down the red carpet in their latest (borrowed, in many cases) designer fare?  Well, I can tell you that I am not one of those people.  I don’t want to hear about them, I don’t want to watch them and I certainly don’t want to read about them in the news.  For me, news is about events that matter.  That someone was handed a trophy for doing a job they were paid to do doesn’t do anything for me.  Watching someone thank every person who ever mattered to them (and possibly stumbling over their words, or on the carpet) doesn’t interest me overall.

Mutual Admiration Society

For whatever reason, Hollywood (and the rest of the entertainment industry) insists on foisting these annual awards programs on us year after year.  I always dread the start of the new TV year just for that reason.  I really don’t care that someone in Hollywood feels compelled to hand out a trophy (gold or otherwise).  I don’t want to watch them do it.  I don’t want to watch the entertainers who dot these extremely boring affairs and I certainly don’t want to be invited to any of these plastic mutual admiration events.

The Academy allegedly prides itself on its standards.  Yet, year after year it digs itself into deeper and deeper holes by picking only those stars who produced the most ‘popular’ films.  I can understand why some celebrities actually snub awards shows and refused to attend or accept any awards.  Then you have the other side where certain celebrities want nothing more than to be graciously accepted with open arms.  In fact, they try so hard that these awards outfits intentionally snub them time after time.  So, it’s less about how well you do and more about who’s butt you kiss.  And here I thought the awards were about how well you did? 

Awards Shows and their societal significance

Considering that the best thing that movies and music do is fuel more movies and music (by unloading large sums of cash to that industry), this entertainment is simply vacuous forgettable time wasters.  In a rare instance, Hollywood might produce a salient worthwhile work, but these are so few and far between that awards shows don’t need to exist.  These rare worthwhile informative works are the ones that awards are made of.  However, these cheesy Hollywood awards are given out so frequently to the wrong people, the awards themselves are meaningless trinkets.

Good Riddance

If the awards shows disappeared today, I wouldn’t even miss them.  It might put a few people in LA out of business who might otherwise organize such an event.  In time, society wouldn’t even miss them.   As it is now, the media feels compelled to shove these trite affairs down our widescreen plasmas.  However, I’d much rather see an actual educational and informative program than watching an hour and a half  of vacuous boring people serving meaningless trinkets to people who simply did their job (or kissed a butt or two).   I’m just confused by people who don’t understand that that’s an hour and a half (or longer) of your life that you will never get back when you watch these empty shows.  So, why watch?