The Grammy Awards were on last night. I know this only for two reasons: 1. There were a ton of commercials for it, and 2. +Kristin Ciszeski had turned it on for about five minutes before we went to sleep.
I didn't care. Still don't care, actually. Yeah, I know. Sounds very pessimistic. But on my ride into work this morning, hearing about which artist won what award, I realized that, although I may like certain artists or actors, I have absolutely no vested interest in their acquisition of certain statuettes.
Sure, there was a time when I watched these award shows. I think my mom used to watch The Academy Awards, and when you're young enough, you'll watch anything on television because, hey...television. This was especially true in the 1980s. As I got older and became an avid movie fan, I would root for my favorite actor or film to win, if they were even nominated in the first place. (Why the hell wasn't Back to the Future up for Best Film? Sure it was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, but it lost to Witness. Witness?! Damn you Amish people!)
For me, though, it was worse with the Grammys and the Emmys. With the amount of television and music I watched/listened to, I felt like I shared a connection. Our bond together could win them awards! Wait, what?
Yeah, so it was about that time that I stopped getting mad when my favorites didn't win awards and, really, stopped caring. I saw the awards shows for what they were. Emmys? Check out our new show premiering in a few weeks! Grammys? Check out our new album dropping in March! Oscars? You already saw our movies, we're awesome, deal with it.
But surely there are other nonpretentious award shows, right? That was the feeling back in the 1970s and 1980s when the People's Choice Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards came around. Edgy and out-of-the-box they were! And they weren't chosen by the Zimbabwean High Counsel Press Association. But over time, they fell into the stale old rut the other awards shows were crawling around in. Now, maybe, you can get a pretty good performance from a musician you may like, but those moments are few and far between.
So, gripe gripe gripe. You get it. I'm not impressed. But I'm not a monster either. It must be thrilling to be awarded for something you've worked your ass off on and in which you have a lot of pride. I just feel like it should be covered like in the olden days. The original Academy Awards took place at a luncheon and the winners were announced months earlier. It was like the winners got a promotion and got taken out for a celebratory meal later that fiscal quarter.
I have to say the worst thing is the awards parties people hold. If you hold an awards party and have fun, good for you. I bet you look at the pretty dresses and suits, have a bunch of food a drinks, and play games about who wins and loses. It must be like the Super Bowl. Well, like the end of the Super Bowl when the winners thank people, for hours.
It's actually a shame that some of the other awards ceremonies get boned in this popularity contest. I don't see ads on ABC announcing the 111th Annual Nobel Prize ceremony, with nominees who have actually done something other than act and share a nice conversation with a gaffer over at craft services. Or maybe we can see the 96th Annual Pulitzers this spring on FOX. But we won't. In fact, have you heard about the ceremony for the Pulitzers? They're given out, over lunch, about a month after the winners have been announced.
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