Every year, I see the Oscars as one big experiment for psychological observation. When the awards ceremony comes to a close, I take note on how people respond, and then I look back on the season and learn some new things about how our silly little minds work. The Oscars are an ideal test of the relationship between prediction and hindsight, expectation and satisfaction.
At Monday night's Dartmouth Film Society meeting, it seemed that everyone but me agreed that the previous night's show was rather boring, simply because nothing unpredictable happened. I don't mean to single out my fellow Film Society members as people I disagree with, but because of their common interests and expertise, they make for a good example to prove my point. Rock on, Film Society!
Personally, I think it's unfortunate that people got bored simply because of the outcome. True, this was an unusually predictable year. I managed to predict seven out of eight winners in the top categories and still lost my own Oscar pool! (Last year I got only four out of eight correct and won.) However, consider this: Doesn't the extra predictability simply make the potential upsets that much more exciting?
What if Shohreh Aghdashloo had beaten Rene Zellweger?! What if Bill Murray or Johnny Depp had beaten Sean Penn?! What if Djimon Hounsou or Keisha Castle-Hughes had come from out of the blue and beaten Tim Robbins or Charlize Theron?! It would have been just crazy! And exciting! The potential of upsets such as these is just as much of a draw and just as entertaining as if they actually happened -- without this possibility we wouldn't watch, right?
But instead, as we look back on the show, we say, "Oh, all our predictions fell into place. Therefore, the show was predictable and boring." Consider this: Our pre-award state of expectation (from before the show all the way up until each award is announced) is the same regardless of who ends up winning. The ominous, eerie, thrilling possibility that an upset could happen at any time was there -- whether or not we remember it with our new 20/20 hindsight. So remember it, rather than discard the show altogether.
Additionally, the Oscars are a study in the psychological state with which film fans attempt to enjoy an awards show ... or attempt to not enjoy, as the case may be. The Film Society seemed to unanimously (that is, except for me) agree that Billy Crystal tanked. I can understand if he doesn't mesh well with someone's taste, but this disapproval seemed to go far beyond that.
One specific complaint was that the first award was not presented until 25 minutes into the show. Ooh, 25 minutes! Oh my! This is an awards ceremony! It happens once a year! Are we not allowed to be ceremonious and enjoy ourselves?
If you do not enjoy award ceremonies, don't watch the Oscars. If you do not care what people have to say at the Oscars, don't watch the Oscars. If you don't enjoy watching awards hosts be foolish, don't watch the Oscars. And if you do watch, don't complain! This is what the Oscars are.
I hate football, but do I complain that the Super Bowl is boring because people spend too much time playing football? No. I just don't watch. Except sometimes for the commercials, in which case I bring an Oscar magazine to read during the actual football part. Which brings us back to the Oscars ...
Here's what I recommend: Relax and enjoy the show! Do what I did and go to a friend's place and watch the show with pals, champagne and cake -- rather than sit in a wooden chair with a pole up your butt searching for reasons to bitch and moan that the show isn't over yet.
