Opinion: Hot gas at the Oscars
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The Academy Awards and politics have always gone together like pickles and chocolate (think Marlon Brando’s bizarre refusal of his best actor Oscar in 1973 because he was upset about the treatment of American Indians, or Michael Moore’s embarrassing 2003 acceptance speech), but the political undertones of last night’s telecast made me wince more than usual. This time, the political cause du jour happened to be a very important issue -- global warming. But after seeing the glitterati’s attempts at consciousness-raising, I begin to think that the best thing Hollywood could do for the environment would be to shut up about it already.
Climate change took center stage largely because Al Gore’s documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ was nominated for two awards and won both. Gore himself mugged with Leonardo DiCaprio in a semi-amusing take on Gore’s presidential ambitions, with the actor fawning over the former vice president because of his leadership in the global-warming debate. Singer Melissa Etheridge turned up the heat with her acceptance speech, a ramble on the need for self-sacrifice and action to save the planet. Yet urgent entreaties for self-sacrifice, when they come from super-wealthy celebrities who would not feel the impact of a carbon tax even if one were imposed, do not play well in Peoria. And while Etheridge, who is proudly gay, had every right to kiss her wife on the lips and thank her for her support during her speech, it’s not the sort of thing that wins friends and influences people in Middle America. There are plenty of conservatives who are on the fence about global warming, but this kind of thing pushes them right off it and into the arms of Exxon-Mobil.
Gore’s film is great, and probably deserved the Oscar. But when it comes to politics, most movie stars would do better to let the movies talk for them.
Well, unless they happen to be the governor of California...