Oscar, Don't Be A Grouch

It's finally here and it's actually happening - Oscar time! While hundreds of stressed-out celebrities are busy doing crazy crash diets while they get highlights, Botox, massages, steams, 18 karat gold facials and thousand dollar spray tans in hopes of looking flawless on the red carpet, the rest of the world is licking their chops as they get ready to examine these celebrities under a brutal, unforgiving microscope. The festivities/judgment will start with the entertainment reporters lining Hollywood Boulevard and the ruthless comments will quickly spread to nearly every couch across America as we relish the opportunity to cruelly judge the same people we put on a pedestal.

We love the Oscars for what they are - an excuse to have friends over for food and drinks and watch a nationally televised fancy party. But in recent years, the negative side of the Oscars has all but taken over. The glorification of some celebrities and trash talk about others end up getting more attention than the performances that everyone is there to award (and even Jon Stewart's funniest jokes). On Monday, all of these cruel comments will show up in every single tabloid, website, and blog, and for the next month we'll read about who looked old, who looked fat, whose boobs were too saggy and who dared let them see her sweat under all of that pressure.

But it's not just Oscar weekend - this publicized name-calling happens every day. Every minute of every day, millions of people are on the Internet writing nasty things because they feel like being extra opinionated at the expense of someone's feelings, and we are sick of this. We are of course grateful for free speech, but we are tired of people using that freedom to senselessly cut others down. This only teaches our children to fill themselves with negativity and then make themselves feel better by trying to make someone else feel even worse. And it teaches them that it's perfectly fine to judge someone strictly by the clothes they wear or the size they are.

We know that many people think it's okay to say mean things about celebrities because "they asked for it" by putting themselves in the public eye, but we think this is ridiculous. These people are actors. Sure, some deserve that title more than others, but none of them ever got on their pedestal and said, "I am perfect looking and I promise to be perfect looking for the rest of my life." That would be asking for it. What these people have done instead is work hard (for the most part) to achieve success in the film business and oftentimes work equally hard to live up to the public's expectations. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, which only proves one thing: these people are human. And being human means that they mess up from time to time - they pick the wrong dress or the wrong bra or smear their makeup, and it also means that it hurts them when we say malicious things about them just as much as it would hurt you.

We think that this weekend is the perfect time to try something new - let's all try not to judge these celebrities by how they look. Let's not care if they are too skinny or too fat or too wrinkled or too tired. Let's focus on the positives, instead - like who really deserves that award or whose speech makes you tear up (admit it). And then on Monday, let's try to let this new way of thinking seep into the rest of our lives. Let's not be so quick to say something brutal about someone just because we have a different opinion. Let's remember that no matter how rich or famous someone is, we are all human and we are all sensitive. It's not true that "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me." Words hurt, and we will all benefit if we put a stop to the negativity and start making ourselves feel better by bettering ourselves.

Comments

[zaneblue]

Oh for goodness sake. Maybe I'm reading different tabloid rags than you are, but I never read about how women looked old or fat or haggard when I read about the Oscars. I read about how women made bad clothing and makeup and hairstyle choices. When they talk about sag, they are talking about bad fit. And they do generally give a pass on newcomers or longshots, the criticism is saved for those who can certainly afford stylists for Oscar night. Fashion and style are important and Oscar night is, well, Oscar night for fashion.

[adled]

It is very discouraging that light and gentleness are such rare things on many boards and in walking talking life. I used to tell my young nieces and nephews to not try and cultivate cynicism; too often it will find you without your help! It's like an insecure or fatherless boy rejecting anything feminine to bolster his self-image of masculinity. Hopefuly this ugly chapter in our culture is in its waning years.

[curiousasheck]

Just looking at a Celebrity, TV Talking Head, or Famous Personality anymore sends my stomach into convulsions.

[gennifer6]

In a way I kind of feel bad for celebrities, though only slightly. ;)

They can't do simple things like go out on a date or make a quick trip to the grocery store in ragged clothes because somebody's always watching them and ready to snap a pic. And how exactly do you make friends or date, I mean find people who really do care about you; it must be hard to trust people when so many will take interest in you for the wrong reasons.

And really, all the Oscars are is the award/ceremony night like any other company or profession has; just a lot more glamorous and televised.

[fcsakes]

The Oscars? Oh yeah, that's when millions of folks with their tongues hanging out ogle, whimper, and adore the stars while those ranging from very talented before the camera to very ambitious in bed invest obscene amounts of money trying to look the beautifulest, richest, and best endowed with silicone...

...Reminds me of the Christians being eaten by lions, Roman thumb thing only in reverse.

[ghina]

Thank you!

[Myrrhis]

Ok, I promise not to criticize them on their "too"s if I CAN criticize them on the obscene amounts of money they, and the less business end of the industry, rake in each year.

What is the Oscars if it's not a tribute to excess, in some form?

[ControlledBurn]

"the less business end of the industry"?

You mean that people buy tickets to see the Paramount logo?

[Myrrhis]

K, I don't know what happens to posts . . .

the "less" was part of an early draft . . . I typed over it and yet it managed to be posted. I couldn't decide between "less photogenic" and "business". I am intending, of course, to refer to the cadres of agents, managers, producers, etc. whose faces are unfamiliar, but whose bank accounts are stuffed.