lundi, février 26, 2007

If Our Biggest, Glitziest Events become Drab and Dull, What Does that Say about Us?

The Superbowl and the Academy Awards were both boring.

It had to be said.

The high points of the Superbowl were:

The rain
Prince’s performance at the halftime show
And um…

Similarly, the Academy Awards…

No controversial acceptance speech
No one-armed pushups.
No winner running over chair tops or kissing Sophia Loren
No impressive dresses (except for Helen Mirren who, natch, is not American)

Yes, it was great to see Scorcese finally get his Oscar, but it was also anti-climatic. As soon as Lucas, Speilberg and Coppola came out, I knew he won.

And yes, Ellen was great, she struck the proper tone: funny, but dignified.

Anyway, both events make me wonder if we’re all a bit deflated and fatigued. Also consider that American Idol is lusterless and blah. We're not psyched about Survivor like we used to be. Brittney and Anna Nicole somehow just symbolize how down we are.

And yes, the war against Iraq (or as Borat calls it, our "war of terror") would not make for a boring Superbowl game, but I could see it softening our commercials to the point where they stink the reeky, stinky stink of boringness.

And I could see it making a nominee who might wear a swan dress opt for something less fun - something understated and non-controversial.

And what would a winner, with a thought on the war and a bully pulpit of 1 billion people have to say that hasn’t already been said?

Have we reached the point where we are convinced that no one is listening, and so we’re done talking?

Have we, succumbed to a collective ennui or depression?

I think we have.