All the world’s a stage
I was flipping through channels last night and happened on a speech by actor climatologist Leo DiCaprio. My first thought was that the new Leonardo had turned his Promethean talents to completing the work of Dr. Frankenstein. I mistook Leonardo’s companion for a re-animated corpse, but it was just vice-president climatologist Al Gore. An understandable confusion.
As I mulled over the convergence of science, politics and entertainment, my eyes opened. I finally understood Senator Clinton’s recent remark that
“When I’m president, I’m going to send a message to the world that America is back — we’re not the arrogant power that we’ve been acting like for the last six years.”
I had always assumed that it is the responsibility of the President of the United States to defend and advance the interests of the United States. Since the interests of nations often conflict, the pursuit of America’s interests is bound to stir resentment in other countries. C’est la vie.
But no more. Now I see that politics is the handmaiden of entertainment, and that the proper work of the President of the United States is to seek the applause of other nations.
Posted on February 26th, 2007 by pwyll
Filed under: culture, politics
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Oscar acceptance speeches and non sequitur political polemics go back to the earliest stretches of my memory. I don’t remember all the details, but the problem of connecting-the-dots regarding Marlon Brando’s antics at the Oscars is immortalized in the last verse of one of Neil Young’s poetic classics, Pocahontas, from Neil’s ground-breaking album Rust Never Sleeps (1979). That last verse is:
And maybe Marlon Brando
Will be there by the fire
We’ll sit and talk of Hollywood
And the good things there for hire
And the Astrodome
and the first tepee
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
Pocahontas.
Whatever. For this year’s ceremony, the Academy went down to the clue bank and made a number of withdrawals. I’ll just mention the two that were the most important to me. First, this year’s nominees in the major categories were the most international group ever. And most importantly, the world’s best living director finally has two of those gold statuettes to set on his bookshelf. Congratulations, Martin Scorcese.
Allora.
I seem to remember that one year Brando refused his Oscar because acceptance would be hypocritical in light of the plight of the American Eskimo n/k/a Inuit. I also seem to remember that at my senior year prom the Co-Senior Notables for Class Wit refused their awards on the same grounds. The humor of Hollywood’s ludicrous stands has been entertaining us for years.