George S. Gallitano: Time to ban the Oscars

To The Daily Sun,

It is hard to believe that that the media sees the slap Will Smith delivered to Chris Rock as a news story as consequential as the economy, the war in Ukraine, or even the climate. This shameful act is but one more reason to examine the relevance of the Oscars.

Americans are suffering after decades of poor policy decisions made by both Republican and Democrat politicians. The economy, which is in shambles, is the number one concern among most Americans. Ordinary, working people struggle to find ways to pay for fuel to get to jobs that do not pay them enough to be able to afford suitable housing. Everything Americans purchase has increased in price. And there is no end to the misery in sight.

The answer of the Hollywood elite and the news media is to act as though the Oscars are actually important to working Americans. Watching rich people parade vainly about in expensive clothes as they attend an exclusive event in which they tell each other how special they are seems to be a wasteful demonstration of just how out of touch the elites are with ordinary Americans.

The Oscars is a self-serving method in which the Hollywood elite receive free advertisement from news media seduced by the glitter of movie stars. The members of the “Academy” are evidently extremely concerned with inclusivity. If Hollywood wanted to be truly inclusive, ordinary movie-going Americans would be members of the Academy, instead of self-styled experts whose selections seem as based on political wokeness as they are on objective analyses.

To be sure, some members of the Hollywood elite do engage in good works. However, the Hollywood “stars” who truly demonstrate altruism seem to do so with quiet dignity, while so many other celebrities engage in “helping” ordinary people in a manner that can best be described as self-serving and insincere.

Ordinary, working Americans are not fooled by the Hollywood elite who tell each other how special they are while dressed in gaudy, grotesque costumes. Working class Americans are not taken in by self-serving celebrities who claim to help ordinary people, but are instead victimizing those they “help” by making sure their “kind” acts are filmed and advertised.

Hedonistic self-glorification, as demonstrated by the Oscars, simply because it appeals to the news media and the “woke community,” have no place in contemporary America. Struggling working class people do not need self-serving, gratuitous celebrities to disrespect them on television while telling viewers how special they are for doing so. Working class Americans are not the viewing simpletons elites and would-be elites think they are. American viewers should avoid tuning into shows that glorify the gluttony and insincerity of the so-called artists who engage in such ridiculous behaviors.

George S. Gallitano

Lakeport