Ben Franklin said, “…nothing is certain but death and taxes.” He might have added “change” to that list. Things change all the while and often not for the better. However, there comes a time to recognize when something has outlived its usefulness or there is different way to do it that will be an improvement over the way it has always been done in the past. I have a few suggestions.
Blackface is a classic example of something that was mainstream, in the norm and considered perfectly acceptable until it wasn’t. I don’t think there is any serious defense of or debate about blackface any more. It’s unacceptable. That doesn’t mean that films that employed blackface, like Al Jolson’s famous The Jazz Singer, should be banned or burned it just means that blackface shouldn’t be done anymore. The values and mores of society have changed so people should accept, for example, that blackface isn’t going to be considered good, clean fun even in the context of something like a Halloween costume.
On a lighter note, it’s time to get rid of the Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is humiliating. It reminds me of the co-ed touch football games I participated in when I was attending college. They were fun games but not really “football” and neither is the Pro Bowl.
I get it; professional football is a rough sport often with career ending injuries. Why would a premier player risk his livelihood and career on a meaningless game? The answer is, they wouldn’t and they don’t. The Pro Bowl is an embarrassment and the NFL should quit playing it. Instead, the NFL should name players to the Pro Bowl for the honor and potential contractual bonuses but just not play the game. The networks could still air the drills of skill, passing competitions and the like but spare us the phantom tackles and the theatrical dives to the turf by ball carriers when a defender is only within shouting distance.
Back when I was a kid, the Miss America Pageant with host Bert Parks was appointment television. Everyone tuned it in to root for the young woman from their State who was in the competition. There was such a feeling of pride when your gal won and such envy and conspiracy theories when whoever was Miss California or Florida won over and over again year after year. Seeing that young woman crowned and crying, waving to the crowd while Bert sang, “There she is Miss America…” was truly moving. Decades have passed, time has moved on and beauty pageants should now be a thing of the past.
There was always a talent contest and an interview segment to go along with the cattle call portions of the program (the ball gown and swimsuit competitions) but let’s face it, looks carried the day; I realize that more emphasis has been placed on talent and community service in recent years but it is time to quit displaying women like delicious cuts of meat. Beauty is found in kindness, generosity, empathy, caring, humor and lots of other intangible qualities that don’t translate into looking smoking hot in a bikini. It’s time to show beauty pageants to the door and onto the dustbins of history.
Various awards shows have forgotten that they are awards “shows” and not a soapbox for the presenter or recipient or old home week for the winner. All of these entertainment awards shows have become long, tedious and unwatchable.
Whoever is the emcee, they are powerless to move the show along. Once they do their bit and exit the stage we are all at the mercy of the windbag at the microphone. While the orchestra can swell the music and cut off long speeches, producers of awards shows are often loathe doing so. As a result, the viewer at home gets the story of how the performer’s grandmother believed in them and how their second cousin twice removed drove them to Hollywood and how they stayed in a run down apartment house with drug dealers and whores in their lean years before their big break. Then we are treated to a bunch of thank yous off of a list including from the gaffer to the best boy, the director and the other cast members etc. etc. NO, enough already!
The Oscars will air on March 27, 2022 and three funny women will emcee, Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. The Oscar ceremony should consist of their comedic quips and insights, clips from the movies and performances nominated, presentations of the Oscar nominated songs and so forth. The winners should be announced, called to the stage, given their trophy and acknowledged with applause before being escorted backstage without ever saying anything on camera. Backstage they can give whatever speech they want for as long as they want to the assembled media and then the Motion Picture Association of America can put those speeches online so that those interested can hear everything in its entirety without burdening the live audience with the winners awful acceptance offal. In the meantime, the “show” part of the awards show moves along in a timely and entertaining way. All the various awards shows should do that, it would be great for ratings while the stars could say whatever they wanted, uncensored, for as long as they wanted in that speech later posted online. It’s a win-win.
I’m sure there are other examples of things that need to go or undergo fundamental change but knowing when it quit never does go out of style.