Word: gandhis
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RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH was a very happy man Monday night. His movie Gandhi, a celebration of the life of the Indian leader for indepedence. Mahatma Gandhi, swept eight major Academy Awards, leaving Steven Spielberg, director of E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial, and Sydney Pollack, the director of Tootsie, a little flat-footed and gaping. They weren't the only ones; plenty of T.V.-watchers were bewildered as well after three hours of watching their favorites bypassed time after time...
...that Gandhi has achieved such a respectable position among Hollywood's elite by winning the Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and the Best Costume Design awards, suddenly there are a lot more Gandhi admirers who are less apt to criticize the film because, after all, it was so important. But at least as many E.T. and Tootsie fans feel they still deserve their day in court. Gandhi's closest rivals, E.T. and Tootsie, received rave reviews and, in E.T.'s case, provided years of children's toys to come. Perhaps these movies are not as self-consciously conscientious...
...House, Hollywood's discerning leaders might believe they already have a reputation for social responsibility. As a symbol for inspiration, not only in its story of triumph, but as the foundation for the non-violent direct action civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., the story of Gandhi was legitimately hailed as the most socially pertinent and meaningful non-documentary motion picture to emerge this year. What better way to pat oneself on the back than liberally to reward one's most socially responsible product? But in recognizing itself as a morally sound group, do the pundits...
...perhaps this is nothing new. For years the Academy has been usurping America's anti-intellectual favorites. A typical Oscar-watcher could break down "predictions" into three categories: the popular favorite (i.e., E.T. and Tootsie), the intellectual favorite (i.e., Gandhi) and, in some cases, the sentimental favorite (i.e., Paul Newman for Best Actor). Only the intellectual strategy produced a batting average worth mentioning. This raises not only the complex question of what the Academy bases its awards on, but the more relevant mystery: who makes up this self-important Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
...maybe they aren't a bunch of self-important psuedo-intellectuals--maybe they simply made a mistake. Perhaps Gandhi worked into the voting the way a third party candidate does; while the psuedo-intellectuals wholly supported their candidate, the popular party was split between E.T. and Tootsie and managed to throw the victor all the spoils...