Magic of the Movies #Oscars2017
There’s something so magical about the movies. I’ve always felt they put a pause on time as they allowed me to escape into another world.
As I watched the Oscars tonight, I’m reminded of the emotional experiences that actors have to endure to commit to a role so that we are truly immersed in the content of the movie – the story they are trying to tell.
This year’s Oscars hit a variety of political and emotional notes for me. I quite enjoyed celebrities taking the opportunity to share their opinions on America’s and the world’s current social and political situations. So often, we criticize them for not using their platform to raise awareness of issues – that often we (the common folk) think they might be immune to/unaffected by. But they are affected. They too, are immigrants or non-immigrants that require the assistance and inspiration from immigrant talent and stories.
Watching the faces of the actors in the audience as their friends, colleagues and mentors took the stage – the honest appreciation and respect for each other made glamorous Hollywood seem like a close-knit community. Yes, I might be wearing rosy Oscar glasses, but the night gave me all the feels and it felt good.
Movies teach us about cultures we haven’t yet had the time to explore, about buried stories that would have stayed un-exhumed and lost forever. They teach us about winning, about losing, about love, about hate, about ourselves. They open our minds to difference, which can teach us about tolerance, about the negative effects of hate, about the importance of understanding that we’re never alone, because someone somewhere in the world also feels the same way.
The speeches reveal the hardships some of these producers, actors, technicians, etc. endured. How they were different for wanting to dream from a young age, for wanting to over-dramatize every situation, for wanting to sing and dance in the rain, for wanting to be different. And it doesn’t get more human than a mistaken award. All hail La La Land and Moonlight. You get an award, you get an award, everyone gets an award.
And then you also see the confident swag – sometimes encompassing grace – which with the actors approach the camera and the stage, knowing that what they are doing is art. That their art touches and changes people’s lives. That they have the privilege to create magic.
#Oscars2017 also had the awesome fan experience of allowing ten or so tourists into the auditorium to meet and greet the front row full of A-listers. Had I been on that bus, I would’ve probably wept seeing Jennifer Aniston and fainted if given her sunglasses. OMG! What a moment. I’ve watched the entire series more times than you can count, in addition to the behind-the-scenes making of a few episodes. Yes, I’m a die-hard F.R.I.E.N.D.S. fan. But it proved the feels the movies and the characters give us and the attachments we build to them.
First written by me on madderandshade/wordpress on February 27, 2017: https://madderandshade.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/magic-of-the-movies/
Reposted on this final madder and shade site in 2018