I'd Like to Thank... the Teamsters?
Culture 9:00 AM
by Jessica Osman of Drawnlines Politics.
I absolutely love movies and every winter while many are enjoying sports playoffs and championships, I revel in award shows. The glitz and glamour is so easy to get wrapped up in and it’s usually a lot of fun to watch. Yes, there are problems going on all around us and Hollywood is superficial, but it’s entertainment and if we take it as that, I think we’ll be alright.
It’s widely known that Hollywood is very liberal and audiences were slapped with a reminder of this during this past weekend’s Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. The Screen Actors Guild is a union and it is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. What I find pretty funny is that most of the people being honored and attending the award show are probably very far removed from the union and the benefits that it might provide those new or still struggling in the business. Keeping this in mind, I almost choked on my dinner when I heard the President of SAG, Ken Howard, “give a shout out to the teamsters and the AFL-CIO” and the audience break out into applause. The award immediately following Mr. Howard’s speech was won by Alec Baldwin. During his acceptance speech he also thanked the Teamsters. As I started to fume, John Hamm made a joke presenting the next award saying that “according to the Teamsters, the Actor goes to…”
The SAG awards reminded me that so many in Hollywood believe that because they have a microphone and an audience, that they should voice their opinions and that they’re right. This is not so. (I have a couch and a camera, but it doesn’t mean I’m Oprah and should start a talk show). I, like many people I’m sure, do not watch award shows to listen to how great the unions are or what Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn or Michael Moore think about the President. I saw Bruce Springsteen in concert while the Health Care Reform Bill was originally being debated and he stopped singing at one point to talk about it. I did not pay to hear his political views, I paid to watch and listen to him perform. Even if I did agree with him, I would have still been annoyed by this.
I understand that having a celebrity or big name behind a political movement or cause, like a product, is great exposure, but there are appropriate places. If stars want to share their opinions and feelings on talk shows, their personal web pages and at rallies, so be it. I do not think that award shows and concerts are the place for that. If there is something that a celebrity is really passionate (and educated) about then there are plenty of outlets for them to use. There is no need to use bait and switch tactics to get people to listen to them (i.e. you think you’re just watching someone accept an award and before you know it you’re left wondering if you accidently changed the channel to CNN). We are in an age where people are obsessed with celebrities and, sadly, will buy anything (tangible or otherwise) that they attach their name to so getting a TV spot to talk about what they want is not hard.
Let’s remember that just because a celebrity says something it does not make them right or that they even know what they’re talking about. Hollywood is entertainment and a chance for people to break from reality for a few hours and just relax. Sit back, watch the show and laugh.
Crossposted on Broward GOP Insider
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I absolutely love movies and every winter while many are enjoying sports playoffs and championships, I revel in award shows. The glitz and glamour is so easy to get wrapped up in and it’s usually a lot of fun to watch. Yes, there are problems going on all around us and Hollywood is superficial, but it’s entertainment and if we take it as that, I think we’ll be alright.
It’s widely known that Hollywood is very liberal and audiences were slapped with a reminder of this during this past weekend’s Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. The Screen Actors Guild is a union and it is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. What I find pretty funny is that most of the people being honored and attending the award show are probably very far removed from the union and the benefits that it might provide those new or still struggling in the business. Keeping this in mind, I almost choked on my dinner when I heard the President of SAG, Ken Howard, “give a shout out to the teamsters and the AFL-CIO” and the audience break out into applause. The award immediately following Mr. Howard’s speech was won by Alec Baldwin. During his acceptance speech he also thanked the Teamsters. As I started to fume, John Hamm made a joke presenting the next award saying that “according to the Teamsters, the Actor goes to…”
The SAG awards reminded me that so many in Hollywood believe that because they have a microphone and an audience, that they should voice their opinions and that they’re right. This is not so. (I have a couch and a camera, but it doesn’t mean I’m Oprah and should start a talk show). I, like many people I’m sure, do not watch award shows to listen to how great the unions are or what Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn or Michael Moore think about the President. I saw Bruce Springsteen in concert while the Health Care Reform Bill was originally being debated and he stopped singing at one point to talk about it. I did not pay to hear his political views, I paid to watch and listen to him perform. Even if I did agree with him, I would have still been annoyed by this.
I understand that having a celebrity or big name behind a political movement or cause, like a product, is great exposure, but there are appropriate places. If stars want to share their opinions and feelings on talk shows, their personal web pages and at rallies, so be it. I do not think that award shows and concerts are the place for that. If there is something that a celebrity is really passionate (and educated) about then there are plenty of outlets for them to use. There is no need to use bait and switch tactics to get people to listen to them (i.e. you think you’re just watching someone accept an award and before you know it you’re left wondering if you accidently changed the channel to CNN). We are in an age where people are obsessed with celebrities and, sadly, will buy anything (tangible or otherwise) that they attach their name to so getting a TV spot to talk about what they want is not hard.
Let’s remember that just because a celebrity says something it does not make them right or that they even know what they’re talking about. Hollywood is entertainment and a chance for people to break from reality for a few hours and just relax. Sit back, watch the show and laugh.
Crossposted on Broward GOP Insider
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Check us out on FACEBOOK
Posted by Nick Stone
on 9:00 AM.
Filed under
Posts
it wasnt about expressing his opinion on politics. Along with SAG, the teamsters and IATSE unions are the other two primary union presiding over all film and tv crews.