The two-headed statuette
Is it industry recognition? Or is it a TV show? Millions of dollars are riding on the answer….
Several entertainment industry luminaries, including people I normally like and respect, are throwing a hissy-fit because the producers of the Academy Awards telecast are moving the full presentation of a few awards categories out of the TV ceremony. (The winners, as I understand it, will still be acknowledged during the broadcast.)
The argument used by those who are objecting to the change is that those creative fields are every bit as valuable, and every bit as important to the success of a movie, as the stars, director and writers are. That’s true; moviemaking is in every sense a collaborative effort, and in a great movie, all of those elements — from costumes to sound design to cinematography to the actors’ performances of the brilliant dialogue — come together to create magic.
But the argument misses the point. What makeup artists do is valuable — but so is what teachers do, or police officers, or nurses, or researchers, or sewage treatment plant workers. Many professions have some sort of recognition, some sort of awards banquet at which plaques or trophies are presented. And yet, the teacher of the year ceremony isn’t broadcast on ABC television.
