By Ryan Broderick
Yo, I get that he’s from Australia and that Australia is a totally gay place, but Hugh Jackman at the Oscars this year was gay. And like, I totally get that he’s “straight” (yeah, same with George Clooney), but honestly, the 81st Oscars were mad gay. And there’s nothing bad about that, but like, at the same time, the dude’s Wolverine. Wolverine doesn’t sing and dance, that’s what Cyclops is for (’cause that dude sucks).
And I have to maintain, having a crazy gay Oscars is absolutely fantastic. In fact, from a ratings stand point, it’s probably a smart idea. If the Oscars ceremony were more of a kitschy, campy, ironic thing maybe more people would give a s**t, or at least the people who care would make sure to watch. But aside from blatant sexual ambiguity focused through elaborate, cringe worthy song and dance, Jackman’s performance this year illustrated something else.
Hugh Jackman’s act was a perfect metaphor for the Motion Picture Association of America’s opinion of movies today. Out of date. That and to go and “camp” it up just to draw in a more fabulous type of crowd is just condescending. Ratings are dropping, and while they did better than last year, it doesn’t mean the Oscars are saved. It means that people wanted to see what Heath Ledger would get. Next year, if Daniel Day-Lewis dies, they’ll be set for another year. If not, well, I doubt anyone will give a s**t.
The difference in ratings from last year is only 4.6 million, which, compared with Oscar night traffic for sites like Oscars.com or imdb.com, doesn’t mean that much. Instead, what it does mean is that a great actor died, the Oscar picks were more mainstream of choices, and that the Oscar community doesn’t get that America clearly doesn’t give a shit about all the kitschy crap crammed between awards. They want to know who wins what and move on. So Sunday night, while Hollywood sang and danced and patted itself on the back, the rest of America refreshed a page, changed their Twitters and forgot that the Oscars are “important.”