And The Winner Is.......

I must preface my remarks by admitting that I have not brought myself to see any of the films mentioned herein. My comments are therefore about the idea of them plus numerous short clips. The Academy Awards came down to two films. All of youse Avatar freaks get over dere; and you Hurt folks on the other side of the room. Now go ahead and have a food fight to settle the matter. And why not include Tarentino for some added sadism. Wake me up when we return to human beings in human relationships absent the wet dreams of Cameron and the woman-with-male-sensibility. Extolling the risks of soldiering is, by extension, a celebration of war itself. The most courageous act would be to end it. All the rest is a distraction from our policy of occupation, vengeance and arrogance. It is not enough to declare neutrality on the issue. Support for our troops has no meaning beyond bringing them home. If the Roman Empire had our technology they would have made the same movie. This is no occasion to cheer the first woman director to win an Oscar. Better if we had a man with a feminine sensibility. Film contains ideology however covertly. Certain presumptions are presented as givens and we tacitly accept them. When our sensibilities get blunted war becomes a ready option. Avatar not only patronizes the "noble savages" it argues against humanity in favor of a new, advanced uber-human with techno tough skin. From Schwarzenegger on, this is Cameron's fantasy. Too bad we can't be offered fewer grotesqueries with whom to spend our time and money. As if the human predicament is not enough without relying on computer-generated surrogates to depict our joys and sorrows.