Image is everything part II

Remember a few years ago when Sprite came up with their rather brilliant ad campaign, "Image is Nothing. Obey your thirst." and marketed it with the hottest, most famous, most popular athletes around? If image was nothing, why then did they need, for instance, Grant Hill before his current role of playing 3 games a year, then getting injured?
Because in advertising, image is not nothing...image makes a difference. People want to associate with certain ideas, certain looks, certain trends. Go check the sales figures for Sprite. All I know is it used to be hard to find and now it is everywhere. Sprite's advertisers hit on a hot gimmick and led Sprite to where it means something.
In my previous rant I went off on the irrelevance of the Oscars. Now, if you think I think they think they are more important in people's thinking, then think again...what I really think is irrelevant is how relevant some critics find themselves and how much influence they think movies have.
I have spoken before of Crash and how impactful it has the potential to be, despite a couple of...well, risque and unneeded scenes. With that said, I am not sure it will ever replace Ghandi or Martin Luther King Jr. as a spokespiece for equality. Will it change society? I will argue no. Not so of egomaniacal talking head Jack Mathews. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/397276p-336749c.html
Jack Mathews, as you all doubtless know, is a movie critic for the New York Daily News. One reason I have never heard of him, I am sure, is my backlash against the thought that seems to pervade the U.S. that if it is in New York or from New York it is therefore loved and important. My feelings on the matter? Well, I hate the New York Yankess and New York Mets so much for precisely this attitude that I refuse to watch their games.
That aside, let's see what Jack has to say about why he is upset Crash defeated Brokeback Mountain for the Oscar. Both can be considered brave, cutting edge movies that deal with uncomfortable topics. I guess about the only topper to that would have been a movie about a partial birth abortion. I doubt we will see that one any time soon...and I, for one, am thankful. I want to laugh and be entertained at movies, and none of these three subjects has that potential for me. But enough asides...on with the piece.
"Brokeback," with more than $70 million in ticket sales, has already performed better than anyone imagined in the red states, but it might have even been seen by a few rednecks if it came bearing gold. From the e-mail I've had from homophobes, I know "Brokeback" isn't going to separate many people from their prejudices, but it would have had a better chance with the Oscar."
Wow. How many cheap shots, low blows, and childish name-calling bits can we get out of one paragraph? (note: these tactics are easy for me to recognize because I use them all the time. The difference? I am not a "respected" (and you will be happy to know I was laughing when I typed that) journalist in a major metropolitan newspaper. Hence, I am not bounded by the same ethical standards. At least, I shouldn't be)
"Red states" has a definite negative connotation for anyone who is politically aware. It is meant as an insult. It follows the commonly held belief among many anti-Bush people that "red" state (and note the connection with years of "red-baiting" and red-hating) people are just a little dumber than their wiser, more urbane neighbors who saw through the Bush propaganda and voted intelligently. If you don't believe those connotations are there then you have not been paying attention.)
Redneck: unless you are listening to Jeff Foxworthy, has this ever meant anything less insulting that calling someone a "greaser" or a "nigger"? No, it is meant to be talking about toothless backwoods people committing incest and having retarded babies...and I was very deliberate in choosing every word in this paragraph. When used in these context, it is an attack on the intelligence and actions of every such person.
See also "homophobe": a phobia is an unreasoning fear. See me and needles. That is a true phobia, a paranoia. Yet for Jack, anyone who does not accept the loudly publicized, modern, "enlightened" way of thinking, they are a "homophobe", it is not possible they are intelligent, reasoning people who have a foundational belief system that causes them to believe the actions of homosexuals are wrong in the eyes of God, for instance. It is quite possible to say homosexuality is wrong yet be friends with a homosexual. With my intersecting circles of friends I have personally seen several instances of this. No doubt some of the people who wrote him do have an ungodly hatred for the homosexual community, and knowing this country as I do, doubtless some of them expressed sentiments so foul that they themselves have hit rock bottom. The name still attaches to many more people than it actually is accurate for.
How do I know? Because anyone who does not agree with the ideals of Brokeback Mountain is someone loaded with "prejudices"...and not willing to be "separated from" same. Interesting. I wonder if Jack considers his viewsd prejudices and is willing to be separated from them? Because in truth, that is exactly what his thoughts are.
I will say one thing...someone who believes one way who would be swayed by A FICTIONAL MOVIE but not until it won an Oscar...they are so feebleminded that allowing a subjective award determined in secret by people they have no clue who are kind of ought to disqualify them from participating in elections. It is the same movie today as it was two days ago...and if having a little statue changes our mind about the importance of a message...let me just say I hope that is not true of any of the people I associate with. I trust all of you are smarter and have more integrity than that.
I think of all the name calling and shortsightedness demonstrated, perhaps the funniest line I read was this one: "It's the movie that will be best remembered from 2005, and the one that could have done the most with a Best Picture Oscar."
I am not even going to ask what the movie would do with an Oscar. Not even going to go there.