Those of you that were able to tear yourselves away from CNN to watch the Oscars saw quite a show.
The producers promised that the 75th Academy Awards would be a much more toned down event.
Yes, there was no traditional red carpet ceremony before the show, and the stars dressed a bit more conservatively.
But, history was made, and the usual boring acceptance speeches proved to be anything but.
I sat in anticipation of every acceptance speech, hoping to hear someone at least point out what was going on outside of Hollywood.
The early awards were given with not even a mention of war.
Occasionally someone would wish for peace, but no one had the guts to say what was really on their minds.
Barbra Streisand had a speech prepared but opted out of using it.
What’s the point of being famous if you can’t use it to your advantage to force your opinions on other people?
That’s what Michael Moore’s anti-gun documentary Bowling for Columbine did.
That’s exactly what he continued to do as he won the award for best documentary.
He received a standing ovation and brought each of his fellow nominees on stage with him.
Then he began his speech “…we live in fictitious times.
We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president.
We live in a time where we have a man who’s sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it’s the fiction of duct tape or the fiction of orange alerts.
We have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you.”
Finally, someone had the courage to speak his mind. As he spoke, people either continued to stand and cheer, boo, or sit in shock.
Once the boos started, the music began and the microphone was lowered cueing Moore to leave the stage, but he took advantage of the full 45 seconds, and even added a statement saying Bush should know that his time is up when “the Pope and the Dixie Chicks” are against him.
The media lashed out against him saying it wasn’t the place to make such a statement.
They of all people should know that regardless of whether they agree with him or not, he had every right to say what he did.
This opened the door for most of the following speeches of the night.
The show’s producers even made their opinions known by allowing some stars more time than others.
Adrian Brody, who won for his role in The Pianist, got the orchestra to stop and allow him extra seconds when he gave a heartfelt speech about ending the war quickly and wishing a friend in Kuwait a safe return home.
It was a moving speech, and got a unified reaction from the audience. But regardless of what the winners have to say, they should at least be allowed the same amount to time to say it.
Marea Kasten can be reached at mareak@hotmail.com.
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