What a competitive world. Shows like Keeping
Up With The Joneses – uh, that Kardashian 'show', if you can call it that; Idols, X Factor, America’s Got Talent, outpicturing of Simon Cowell’s massive ego.
Shows that have drawn furious criticism from greats like Elton John who said
Cowell has destroyed the integrity of the music industry and who refused to be a
judge on Idols because he wouldn’t descend to slagging performers. Shows that
have convinced musicians the world over that if you don't win, your life and
your [potential] performing career are over. Elton John said of Cowell’s empire
that it’s “become boring, a***- paralysingly brain crippling.”
Politicians slaughtering each other in
broad daylight at election time for, in too many cases, the coveted positions
of not representing those they’re supposed to represent. The altered universe
of brain washing aka advertising, making it impossible to go anywhere without
some message, if not a gazillion of them, coming at you saying we're better,
we're the best.
People will go to extreme lengths to
compete. Like Angelina Jolie noticeably abandoning sexy outfits and power
dressing [down] conservatively as she campaigns for the Oscars for her movie Unbroken
and does her best to try and convince Hollywood and the Queen of England world
that she’s not a drama queen but a serious filmmaker as in writer, director and
producer and that Unbroken is a work of genius that didn’t deserve to be passed
over for Golden Globe and Screen Actors’ Guild awards. Well, it did get a SAG
nomination for its stunt ensemble and it opened on Christmas Day and grossed
$15.6 million, which is the 3rd highest Christmas Day opening figure - if you
don’t adjust for inflation, which no doubt Unbroken’s producer would rather we
didn’t.
But that’s just good marketing and the big
name Angeline Jolie (who, ironically, has always seduced the world with her
sensuality) and a fantastic trailer. It was brilliantly executed; I watched it
over and over and each time I got goose bumps and my heart felt fit to explode.
I wondered, though, whether they hadn’t
just extracted the only worthy scenes in the whole film and strung them
together cleverly. It seems my suspicions might have been founded. Rotten
Tomatoes already gives the film a measly 51% rating and the general consensus
among those who are unhappy with the film is that it crawls and somehow never
quite comes to life. The famous and mightily well paid Cohen brothers adapted
the script from the [alleged] 300 page monstrosity that was written from the
book by William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese. It just goes to show
something or other. My green-eyed monster jealousy more than anything else,
probably.
I’m straying from my point. Your own
bitchiness will do that to you. My point is that it’s hard to get away from
competitiveness at all levels of life. I mean look at me, wanting to compete
with Angelina Jolie and the Cohen brothers. I’d love to have got my hands on
that script.
Actually, the other side of my coin is that
I think the spirit of it is great, I like it; I love the rough and tumble of engaging
in life, aiming for the stars and doing everything you can to get as far as you
can. Good for Jolie for being smart enough to know what an effect her fashion
statement makes on the world and for holding her head up high despite the awards
snubs and going for gold.
Still, that rough and tumble tends to make
the world one of chaos and din so it’s beautiful when somebody who has every
reason to have an inflated ego just doesn’t. Have one, I mean. But does have a
great sense of humor.
American Presidents love to play golf. If
they’re any good at it, they let everybody know their scores. If they’re not so
good, like Clinton, they claim Presidential Pardons for mulligans and gimmes,
all in good fun of course. But Barack Obama sticks to the rules. He’s a pretty
lousy golfer, which he readily and laughingly admits. Retired basketball great Michael
Jordan, who’s crazy about golf, quipped that he wouldn’t choose Obama for his
ideal foursome because “he’s a hack, man. It’d be all day playing with him.”
Obama was quick to quip back. He’ll do it
with a straight face so you can’t tell if he’s joking or not. Until he breaks
out into that million dollar smile. He isn’t a good golfer; he’s got lousy posture,
for one, but he loves the game, so he plays. With a sense of humor about
himself. IMO there’s a whole lot of dignity in that and I’m sure it makes him fun
to be around. And he is getting better, so that’s something. Another golfer
said of him that the way he plays gives the measure of him as a President. He’s
honest, he keeps his cool through rank adversity, he smiles and he doesn’t give
up. I raise my glass to that.
And to Angelina Jolie, good luck with the Oscars.
She has spirit in spades, that’s for sure, for which she deserves the highest accolades.
