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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2000)
A p ril 5, 2000 Page A 4 (Eljp ^lorUanò ©bseruer Articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of (Elje JJortlanb (f)baeruer ■M aM M M HM M BM M M M Bi ■■■ How Denzel Washnigton was robbed •jJJortlarth (BTbseruer USPS 959-680 Established 1970 STAFF E d it o r P C in h ie f , u b l is h e r Charles H. Washington E d i T o R Larry J. Jackson, Sr. B M u s in e s s anager Gary Ann Taylor C opy E d it o r and Annette Bening and director Sam Mendes for appearances on major talk shows to hype the film. It sent its writer Alan Ball to celebrity dinners and trib u tes to hob knob w ith academy voters. The strategy was to keep the film and its performers in the eye o f as many o f the more than 5,600 Academy o f Motion Picture Arts and Science members that pick the Oscar winners as possible, rhe ploy worked. DreamWorks lavish cash spree tipped the scales in favor o f the film and Spacey for best actor. But there were other heavy feet tip p in g the scales a g a in st Washington. Many film critics nit picked the film to death for its alleged inaccuracies and glorification o f C a rte r’s life. The critics trash Hurricane campaign almost certainly chased some Academy votes away from Washington. The same critics barely uttered a peep about the inaccuracies in the film, Boys Don’t Cry. A glaring omission was there was no mention that the reason that fem ale T eena Brandon becam e transsexual Brandon Teena, on whose story the film is based, was because she was rat>ed. But this didn’t scare voters away from awarding the best actress award to Hillary Swank for portraying Teena. Another heavy foot on the scales against Washington was that o f a group that called itselfThe families o f Rubin "Hurricane” Carter’s victims. Presumably the group is made up o f family members of the three men Carter w as c h a rg e d w ith m u rd e rin g . A lthough the identities o f these Carter haters remain unknown. Their mission was to raise as much hell as The man probably least surprised when pre-Oscar night favorite Denzel Washington did not grab the Oscar for his winning performance as boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in the film Hurricane was Denzel Washington. I ’ m sure he reads the three Hollywood trade papers, the Daily Variety, Weekly Variety, and the Hollywood Reporter. And he knew from even the most cursory reading that his chance to become only the second African- American to win the top acting award in the 72 year history o f the Academy A w ards cerem ony washed away months before the night o f the awards. That was when DreamW orks, a creation o f film director Steven Spielberg and his pals, made a d ecisio n to p o u rclo seto aS l million (known) into an ad, promotional and lobbying campaign to virtually buy an academ y aw ard for its film A m e ric a n B eauty and anyone involved in the making o f the film. Dream Works executives remembered how their film Saving Private Ryan lost the best Dicture award in 1999 to Miramax Studio’s Shakespeare in Love. DreamWorks screamed that Miramax won the award because it dumped money into a last minute ad and promotional blitz for the film. DreamWorks was determined to rip the page from Miramax’s text. Even before a single movie patron had seen A m e ric a n B e a u ty , DreamWorks PR hirelings smoozed and stroked reviewers and critics to get them to gush over the film. It trotted out its top stars Kevin Spacey Joy Ramos possible about the film and Carter. A spokesman for the groupclaimed they were able to lobby more than a thousand academy members to snub the film (i.e. Washington). Whether true or not the fact that such a group existed if nowhere other than on paper probably convinced some academy m em bers in c lin e d to re w a rd Washington with the award tochange their minds. Washington could find few black academy supporters to offset the backlash against H urricane and frontlash for American Beauty and honor his towering performance. They are still mostly invisible in the voting ranks o f academy members. Less than 200 of the academy voters are black. This does much to explain why in the decades that Hollywood has ladled out its top awards a grand total o f six blacks, and that includes Washington for a best supporting actoraward in 1989 and Sidney Poitier for best actor for his role as Homer Smith, the happy-go-lucky traveling laborer in Lilies o f the Field in 1963, have won awards. The machinations by the studios, critics, academv members at this year’s academy awards ceremony gave lie to Hollywood’s claim that the academy awards go purely for merit and performance. The robbing o f Washington o f the top award for Hurricane more than proves that it doesn’t. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author of th e fo rth c o m in g , T he Disappearance o f Black Leadership (Middle Passage Press, Los Angeles, May 2000) Order Information: 323- 298-0266. He is also director o f the National Alliance for Positive Action. email:ehutchi344@aol.com — Ì C om e visit us on the w eb at www.portìandobserver. com _______ __________ > Tri M et hiring bus drivers Start with part-time and progress to a full-time career, $9.98/hour to start, $11.77/hour in 6 months. $ 18.14 in 3 years. Great benefits package after 6 months. Visit the Interstate MAX office at 5101 N. Interstate any Thursday from 2-6 p.m. We’ll answer your questions and help you get your Big Wheel career started. TOEMET How we get there m atters. T n -M ft ii an rtfual opportunity employer anti drug-fret workplace employer. A challenge to the final four C r e a t iv e D ir e c t o r Shawn Strahan 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 e-mail news@portiandobserver.com stteoiption@pordandobserver.ccm P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year D E A D L IN E S FOR ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS: ARTICLES: Monday by 5 p . m . ADS: Friday by noon The Portland O bserver welcomes freelance submissions. M anuscripts and photographs should b ec learly labeled and w ill be returned ifaccompamcdbyaselfaddresscdenvelope A ll created design d isplay ads becom e the sole property o f the new spaper and cannot be used inotherpublicationsorpersonalusagew ithoot the w ritten consent o f the general m anager, unless theclient has purchased the com position o f such ad © 199 6 T H E P O R T L A N D O B SERVER ALL R IG H T S RESERVED. R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E O R IN P A R T W I T H O U T P E R M IS S I O N IS P R O H IB IT E D . T h e Portland O b s e rv e r-O re g o n 's O ldest M ulticultural Publication--is a m em ber o f the National Newspaper Association—Founded in 188$, and The N ational A dvertising Represen tative Am algamated Puhi ishers. In c,N ew Y a rk , N Y , and T h e W est Coast Black Publishers Association« Serving Portland and Vancouver one candidate on another is the dirty work done by surrogates, who can be disowned and/or described as loose cannons that can’t be controlled or silenced - the irreverent Reverend Pat Robertson being the most recent o f many examples of that sordid species. Perhaps the foulest foul is the so- c a lle d “ push p o ll,” w herein a computerized phone call poses a series o f innocuous questions, then slips in a vicious slam at the opposing candidate which is always at least a half-truth and often a flat-out lie. Here again, it’seasy for the other candidate to deny e itn e r K now ledge or endorsement o f the sleazy maneuver. It does, though, hit the mark with devastating effectiveness, so it is rapidly becoming as much a part of our political picture as kissing babies and putting on funny hats. Do I have a solution to this problem? Silly question! (Breathes there a columnist with soul so dead who never to him self has said “here’s EXACTLY what can be done!”?) H ere’s the plan: Messrs. Bradley, Bush, Gore and M cCain should immediately subscribe to this pledge: “I hereby promise to avoid all personal attacks on my opponent’s character and personal life and, regardless o f the source, will repudiate the message and den o u n ce the m e sse n g e r whenever others engage in such tactics. In such cases, I will demand that these tactics be withdrawn and retracted immediately. 1 deny in advance any knowledge o f or support for negative campaigning in any form by me or members o f my support team. My response to personal attacks on me will be limited to setting the record straight. I will devote all o f my time, energy and resources to laying out my plan for America’s future.” Toward that end, 1 have submitted the above text to the “Final Four” and asked them if they would be willing to join the other three in subscribing to it. Take this to the bank: the only thing that politicians fear is an electorate that is both informed AND aroused. Some o f the early surprises in primary voting suggest that both dynamics are alive and well on the American scene. Having challenged the “Quarrelsome Quartet” to cut the crap and get down to business, I now challenge YOU, gentle reader, to similarly chide them. by J ul K límjs COLUMNIST I am bathroom sick o f the slime- slinging that has characterized the Y ear2000 presidential campaign thus far - and there’s a growing body o f evidence that most Americans feel the same. Contrary to the disclaimers o f rock- solid (and rock-headed) partisans in both major parties, there is enough guilt to stain the hands o f all four front-runners, so 1’ m not taking sides. (Alan Keyes has remained relatively clean, out unless ne runs tne political equivalent o f a tw o-m inute mile between here and the finish line, he is no more a contender for nomination than Big Bird.) Arguably, this has been the dirtiest Primary season o f many decades and it’sstarting to look likethe two finalists will be those who flung the dung that hung most visibly on their opponents. Spinning, finger-pointing and tap- dancing being the refined arts that they have become, supporters o f all four finalists in this marathon o f muck describe the negative tactics o f their own guys as “relevant facts,” while treating those o f their opponents as being sins that cry to heaven for vengeance. I f th e p re se n t u n ruly ru les o f engagem ent continue, we o f the unwashed masses will be exposed mostly to biographical profiles o f the winning candidates worthy o f being cover stories in the National Enquirer. Meanwhile, the issues that are o f lasting importance to the nation will either remain in the shadows o f obscurity or be spoon-fed to the public as sound bites and slick slogans. All the candidates have piously and p e rs is te n tly p ro c la im e d th e ir opposition to negative campaigning, while pleading that it is a necessary evil when the “other guy” throws the first punch. W hat they say less frequently is that, reprehensible though they be, negative strategies bring positive results to the polling place - and iflow blows aren’t returned in kind (or unkind), he who turns the other cheek loses his political ass. More’s the pity, but, as Jimmy Durante was fond o f saying, “ D at’s the sitchyayshun dat prevails.” More insidious than direct attacks by f Just thinR: Your son is b rig h t, h e a lth y a n d h e a d e d fo r love the direction your career has taken. You're doing at tot of the things you planned and even a few you didn't. Living life to the fullest is easy when . you have family b eh in d y o u Am erican Family Mutual Insurance. Call and talk to one o f our helpful, friendly agents. Meuli find out w hy we're consistently rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, the insurance rating authority Then, go on. Dream Plan What you do next is up to you and w e ll be here to help you have family behind you. All Your Protection Under One Roof. American Family Mutual Inaurance Company and Its Subsidiaries, Madison, Wl 53783-0001 wwwamfam.com a*'.