On not watching the Oscars

There's a certain cachet to not watching the Super Bowl, right? It just makes you look incredibly cool, that your life is so full of hip and meaningful pastimes and commitments that a bunch of guys in padded suits ramming into each other for money is just too, too banal for you to care about.

I don't think that's why I don't like watching it, though. Because I feel the same sense of, "Oh, good, I won't have to wait to get seated at a restaurant tonight!" about the Academy Awards as I do about the Super Bowl.

Most years, I've not even seen one of the nominated films. It happens that this year, I have. Like the hopeless geek I am, I saw "The Social Network" the weekend it opened. Of course I did. But that's it. I haven't even heard of most of the others, and the only one I want to see, "The King's Speech," has been playing at a theater within walking distance of my house since December, and I still haven't seen it yet.

But I'm not sure I'd want to watch the Academy Awards even if I'd seen all the films, and even if I cared who won. I didn't watch the Golden Globes, either, and I'm a big fan of "Glee," right?

I just don't seem to like to watch big television events. I like to follow them on Twitter, but not watch them myself. I don't know if this is a sign that I've become hopelessly meta and completely out of touch with real life, or that at least you can Tweet from the dog park instead of being chained to a TV set.

And yes, I do believe this post marks the return of my long-abandoned "Sunday bloviation" series!

Photo: Me holding an Academy Award, just to show that there was a time when I wasn't remotely as disinterested in the Oscars as I am now. That's Rob Epstein with me, and the award was for the 1989 best documentary, for his film "Common Threads," about the AIDS quilt.

Comments

[Vicky]

I'll watch them. Not because I've seen the films, as I haven't, but because I'm a sucker for dress-up events, despite the fact that my favorite outfit in the world is Levis, tennies and a gray V-neck T-shirt.

I've asked to be cremated in them when I die, because that's how I roll. But I still like all the "pretty" big award shows offer.

[Evelyn (aka: UptonGirl)]

I don't like "big tv events" either - unless there is a real-life event to go with it - I'd go to an Oscar party, but prefer to look up my favorite parts (Superbowl Ads and Oscar highlights) online after the fact.

I need to see Social Network - and hope you have had the chance to see The King's Speech. I didn't adore it like many of my friends - but it was well done and worth the time.