Monday, January 9, 2017

Why It Was Outrageous, Disgraceful, Unforgivable

Let's try to get this straight, OK?
Last night, at the Beverly Hilton in Hollywood, Meryl Streep was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 
The Award is named for its first recipient, a legendary Hollywood director who delivered epic movie blockbusters from the 1920s through the 1950s. DeMille, who insisted on making films with strong moral underpinnings that the whole family could enjoy (such as The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Show on Earth and Ben Hur) was a pillar of Holywood's golden age. 
Previous recipients of the DeMille award have included entertainment giants such as Walt Disney, Fred Astaire, Bob Hope, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Sidney Portier Barbara Stanwyck, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Danzel Washington. 
Prestigious company, to be sure. 
So, what does Streep do? 
Well, she spends about ten seconds thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 
Then, she proceeds to deliver a six-minute political speech laced with vitriol, during which she attacks the President-Elect of the United States and all those who supported him. She never even utters the name, Cecil B. DeMille; never mentions any of the previous recipients of the award; never thanks anyone who might have helped her get where she is today; never offers appreciation to the motion picture industry; never acknowledges her fans or the general movie-going public or those who produce or release or show her movies and, shockingly, never even mentions any of her family members including her parents, husband or children. 
And we're supposed to praise this woman for this? 
Really? 
Honestly? 
The simple truth is this: What Meryl Streep did is a disgrace. 
It's shameful.
What she did was selfish. She took an esteemed honor and a special moment and used it for her own petulant ends. 
She insulted not only the memory of DeMille and all of those extraordinary talents who were previously recognized in his name but the entire motion picture industry and the movie-going public as well. 
Indeed, Meryl Strep's behavior was so imperious, so presumptuous, so egotistical, so outrageous that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association ought to be called upon to rescind the honor.

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