Wednesday, September 20, 2017

4 Thoughts on the Emmy Awards

1. The Host - I like Stephen Colbert just fine. I don't watch his show because I feel like his whole shtick becomes very repetitive and a little grating. He is very intelligent and well-spoken, though. I just don't think he should host an awards show. There's no draw there (as seen from the ratings). But I will admit that he did a decent job, actually above average. His opening musical number made me smile, he called Broadcast TV "the original OG TV" (lol), and called out Bill Maher (easily the best joke of the night - Anthony Anderson's laugh made it even better). But then, everything was ruined with the extremely controversial appearance of former Press Secretary and legit garbage human being, Sean Spicer. I was as shocked as the audience. At first, I was shocked that Spicer actually had the balls to show up. I mean, he used TO HIDE IN BUSHES because of his cowardice to face the press. But then my shock turned into disgust that he wasn't booed off of the stage. Now I'm shocked that Colbert didn't fight against it. I'm sure it was suggested by CBS (UGH), but Colbert has a lot of clout with the network and could have easily refused. OR he could have outwardly shown disgust at giving this man a platform. It's not funny, he is not someone that we should be celebrating or laughing "with", and the "joke" basically was him admitting that he willfully lied during his tenure as Press Secretary. I don't know how anyone thought that would be ok.

2. The Winners & Losers - Having not seen Big Little Lies or The Handmaid's Tale put me at a bit of a disadvantage for this year's Emmy awards. However, I am very happy with most of the winners. I love Laura Dern so much, and am happy for her resurgence. I really wanted Donald Glover to win all 3 of his nominations (writing, acting & directing), but the Thanksgiving episode of Master of None is sublimely written so I can't complain. Sterling K. Brown is THE BEST on This is Us (I don't even think anyone else should have been nominated except for Ron Cephas Jones). And while I would have loved to see Pamela Adlon sneak a win in, JLD is a goddess on Veep. I don't think SNL should be winning anything. I don't really find any of it funny - and I don't understand why Jimmy Fallon got so much flack for "normalizing" Trump, but SNL is celebrated for it?? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I can't fathom a world in which Elizabeth Moss deserves an Emmy, but I seem to be the only one who thinks she's terrible (it's the reason I've been putting off watching it).

3. The Show - I learned a few things watching this year's Emmys: Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley are still married?! David E. Kelley is involved in Big Little Lies?! Big Little Lies is about domestic abuse?! Yvonne Strahovski is in The Handmaid's Tale?! Alexis Bledel won an Emmy for The Handmaid's Tale?! Black Mirror was submitted as a "Television Movie"....?! Netflix garnered 92 nominations this year?! Alexander Skarsgard is one tall handsome man (I never noticed before)?! People actually like James Corden and Chris Hardwick?! SO MUCH INFORMATION. Anyway, overall, I thought this was a solid show. Most of the speeches were entertaining - obviously the best one was Sterling K. Brown who not only referenced "Dick Whitman", but also "Martin and Gina" (in talking about representing black love). The audience clearly wanted to hear the rest, so it's a bit annoying that he got cut off (and Nicole Kidman didn't...). The announcer was the worst part of the show - he sounded very amateur. Oh and the weird paparazzi carpet on stage - what was up with that?? Oh wait, no, the worst part of the show was the guy who won for directing Big Little Lies referring to the cast of women as "girls", and then the sentiment was repeated by Alexander Skarsgard. The Emmys were clearly dominated by women and female stories this year, but sure enough two white men had to downplay the achievement (it's even more problematic now knowing what Big Little Lies is about). I'm sure that they weren't knowingly belittling their co-stars, but it's just another example of how men don't realize that the language they use matters.

4. The Fashion - She didn't get any press, but Jaimie Alexander was wearing my favorite dress of the night - it was kind of goth, but also really pretty with the gold birds. I also really liked Shailene Woodley's dress because it was simple, but velvet is super trendy right now. Millie Bobbie Brown looked ADORABLE. Also, super legends, Michelle Pfeiffer and Judith Light both looked stunning. I don't think anyone really stood out as the "worst", but I didn't like Debra Messing's dress because it sort of looked like a garbage bag, and I hated Reese Witherspoon's long blazer dress. Elizabeth Moss' dress was pretty, but it looked like she was going to a high school formal.

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