March 24, 2003

Michael Moore at the Oscars

Michael Moore at the Oscars

You know, I was just as surprised as anyone else that Michael Moore's speech about fictitious-ification or whatever at the Oscars was received with less than total enthusiasm. I'm sure many, maybe even most of those present were in agreement with the sentiments.

As many describe it, Moore was "booed off the stage." Now I've been booed off stages before, and believe me: he wasn't booed off the stage. He got the kind of reaction you get when you tell a joke that contains a heavy-handed pun-- some laugh, some groan, some get mad, some may throw a bottle or something, as though to say "I wasted ten bucks on this idiot?" Being "booed off the stage" means the hostility of the audience is so intense and monolithic that they drown out the public address system or seem poised to swell outside their corral, requiring you to take cover or risk making the ultimate sacrifice. The swells didn't swell, though they may have squirmed a bit. A roomful of squirming movie stars in evening dress isn't a pretty sight, to be sure, but it hardly constitutes a threatening presence.

Moore committed a breach of decorum. The audience gagged and went "oh really, Michael." The stage manager cued the music and waved on the next act, like he would have done anyway. He didn't even cut the mic.

The whole thing has an air of "fictition" about it. Steve Martin's follow-up joke was funny and flowed beautifully, as though it had all been planned out. Maybe it was.

Posted by Dr. Frank at March 24, 2003 07:59 PM | TrackBack