Shift

When I was in my early and mid-20s I LOVED the Oscars.  I would watch as many of the nominated films as possible and throw an Oscars party, handing out ballets so guests could vote.  Obviously you had to watch the red carpet stuff first. 

Interestingly I haven't watched an Oscars broadcast in 6 years.  When I moved to the UK it just wasn't really possible with the time change.  When we moved back I came to the realisation that to stay up watching something from the West Coast that late on a Sunday night would mean I started my weekend off exhausted and spend the whole week off kilter.  Plus, it just didn't seem to make sense to spend that many hours watching something that Husband had no interest in. 

Then I started to realise I had less and less interest in many of the films nominated for an Oscar.  While I've usually seen everything in the animated feature section, I just don't like watching the "deep and meaningful" type of fare that gets nominated for an Oscar.  By the end of a work week I want fun and engaging.  I want uplifting if possible or else a properly cathartic cry that I know is coming from the start. 

Of this year's Best Picture nominees I have seen Les Miserables because I've loved it since I was a kid and Mum would only let me listen to the soundtrack if I skipped the prostitute and inn keeper songs.  I enjoyed the experience but would have prefered the camera spent less time shoved so far up someone's face that they were pretty much just slobbering tears.  We saw Lincoln which was very good but sooooo long that we felt like we needed a nap afterwards. We saw Life of Pi which was also very good and beautiful and differed from the book but not in a jarring kind of way.  We saw Silver Linings Playbook because I love the actors in it.  It differed from the book in an incredibly jarring kind of way and was totally odd and was my one "Well, that movie makes my family look sane" experience for the year.  I can handle one of those a year but I don't need one every weekend. 

I will spend lunch time today flipping through photos of dresses and checking out the results and probably watching any truly special acceptance speeches on youtube but I'm ok with the shift in my life for now.  It's like I prefer watching my television online as well so that I can consume it when it makes the most sense for me.  There isn't much I watch that can be spoilered for me these days anyway.