Class vs. Crass

Not having had the chance to see the awards show in its entirety, I'm only offering my impressions of what I did see in toto -- i.e. the introduction to the show.

I thought the opening film was funny -- for adults. But everyone know that the Oscars are as close as most of Hollywood gets to family viewing these days, and so it's worth wondering who believes it was appropriate to show Jon Stewart in bed with Halle Berry and then George Clooney. Same with the shot of Billy Crystal and Chris Rock in the tent -- funny for adults, unsuitable for the younger set.

And, of course, my favorite song -- "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" -- won "Best Song."

Makes you nostalgic for the days when Bob Hope and Johnny Carson hosted, and the program was able to be witty without being vulgar. The best example of the higher-order humor of a bygone day? When a streaker flashed across the stage, actor David Niven commented extemperaneously, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings."

That was wit. Perhaps the best way to sum up Hollywood then vs. now? Class vs. crass.