The Academy Awards don’t matter much to those of us
existing outside of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Most of us
normal folk watch the Oscars to see what the celebrities are wearing
and to see who makes this year’s water cooler speech. For people in the
industry, however, an Oscar is the most prestigious award an actor,
director, cinematographer, etc. can win because the winners are picked
by the most talented artists in the business.

    As I watched bits and pieces of Sunday’s show, I
became even more convinced that celebrities have become the mouthpieces
for social problems. The best way to shore up support for a cause or
bring attention to an injustice is to befriend celebrities and if it is
financially possible, make a film. It seems that Hollywood is making
advocates of us all and that is not necessarily a bad thing. In today’s
world, a speech from Bono provides more inspiration than a speech from
our president.

    Recently, global warming has received a big boost of
support from the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” in which Al Gore
demonstrates, with the aid of a multimedia presentation, the effects of
global warming. Al Gore appeared on stage Sunday night with Leonardo
DiCaprio and thanked DiCaprio for promoting a green lifestyle. The film
won the Oscar for best documentary feature.

    I must admit that I did not see all of “An
Inconvenient Truth,” but to be fair I didn’t see any of the film’s
nominated this year. I did see the much talked about polar bear
animation as well as the disconcerting clip that shows cities
disappearing under water as glaciers melt all over the world. Where did
I see these clips, you ask? On the Oprah Winfrey Show, of course. Maybe
I should rephrase what I wrote above and say the best way to advocate a
cause is to go on Oprah. I believe DiCaprio also appeared on the
program that day to show some of the innovations in environmentally
friendly homes.

    I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Gore has
been more effective in spreading the message about global warming from
movie screens than he would have been in the oval office. The public
seems more willing to believe and trust Gore in the professorial role
he takes on in this film.

    Film is the only influential medium, as the music
world has also come together to bring attention to various causes.
Musicians from all genres, for example, have come together with that
ubiquitous site, MySpace.com, to organize a series of concerts to
benefit the Darfur region of Sudan. From the site, surfers can see the
concert schedule, learn about the Darfur conflict, and buy a t-shirt to
benefit Oxfam.

    In 2005, the Live 8 concerts brought arguably more
attention to the G8 than any other previous effort. The intent of the
concerts were to send a message to leaders that they need to do more
about ending poverty around the world. I was certainly among the
estimated three billion people that watched the Live 8 concerts.

    Advocating through entertainment venues is more
effective today because the public is sadly more trusting of some
celebrities and musicians than members of government. Maybe it takes
musicians and actors who are in one country one night and in another
the next night, to remind us all that the world is getting smaller. I
hope the entertainment world continues to step up and come up with
innovative ways for the public to learn more about what is going on
around them.