“And the Oscar goes to….*drumroll*…Halle Berry,” says the announcer while awarding the famous actress for her shamelessly degrading role in Monster’s Ball. Despite the prestige surrounded by such recognition, those who had the great displeasure of witnessing Berry’s performance in that horrendous film, know how undeserving she was of the award. For all you beloved Berry fans out there, don’t worry. She’s far from the only thespian who has some undeserved hardware in their trophy case, but she’s certainly among the top five regarding who is least deserving.
Now that brings us to the million dollar question. Why? What would actually make people bestow such a prestigious award onto someone whose performance didn’t warrant it? The answer is beyond clear. It’s the same thinking that now has the New England Patriots playing in their third straight Super Bowl against the team they started their dynasty against, the Los Angeles Rams (St. Louis
back in 2001). This is who the powers that be want to be on that platform. This is the storyline they want. In this case, “they” and “powers that be” refer to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and all of his flunkies to include best friend and Patriots owner Robert Kraft (conflict of interest, much?)
Let’s revisit the details in both of the above mentioned cases. In the case of Halle Berry, she is awarded an Oscar for portraying the whore of a racist correctional officer who hailed racial slurs at her now deceased husband as he was executed. The scene which drives the most disgust is one in where she is blatantly used as a sex object by the officer (Billy Bob Thornton) and consistently hollers out, “Make me feel good.” For those who have seen the film, you know this is drastically different from a traditional love-making scene between two people who express genuine feeling toward one another. This was nothing more than a consensual smut fest reminiscent of the tragic slavery period in which Massa made regular trips to the women’s quarters.
During Sunday’s conference championship games, the New Orleans Saints were robbed of a chance to win the game by the refs holding onto the flag on a blatant pass interference call. Making this CORRECT call with 1:45 remaining would have resulted in a first down and the Saints’ chance to run the clock down, kick a last second field goal, and punch their ticket to Atlanta. Not making the
call brought up a 4 th and 10 with 1:45 left, a field goal try and enough time for the Rams to tie the game and win it in overtime. Sadly and unjustly, scenario number two played out, and the Rams were unfairly awarded the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Now for Belecheat and his crew. The Kansas City Chiefs made what would have been their third interception (and game clenching) interception of the game with 54 seconds left and a 28-24 lead. Sadly, but not surprisingly, a penalty flag was thrown for a neutral zone infraction, negating the interception and allowing Brady and the Patriots to score a touchdown and win in overtime. We
can debate all day long whether or not Dee Ford was in the neutral zone. However, what is not up for debate is that you never make that call in that type of game. You let the players determine the outcome. Furthermore, if the roles were reversed, there is no way in hell that call would be made against the Patriots. I would bet three paychecks on it and make quite the come up, guaranteed.
So, what do these scenarios have in common? Simple. The outcomes were fixed in order to further an agenda of the gatekeepers. In the first scenario, Berry was awarded the Oscar for being willing to portray a black woman in a role that Hollywood pundits would love to see her in. It’s no coincidence that the original choice for the role (Angela Bassett) read the script and turned it down in the name of dignity. It’s also no coincidence that her being vocal about being robbed of an Oscar in 1993 for her iconic portrayal of Tina Turner garnered her being offered the role in the first place. It was essentially Hollywood saying we know you deserved an Oscar for that piece of work, but we’ll bargain with you by giving you one for trash work instead. No sale.
In the case of the NFL, we’ve already talked about how Goodell and Kraft are best buddies. The bigger meat and potatoes of these outcomes would be the storylines attached to this Super Bowl matchup. With Los Angeles vs. New England, let’s outline what you’ve got. Longest tenured head coach vs. Youngest head coach of all time, Rams vs. Patriots rematch from 3 February 2002 (17
years ago to the DAY!), a chance for the Patriots dynasty to finally fall against the same team it started against, a chance for back to back NFC opponents to get revenge on the Patriots for previous Super Bowl defeats (Eagles avenging a 2005 Super Bowl loss), a football version of Lakers vs. Boston, a chance for Brady and Belecheat to swindle their way to their sixth ring…need I go on? The
alternative matchups (Saints-Patriots, Rams-Chiefs, or Saints-Chiefs) just didn’t quite give the allure the Hollywood Football league, oh I mean National Football League needs in order to drive its narrative. The closest one of Brady vs. Brees (The two oldest starting
QBs in the league) didn’t give the same flare as the other storylines.
Ultimately, the same way Hollywood gives preference (and rewards) to how they want to see specific people portrayed, and what way they want to see them portrayed, the NFL i.e. Hollywood Football League operates under that same model. If there’s a better story, or just one that they want to have told, they’re going to find a way to make it happen. One way or another. It’s not until we as the masses decide we will not give our time, money, and ratings to witness work for which the outcomes have already been determined.
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