Idle mutterings about the Oscars

This year's 80 Oscar presentation showed how dull Jon Stewart can be without writers. The strike has left him poorer in material. Yet, 18Brumaire in a coffee shop this morning heard a chorus of moiling and roiling by the man on the high street that foreigners have taken over our industry. And the voices broke in accented English which all goes to show how quickly the US absorbs immigrants who then wrap themselves in the American flag. Two Brits, a Spaniard, and a French actor coped the top acting awards, yet the best film, best director, and best producer Oscars went to the American film makers the Coen Brothers and Mark Rudin a well known producer for the realisation on the screen of Cormac McCarthy's 'No country for old men'. The disconnect should offer little surprise since the provinciality of the ordinary guy and gal in America is almost legendary.
Today's mutters had nothing untoward to say against the Irish Daniel Day Lewis nor the British Tilda Swinson but oh the poor Spanish Javier Bardem and the French Marion Coutillard got it in the neck! Give me a break! The members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which are overwhelmingly American voted them top honours. But that meant nothing for these coffee drinkers to turn a voice of dissatisfaction against the foreigner and not at the causes of the country's discontent--the war in Iraq and the subprime scandal and the bad behaviour of Herr Bush & co.