UNITED STATES
Huffington Post
Matthew Ebert
Writer, agrarian, rural proponent, artist, and activist.
I tried to boycott the Oscars, but boycotting the Oscars is like boycotting the rise of Donald J. Trump — it can’t be done. Guilt is not a stand-in for entertainment. So, in 2016, I boycott the Oscars, but they refused to boycott back.
I knew Spotlight would win. There was no suspense. I should have bet money on it. All my cinephile friends bet on The Revenant or Mad Max. But I said no, it’ll be Spotlight. Spotlight is the kind of film the Academy loves in 2016 — the “Pat-Yourself-on-the-Back” Best Picture of the Year.
I boycott the Oscars because I did not want to hear the producer of Spotlight say what I knew he would say: “This film gave a voice to survivors…” I am here to tell you, Spotlight did not give voice to the survivors, unless the survivors are a group of Pulitzer Prize winning journalists.
I am one of those “survivors”. Watching Spotlight, I got the sinking feeling that we were props — scratching track marks, heads bowed, all your shame personified. We were gay, straight, male, female, white, non-white–we were even priests. Never to rise up, never to be anything other than suicidal, shredded, hysterical, clutching a picture of a priest while screaming: “Justice for the VICTIMS!” — we were stereotypes.
“Go get these guys.” One of the victims begged you. We beg you, we assure you — the embodiment of your guilt and horror at doing nothing for so long. “Go get these guys.” We implore you to do our work. We need you to save us. But the truth lies elsewhere — we don’t need you, or your Spotlight on sexual abuse. We don’t need the myth of Pope Francis as a balm for our suffering. There is nothing the church can do now that the secrets of the Vatican are out. That is the truth. Cue Gaga and the crowd of long term survivors — sing ‘Melancholy Baby’ and launch — close-up on Kate Winslet crying in the aisles. This is what we are to you–human Kleenex dispensers.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.