Earning What You Deserve
Have you ever had a report card or outcome that you felt was unjust? Back in the day, I remember hearing kids in the hall complaining about grades on their midterms or report cards: "Mr. Sprinkle gave me a D! I hate him!". Poor Mr. Sprinkle, why did want to go and do that to that kid? Mr. Sprinkle was my 6th grade reading teacher at Bourbon County Middle School in Paris, KY. His wife, Mrs. Sprinkle was my 1st grade teacher at Center Hill Elementary School in the same small town with famous French name. I remember something Bill Sprinkle said to us one day after we took a test on Where The Red Fern Grows. He told us that no teacher at any level gives you a grade. You will only receive the grade you deserve for you earn what you deserve. Of course too many disgruntled students in institutions of learning, elementary, middle, high or higher, disagree but think about it: you receive what you deserve for you earn what you deserve. Take it out of the context of school for a second.
If you are supposed to perform in a play or at a recital and you want a standing ovation, you have to put in the effort BEFORE the performance so that you perform in a way that earns that type of ovation. If you make $10/hr and you work 35 hours/week but want to have more money, you have to work more hours to earn more money. Far too often, especially in this wonderfully amalgamated melting pot called the USA, we walk around with a sense of entitlement. I see it a lot in my line of work. I see big names expect to be treated a certain way because of who they are. Now, one could say, they earned that treatment because of the time they have either put in or sacrificed to become who they are. Yes, you would be correct. However, if I became a big name star like a Denzel or Meryl Streep, Jay-Z or Beyonce, and wanted preferential treatment, wouldn't it behoove me to not lose sight of the hard work and attention to craft that reaped my A list benefits?
It is nearing awards season and I have seen a good number of the films nominated for Golden Globes and after this post I will be going to watch Zero Dark Thirty. For the first time in a long time, I am actually pleased with the nominations. There are a few of course that I may not completely agree with but we all have opinions and I'm not voting so what does it matter, right? Wrong. Hollywood, and I say this with care because I am an actor-oh what the hell, if speaking my honest opinion gets me black listed then the issue is further exposed! Hollywood and award shows have relegated themselves to awarding names and hopes rather than effort, skill and craft. How many times do I have to hear, "Denzel only won for Training Day because they snubbed him for Malcolm X and The Hurricane"? As much as I loved his work in Flight, something tells me he will be nominated for an Oscar like he is nominated for a Golden Globe and will lose to Daniel Day Lewis who also has my respect as a skilled, talented and crafty actor. I'll be happy for either person should their names be called on award night because they both deserve to win. Whoever wins the award, earned it.
How disgusted I get when I see people become famous for being famous. Thank you reality TV! It may seem contradictory for me to say these people are only getting attention for being themselves when I've been saying in past posts, "be yourself, you are good enough", but remember this: I'm an actor. I have devoted over half of my life (17 years) to honing my craft and developing my skills. When I see 20 somethings who sleep around and act like idiots on television so that networks can celebrate higher ratings, I feel slapped in the face. I don't deserve to feel that way. I have literally put blood, sweat and tears into what I do and continue to do so. Yet, TV and some movies, have given the average Joe something he does not deserve and has not earned. There are kids who work their asses off in the classroom and never earn any recognition on the news broadcasts at night or in the news publications. We only care about average and negative things that happen in this country. If a kid makes it out of high school and earns a full academic scholarship to a top university, has he or she not earned some public attention? I certainly think they've earned it more than some punk who robs an old lady on the street or a drunk driver who killed innocent people. A full ride to Stanford definitely deserves more attention than Snooky or Kim Kardashian getting pregnant.
America, we have to do a better job at rewarding ourselves top to bottom. Awards should be given to those who have earned them by doing great things, things that are extraordinary. Our obsession with average and negative will leave us wondering why other countries have caught up and surpassed us. Here's a hint, we earn what we deserve.
To close on a positive note:
It's nice to see fellow Kentuckian Jennifer Lawrence nominated for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. She hasn't had a lengthy career but her nominations for Winter's Bone and Silver Linings Playbook have been earned and are well deserved. My God, Kentucky makes some Beautiful people.
I think that the French film The Intouchables deserves more than just a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. I feel it deserves to be nominated for Best Actor (Francois Cluzet) and Supporting Actor (Omar Sy) but overall, well done Hollywood Foreign Press. You got it mostly right this year.
If you are supposed to perform in a play or at a recital and you want a standing ovation, you have to put in the effort BEFORE the performance so that you perform in a way that earns that type of ovation. If you make $10/hr and you work 35 hours/week but want to have more money, you have to work more hours to earn more money. Far too often, especially in this wonderfully amalgamated melting pot called the USA, we walk around with a sense of entitlement. I see it a lot in my line of work. I see big names expect to be treated a certain way because of who they are. Now, one could say, they earned that treatment because of the time they have either put in or sacrificed to become who they are. Yes, you would be correct. However, if I became a big name star like a Denzel or Meryl Streep, Jay-Z or Beyonce, and wanted preferential treatment, wouldn't it behoove me to not lose sight of the hard work and attention to craft that reaped my A list benefits?
It is nearing awards season and I have seen a good number of the films nominated for Golden Globes and after this post I will be going to watch Zero Dark Thirty. For the first time in a long time, I am actually pleased with the nominations. There are a few of course that I may not completely agree with but we all have opinions and I'm not voting so what does it matter, right? Wrong. Hollywood, and I say this with care because I am an actor-oh what the hell, if speaking my honest opinion gets me black listed then the issue is further exposed! Hollywood and award shows have relegated themselves to awarding names and hopes rather than effort, skill and craft. How many times do I have to hear, "Denzel only won for Training Day because they snubbed him for Malcolm X and The Hurricane"? As much as I loved his work in Flight, something tells me he will be nominated for an Oscar like he is nominated for a Golden Globe and will lose to Daniel Day Lewis who also has my respect as a skilled, talented and crafty actor. I'll be happy for either person should their names be called on award night because they both deserve to win. Whoever wins the award, earned it.
How disgusted I get when I see people become famous for being famous. Thank you reality TV! It may seem contradictory for me to say these people are only getting attention for being themselves when I've been saying in past posts, "be yourself, you are good enough", but remember this: I'm an actor. I have devoted over half of my life (17 years) to honing my craft and developing my skills. When I see 20 somethings who sleep around and act like idiots on television so that networks can celebrate higher ratings, I feel slapped in the face. I don't deserve to feel that way. I have literally put blood, sweat and tears into what I do and continue to do so. Yet, TV and some movies, have given the average Joe something he does not deserve and has not earned. There are kids who work their asses off in the classroom and never earn any recognition on the news broadcasts at night or in the news publications. We only care about average and negative things that happen in this country. If a kid makes it out of high school and earns a full academic scholarship to a top university, has he or she not earned some public attention? I certainly think they've earned it more than some punk who robs an old lady on the street or a drunk driver who killed innocent people. A full ride to Stanford definitely deserves more attention than Snooky or Kim Kardashian getting pregnant.
America, we have to do a better job at rewarding ourselves top to bottom. Awards should be given to those who have earned them by doing great things, things that are extraordinary. Our obsession with average and negative will leave us wondering why other countries have caught up and surpassed us. Here's a hint, we earn what we deserve.
To close on a positive note:
It's nice to see fellow Kentuckian Jennifer Lawrence nominated for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. She hasn't had a lengthy career but her nominations for Winter's Bone and Silver Linings Playbook have been earned and are well deserved. My God, Kentucky makes some Beautiful people.
I think that the French film The Intouchables deserves more than just a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. I feel it deserves to be nominated for Best Actor (Francois Cluzet) and Supporting Actor (Omar Sy) but overall, well done Hollywood Foreign Press. You got it mostly right this year.
Comments
Post a Comment