14 DAY TRIAL // The Grammy Awards 2015 took place last Sunday in Los Angeles, at the Staples Center, so as is now customary, everyone who’s anyone (and their mamas) came out to pose for pictures on the red carpet and enjoy a night out, whilst celebrating accomplishments of their peers from the previous year.
There were explosive performances and more toned down ones, there was outrageous fashion and even more outrageous behavior, both on and off-camera. The night also took a more serious tone halfway in, when the issue of police brutality, racism and domestic violence was brought up.
The Grammys get serious
A decade ago, celebrities attending the Grammys dressed and acted as if they were heading out to a friend’s house to party, but things have changed considerably. Given the media attention around all awards galas now, especially online, producers are taking it up on themselves to actually make a difference.
Sure, they (and celebrities too) could do that by simply donating to various causes they feel closer to, instead of talking about them on TV, but as they say, everything begins with that first step.
So this year’s edition of the Grammys, which aired live on CBS was the venue were these important issues were raised: Beyonce, Pharrell Williams and Prince spoke about police brutality and racism, and Katy Perry and President Barack Obama raised awareness on domestic violence and the need to offer survivors proper support.
Katy’s performance, for one, was deemed one of the night’s highlights more so than Beyonce or Pharrell’s, but I imagine this happened mostly because no one expected her to do it. Bey and Pharrell have done it before, but Katy has always been about cone-shaped bras and candy imagery, and on-stage acrobatics.
“Artists have a unique power to change minds and attitudes. It’s on us, all of us, to create a culture where violence isn’t tolerated.”
Before she performed a very stripped down version of the song “By the Grace of God,” Brooke Axtell, a domestic abuse survivor spoke out to all victims, telling them that no one who really loves another person will ever harm or demean them.
Part of Obama’s message is included in the Vine below. The rest spoke to the celebrities in attendance, telling them of the responsibility they have towards the world to raise awareness on this issue, primarily by acting in an irreproachable manner.
“Right now, nearly one in five women in American has been a victim of rape or attempted rape. And more than one in four women has experienced some form of domestic violence. It’s not ok and it has to stop,” Obama said.
“Artists have a unique power to change minds and attitudes. It’s on us, all of us, to create a culture where violence isn’t tolerated. And all of us, and our won wives, have the power to set an example,” he continued.
An admirable but hypocritical sentiment
All of this was absolutely admirable, because it speaks of the organizers’ desire to influence change, to take that small step towards making viewers at home understand that they can be part of the solution to the problem as well, whether it’s racism or violence.
It also speaks of stars’ desire to actually do something else than see to their own interest, which, in this case, would be to sell more records. It’s like here are all these amazing performers, some of the biggest names in the industry right now, lending their celebrity status to an amazing cause, helping to make our world a better place. I’m not even being sarcastic about it.
And then, there’s Chris Brown sitting in the audience.
Chris Brown, the same guy who threatened to throw then-girlfriend Rihanna out of a speeding car after banging her head against the dashboard because she “dared” to ask him about a text he’d received. The same Chris Brown who tried to make her look like she was the guilty one for provoking him, in following interviews with the press.
The same Chris Brown who not once showed a sign of remorse for beating a woman up, who never admitted publicly to being wrong but always found excuses for his behavior.
The same Chris Brown who is still invited yearly to the Grammys (including at this edition, when he had just one nomination), who still performs at all the awards shows, and whose career didn’t suffer one bit when it emerged that he was what we call a wife beater.
“Producers must think their audience is stupid enough to buy it all, no questions asked”
As admirable an intention The Recording Academy had for this year’s Grammys, at least the part about domestic violence loses all meaning when you have a convicted domestic abuser sitting there in the audience.
Let’s not kid ourselves, this is all for fun
I don’t question Beyonce or Pharrell’s intentions, as neither do I question Katy or Obama’s for wanting to speak out on issues that were close to their heart, for whatever reason.
What I’m saying though is that we shouldn’t kid ourselves: award shows are like politics, the one with the better poker face wins. These galas, whether in film or music or TV, have long stopped to have real meaning or resonance with the wider public, and have transformed into pure entertainment and perfect occasions for self-aggrandizing for those taking part in them.
We consume them like entertainment, so they’re delivered to us just like that - and every year, the packaging is getting glossier and more appealing, tapping into hot topics to which we can better relate.
These people speaking out at the Grammys probably had their heart in it, but the organizers didn’t. To them, it was at best just “good television,” because I am naïve enough to think that no self-respecting event planner would choose these topics to highlight during the gala and then put a known abuser in the first rows.
Either that or they think their audience is stupid enough to buy it all, no questions asked.