CAMIE versus Oscar

In a world full of war, violence, and crimes of lust and vengeance we can escape for a couple of hours to the celluloid cell of a movie theater where the creative geniuses of Hollywood can sooth our weary souls with their latest inspiring productions—NOT!

Unfortunately, much of the tripe that escapes from tinsel town is only a reflection of the worst that society has to offer. People want to believe in something—anything—other than the doom, destruction, and death that pervade the silver screen. The Academy Awards—the much-touted event where movie moguls pat themselves on the back—reinforce the mistaken view that what’s good for Hollywood’s culture, driven by nihilism, is good for the general public. Movies and people knighted with the golden idol of Oscar are forever heralded as the demigods of film with the title “Academy Award® Winner” preceding their name.

Many years ago we stopped using the Oscar-winners as a standard of quality filmmaking and wished for a way to uncover the few gems of uplifting and family-oriented movies among the plethora of sordid pictures. Others must have felt the same way, because the CAMIE awards were created, and it appears to be the antithesis of the Academy Awards. These awards are also held in Hollywood, but they specifically recognize uplifting films of character and morality. In fact, the bronze statuette of a young woman that is given to award winners is called CAMIE, which stands for Character And Morality In Entertainment.

The third annual CAMIE awards was held on Jan. 29 at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel (next door to the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards will be hosted), where 66 CAMIES went to the studios, writers, directors, producers, and leading actors of six films. The goal of the CAMIE awards is to recognize uplifting and inspiring films so that more will be produced.

To be eligible for a CAMIE, a film must be presented “with sensitivity and without gratuitous violence, offensive use of the names of deity, salacious nudity, sexual intimacy, ‘simulated-sex,’ or implications that sex outside of marriage is acceptable.”

Even though research by Texas A&M professor Arthur De Vany substantiates the claim that the typical PG movie generates three times the revenue of a typical R-rated film; producers, executives and stars continue to churn out more edgy, counterculture R-rated films than any other classification. De Vany’s research also shows that R-rated films are less than half as likely as PG releases to reach $25 million in domestic box office revenue, and that R-rated films are dominated by G, PG, and PG-13 movies in all three measurements of costs, revenue, and profits.

More people are willing to plunk down their hard-earned dollars on less salacious films—so why would Hollywood continue to use a faulty decision model to produce R-rated films that are proven to be a financial risk?

One reason, according to De Vany, is that commerce has taken a backseat to “art” as Hollywood stars, producers, and executives strive to be recognized at such ceremonies as the Academy Awards. “Either the choice to overload a portfolio with R-rated movies is conscious and there is a sacrifice of profit for a prestige found only in R-rated movies, or the star’s willingness to appear in a movie induces the studio to have a false perception of the odds,” De Vany says.

If you are tired of worrying about what “surprises” you or your children might be exposed to at the theater or while watching a DVD, then you might want to visit the CAMIE awards, inc. website, www.moviepicks.org. They feature movies with “uplifting stories that provide positive role models for building character, overcoming adversity, correcting unwise choices, strengthening families, living moral lives, and solving life’s problems with good decisions.” The site helps families find wholesome movies playing in theaters, coming on TV, or new on DVD that meet their high standards.

To us, that’s what makes good entertainment—movies that lift one up, not down. When Hollywood’s minions congregate to gawk at their idols during the Academy Awards ceremony, we will not be watching. Instead, we will be checking out the latest CAMIE award winners and hope that you will support more wholesome entertainment to slowdown the onslaught of sludge coming out of Hollywood.

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)