The always-buzzy MTV Movie & TV Awards aired last night.
Funnyman Adam Devine hosted.
Big Sean performed.
The cast of Stranger Things reminded us why we love the cast of Stranger Things.
Overall, it was a pretty innocously good time.
Still, the culture-writ-large stipulates that, as a reactionary online editorial body, we must deliver some piping hot takes—on the winners, the losers and what the show means for the future of progressivism.
So, well, here are those.
Emma Watson, the human, winning Best Actor is a disservice to Emma Watson, the actor.
Emma Watson is a good actress (actor?); Beauty and the Beast is a pretty average Disney remake. In no world does Emma Watson’s performance in Beauty and the Beast merit, on purely artistic grounds, an award for Best Actor. Emma Watson knows this. The fans who voted for her know this (or don’t). Hell, even the eponymous beast from Beauty and the Beast knows this. Yet Emma Watson, as a burgeoning feminist icon, is the right fit, politically, for the first genderless acting award, so MTV (and the MTV-viewing public) gave her the award anyway. Is this not a disservice to Emma Watson, the actress? Is it not just a tad bit embarrassing? We’re all for giving Emma Watson a platform to pontificate on gender equality and feminism—but why must we disguise it as an artistic recognition everyone knows she doesn’t deserve?
The Dumbo in the room is that Emma Watson wins this award on behalf of fucking Disney, who has, in the past century, done more to propagate damaging notions of femininity and traditional gender roles than Sean Hannity could in his entire lifetime.
Speaking of which, that Moonlight “Best Kiss” was actually the worst kiss.
There’s nothing sexy or superlative about the kiss between Chiron and Kevin. It was, in fact, a terribly awkward and tension-filled kiss. And that was the point. We understand the positive message it sends to viewers by awarding them “Best Kiss.” But in doing so, it overlooks the complexity of such an emotionally-charged moment. By coopting the kiss as a universal political statement, the award devalues the specificity of the art that made it so poignant in the first place.
There’s nothing more depressing than having to turn to MTV for sane political discourse.
This is the network that airs (or has aired) Are You the One?, My Super Sweet Sixteen, A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila—which, ok, that was great fun—and Next. Fucking Next. The notion that the people who brought us Jersey Shore are capable of giving out an award for fighting against the system is borderline hysterical. Let this be a wakeup call.
MTV Is totally commoditizing and trivializing progressivism.
See above comments re: Jersey Shore.
We shouldn’t be rewarding art or artists just because they make a positive political statement.
This is not that hot of a take. It’s actually a pretty well-trod take. And yet it bears repeating, because it’s more relevant now than ever. We’re all for more voices getting heard. But we shouldn’t start grading art on how well it fits in with our politics. Nobody wants to live through another Birth of a Nation-esque fiasco...
The editors at UrbanDaddy are probably making too much of this.
Hottest takes last.
Funnyman Adam Devine hosted.
Big Sean performed.
The cast of Stranger Things reminded us why we love the cast of Stranger Things.
Overall, it was a pretty innocously good time.
Still, the culture-writ-large stipulates that, as a reactionary online editorial body, we must deliver some piping hot takes—on the winners, the losers and what the show means for the future of progressivism.
So, well, here are those.
Emma Watson, the human, winning Best Actor is a disservice to Emma Watson, the actor.
Emma Watson is a good actress (actor?); Beauty and the Beast is a pretty average Disney remake. In no world does Emma Watson’s performance in Beauty and the Beast merit, on purely artistic grounds, an award for Best Actor. Emma Watson knows this. The fans who voted for her know this (or don’t). Hell, even the eponymous beast from Beauty and the Beast knows this. Yet Emma Watson, as a burgeoning feminist icon, is the right fit, politically, for the first genderless acting award, so MTV (and the MTV-viewing public) gave her the award anyway. Is this not a disservice to Emma Watson, the actress? Is it not just a tad bit embarrassing? We’re all for giving Emma Watson a platform to pontificate on gender equality and feminism—but why must we disguise it as an artistic recognition everyone knows she doesn’t deserve?
The Dumbo in the room is that Emma Watson wins this award on behalf of fucking Disney, who has, in the past century, done more to propagate damaging notions of femininity and traditional gender roles than Sean Hannity could in his entire lifetime.
Speaking of which, that Moonlight “Best Kiss” was actually the worst kiss.
There’s nothing sexy or superlative about the kiss between Chiron and Kevin. It was, in fact, a terribly awkward and tension-filled kiss. And that was the point. We understand the positive message it sends to viewers by awarding them “Best Kiss.” But in doing so, it overlooks the complexity of such an emotionally-charged moment. By coopting the kiss as a universal political statement, the award devalues the specificity of the art that made it so poignant in the first place.
There’s nothing more depressing than having to turn to MTV for sane political discourse.
This is the network that airs (or has aired) Are You the One?, My Super Sweet Sixteen, A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila—which, ok, that was great fun—and Next. Fucking Next. The notion that the people who brought us Jersey Shore are capable of giving out an award for fighting against the system is borderline hysterical. Let this be a wakeup call.
MTV Is totally commoditizing and trivializing progressivism.
See above comments re: Jersey Shore.
We shouldn’t be rewarding art or artists just because they make a positive political statement.
This is not that hot of a take. It’s actually a pretty well-trod take. And yet it bears repeating, because it’s more relevant now than ever. We’re all for more voices getting heard. But we shouldn’t start grading art on how well it fits in with our politics. Nobody wants to live through another Birth of a Nation-esque fiasco...
The editors at UrbanDaddy are probably making too much of this.
Hottest takes last.
