First Lady of U.S. Awards ‘Best Picture’ Oscar to CIA Propaganda

Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, appeared live via satellite at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. What was she doing? Announcing the winner of Best Picture, of course: Argo, Ben Affleck’s light (and fictionalized) account of a CIA-Hollywood joint operation rescuing Americans from post-revolution Iran in 1979. You might be forgiven for thinking you were hallucinating after three and a half hours of Seth MacFarlane, but no: that was Michelle Obama, surrounded by soliders, engaging in some light banter with Jack Nicholson, and celebrating a movie about how lives are saved when America’s film industry and clandestine services work together to pull a fast one on Iran. This was not, let’s say, “a good look” (imagine Lyudmila Putin declaring “best picture” a fictional rendition of an SVR operation in Georgia); and I wish I could say that the first lady’s appearance at the tail end of the bizarre, seemingly interminable awards show was the most tasteless thing about it, but then, MacFarlane was the host, which meant a lot of women jokes, and gay jokes, and Jew jokes. Also, there was an extended tribute to Chicago, an 11 year old movie musical. To be honest, if I’m the president, I don’t know that I’d want to be bragging that this film industry is an arm of my power. Here are the winners: More »