Putting the Oscars to bed

My Oscar outrage had very little to do with the list of winners (most of whom seem like nice, genuinely happy people, save perhaps the terse Coen brother) but two things, one at the ceremony and one since, have bothered me to no end.

1. The insulting introduction to the cinematography award. Not only does Cameron Diaz not know how to pronounce "cinematography" (don't overthink it, sweetheart), but she seemed to insult the Academy's first cinematography winner, the beautiful black and white silent film Sunrise, directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau. I couldn't tell if it was Diaz's lines or her delivery, but the intro seemed to suggest that the cinematographer had to work extra hard to compensate for a ridiculous plot in that featured characters named "Man", "Woman" and "Woman from the City". My dear Ms. Diaz, no one insults Sunrise, especially not a model turned wooden comedic 'actress'. (Also, Gary Susman at Entertainment Weekly agrees with me.)

2. I would link to a clip of said offending introduction, but it turns out that the Academy is rather vigilant about copyrights and online video. Fair enough, but why not make these moments available on your own website (no, the backstage "Thank You Cam" doesn't count)? Come on, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences! This was the lowest rated Oscars ever—aren't you at all interested in allowing fan-selected clips to wander all over the internet, giving people a taste of what they missed (e.g., the lovely performance of the song from Once, Marion Cottilard's acceptance speech)? Or you could upload some of the older footage from the vaults so we can watch screen legends deliver gracious, witty acceptance speeches. Viral video can be a force for good—it gets people talking and it raises the profile of your product. TV studios like NBC release official, sanctioned videos on Youtube—why can't you? If the Oscars are at all interested in combatting the criticism that the ceremony is irrevelent, it could do worse than let a few key videos stand on Youtube. Hell, you could call it O-tube. Or not.