This is a big weekend in Hollywood. The 95th Academy Awards will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Sunday. Avid movie viewers will be watching to see if their favorites can beat the odds and walk home with one of the Academy’s famous gold statuettes. Although most attention will be paid to the best performers and best movie categories, there will be many other awards handed out. Directors, photographers, editors, composers, production and wardrobe designers, hair and makeup stylists, and sound engineers will also cling to the edge of their seats hoping to hear their names called.
In the earlier days of motion pictures, these supporting players were credited prominently on screen before the movie began. The credit cards acknowledged the actors, actresses, and the various technicians responsible for making the entertainment happen. Today the on screen credits acknowledge anybody who got close to the movie’s production from the person who drove the catering truck to the location shooting site, to the accountants who made certain the caterers and their drivers were paid. The modern after movie credit crawls can run as long as some of the filler shorts shown between movies in the average 1940s double feature. Does that mean the average 1940s movie stars had to bring their own lunch to the studios? Or did nobody care enough who made the sandwiches to give them any credit?
Our lives are a lot like making movies. We have the stars of the show; that would be us. Our families and close friends are our co-stars; colleagues, neighbors, and extended families are the featured players. And then there are our acquaintances, helpers, supporters. These would be the technical personnel of the film industry, the costume designers and sound engineers. And then there are people we may not even know but we interact with regularly. These are the others who get credit at the end of the movies, those caterers and their drivers. Currently our lives, Diem’s and Michael’s, are like movie blockbusters – a lot of action, a lot of characters, and a lot going on behind the scenes.
Diem is currently renovated the house she is also living in. She has the support of her partner and her daughter. Those are her co-stars in her true to life docu-drama. Other relatives, her featured cast, have contributed time and talent to her project. Some day the production will wrap and she will stand in the middle of her newly refurbished living room, gather those closest to her, and award them with her gratitude. But what of the parts that weren’t worked on by family and friends. Will she recognize the contributions of the roofers, window installers, electricians, arborists, and the other professionals who quietly handled whatever tasks that were assigned to them?
While Diem is renovating her home, Michael is relocating his. Preparing for a move starts off with a small supporting cast of a few family members who volunteer to pack the more fragile pieces or to wrap those that trigger memories and the real-life versions of flash back montages pleasantly interrupting the work flow. His production may not have as large a cast as Diem’s but the technical support is extensive with packers, movers, truck drivers, all the people involved with the necessary paperwork insuring things like insurance is adequate and in place, utilities are turned on, and mail is forwarded. These people will likely not be invited to the house warming buffet but are they not due credit also?
Now consider your life. Your life might be quiet and controlled, not in the state of upheaval a move or remodel brings. You easily recognize the the stars and the supporting cast of your show. But what of the technical crew? What of the baby sitters, the tutors, the coaches? How about the payroll clerk at work who makes sure you have funds in your checking account or the cashier at the supermarket who pushes a few buttons and funds flow out from that account? Where does the dry cleaner or car washer fit in? Do you give them any credit for keeping your life moving forward? What of the minister, priest, or rabbi. What of the doctors, dentist, and pharmacists? How do you credit someone who keeps you healthy, body and spirit?
Whether you are making movies or making a life, you don’t do it with just those that you see. There are many people who touch our lives if not every day, often enough that every day goes smoothly because of them. We are good at thanking the people who sit around the table with us at dinner for making that dinner possible. We remember to pray for those we love before getting into bed at night. We might remember to send a holiday greeting to those we work with or go or went to school with. Those things cover our starring and feature casts and the technical crew. Now how often do you give credit to the unseen helpers, your versions of the caterers and their drivers?
Yes, it is going to be a big weekend in Hollywood and as usual, most of the attention will be paid to the best performers. But there will be many other awards handed out. When you are accepting your award give credit to your supporting cast and crew - and don’t forget those unseen helpers.
