Today, I Am An Eligible SAG Voter

This year I am determined to be a fully participating person in the creative world. I'm working to get over my laziness, step by continual step, and make things happen. This means pushing away some of the distractions, all the temptations of food, sex, mindless computer time, etc. and overcoming fear enough to do the things that are in line with my goals, even if that particular thing alone doesn't seem like it could be enough to make an impact. I have yet to come up with a concrete New Years resolution, but I do have a number of goals that I am whittling away at, which I hope will lead to changes in my present and future here in the city.

One of the things I am doing this year? Voting for the SAG awards. I've never done this, in spite of having been a member of the union for more years than I care to say. This year? I will participate as best I can, even though it's a somewhat daunting challenge to view all of the 43 nominees (by my admittedly rough count).  I feel confident about getting through most of the films, but the television series? How much do you need to have seen to have a strong understanding? And what if the series has been around for multiple seasons, none of which I have seen? I'm not quite sure how to tackle this challenge, but I plan to.

So far I have seen the films Wonder Woman, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, I Tonya, Ladybird, The Shape Of Water, and TheBig Sick, and the full seasons of Feud: Bette and Joan, The Crown, Master of None, and Stranger Things. But there are more than thirty works to see, and just two weeks in which to view them. I'll probably start with the films, and then prioritize the series by how much I care about the nomination, as I just can't imagine going through all seasons of The Walking Dead simply to vote for the best ensemble stunt work. And of course, accessibility is a major factor as well, which is where the importance of the screeners comes in. And realizing that there are likely many union members who do not take this as seriously as I am attempting to, reminds me what aware what a shot in the dark these awards are and how much a body of work matters, as many voters may not have seen the most current season of a television show, but will readily vote on the past seasons, assuming this to be a relatively accurate indicator of their current viability as a nominee.

Right now I am making my way through Big Little Lies, with plans to watch MudBound this evening, and The Florida Project tomorrow, and I have to admit that so far I have been choosing the viewing order not by how many nominations the piece has, but simply by the size of my interest. Once I've gotten through the next few, who knows what will come next?

Updates to come.