I didn't watch the Golden Globes this year. I rarely do. My mantra has always been that I'm too busy and self involved to pay attention to the fleeting accomplishments of celebrities. Early this morning that changed with what is a unique if not, extinct happening in popular culture. Subtlety.
In our on-demand, post internet culture of banner ads, pop-ups, reality television and the 24 hour news cycle; it is all too easy to be lost in the din of a roiling sea of sights, sounds and boastful pandering. Every headline must be louder, more provocative and sensational to cut through the clutter. Even now I marvel at the obligatory inclusion of keywords to increase the likelihood of this article being found. I am a disciple of new media and apostle of search engine optimization. I live and breathe this stuff and know the many tricks of the trade.
That is why I am so utterly amazed by subtle manner in which Jody Foster talked around a topic which has been a forgone conclusion for the last twenty years. She is gay. The absurd assertion of the news media that Ms. Foster's sexual orientation was unknown until now is a surprise considering she's attended nearly every celebrity function, awards banquet or premier for the last 20 years with another woman. She has raised two boys with a woman. She has never dated nor has she been romantically involved with a man, at least, not publicly. In Ms. Foster's case, a newsworthy revelation would be that she's been secretly married to a man named Chuck or Rick or Bob or some banal equivalent.
Instead, the television audience of the Golden Globes was treated to a subtle nod to her sexual orientation when Jody Foster accepted the Cecil B. Demile lifetime achievement award. There was deeper meaning in the speech than her preference for men or women. That's the part that wasn't subtle, that's the part that the media doesn't cover nor does the public care terribly much about. The point of the speech (and I've read the transcript repeatedly to be sure I wasn't imagining it) was that Jody Foster's orientation isn't a secret to those who know her. She isn't intensely private or secretive. She simply hasn't set twitter ablaze with fierce proclamations of or her sexuality, political leanings or taste in cola. There is no reality show chronicling her exploits and you will probably never read her tell-all-book.
Instead, Ms. Foster has chosen to be subtle; living life as an open book to those who know her well enough to be privy to intimate details of her personal life. The Kardashians could learn a thing or two about humility and grace from a woman whose lived her entire life in the public eye. A woman who is captivating without sensationalism. A woman that leaves something to the imagination. A woman who is subtle.
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