Forget the red carpet

Rejoice, dear viewers, for it is time again for our annual, national celebration of the apotheosis of American Filmmaking.

No, I'm not talking about the sad celebrity orgy of the Oscars; I'm talking about the bourgeois bacchanal of the Super Bowl Spots!

More people will watch these commercials than will see any of the Academy Award contenders this year. More money is spent per second in the production and distribution (CBS is charging $5.2 million a minute to show these spots) of these commercials than in any feature film. If cultural value in our society can be measured by dollars, and cultural relevance by audience members, then it's hard to overstate the significance of the Super Bowl ads.

Want an indicator of just how important these "shows" have become? They now have their own marketing campaigns. Let that settle in. Ad agencies are creating ad campaigns to promote advertisements. Previously, the measure of an ad's success was the extent to which it was remembered and talked about after the game. Now, spots are "leaked" to YouTube ahead of the event, and a special section of the site has been reserved for a post-game contest.

This year, in deference to the outsized importance of the Super Bowl Spots, I will provide in this blog a filmic analysis of all the commercials.

Stay tuned.