The
HUGH DOWNS AWARD
for
COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE
2008
HONOREE: MR. STEVEN SPIELBERG
Indiana Jones, Ph.D., was preparing a lecture on a cultural artifact related, or so he believed, to ancient communication practices among a particular desert tribe he had dubbed “The Communicologists” in southern Arizona. Indiana had chosen that name because of a rich storehouse of knowledge this tribe had created about the arts and sciences of persuasion as they applied to the formation of friendships, intimacies, villages, and families. There was even a collection of texts that described interactions with other tribes from neighboring regions, and one manuscript that detailed the uses of complex mathematics to evaluate various aspects of their lives and cultures.
But the artifact that now fascinated him had recently been obtained from a newly discovered library near the modern city of Tempe. He was at that moment engaged in a thought experiment about how this curious silvery thing—a beautifully rendered tripartite horn of some kind—might have been used by these ancient people when his graduate assistant, fair Tara Incognito, opened his office door and announced a visitor.
“Dr. Jones?” Came a voice familiar to anyone who had ever tuned in to 20/20.
“Hugh Downs?” Indy replied, his smile suddenly broad and welcoming. He rose from his cluttered desk and shook hands with the legendary journalist. “Of all the great scholars at this New American University, what brings you this day to my door?”
“Well,” Hugh began, “there seems to be a rumor of some fabulous artifact unearthed recently from Tempe, some rare inexplicable find, and given my naturally curious nature, I thought I’d come to the source and see for myself.”
“You’ve come to the right man,” Indy replied. He pointed to the object adorning his desk. “And there it is.”
“My, my,” said Hugh. “This is truly a thing of beauty. Whatever is it?”
“I’m not yet certain, but it appears not to be what I originally thought it was.” Indy smiled and winked. “You see the three horn-like vertical pieces are attached to a circular base?”
“Yes,” said the journalist. “I do.”
“At first I thought it was a device for transporting the human voice across distances.”
“But that’s not possible, is it?” Queried Hugh. He approached the desk and regarded the object. An amateur scientist and ardent student of physics, Hugh examined the piece thoroughly. “You can see, there is no way for sound to come out of the object--only into it." He pointed to the circular base. “It’s blocked at the bottom.”
“Correct,” replied Indiana. “So what do you make of it?”
Hugh turned the object over in his hands, felt the smooth surfaces, admired its aesthetic qualities. “It’s clearly a ceremonial object, not a practical device for the production or reproduction of sound.”
“Ah-hah!” replied Indiana. “Exactly what I am thinking. For a people, a tribe, so invested in the arts and sciences of human communication, this beautiful design is intended as a trophy, or an award, or something ritualistically given for great achievements in what they all dedicated their lives to studying.”
“Yes,” Hugh said, putting down the object. “It is no doubt exactly that.” He regarded Indiana with a look of genuine satisfaction. “Now that we know what it is, what will you call it?”
Indy smiled. “I didn’t know until just now, when you walked in. It was a puzzle, but you’ve helped me figure it out.” He lifted the trophy from his desk and said, “I’m going to call it the Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence!”
The scene above is not, of course, a true story. But it does seem a fitting way to announce this year’s winner of our Hugh Downs Award: Mr. Steven Spielberg!
Spielberg is, as I’m sure your readers of this column will know, the creator of the memorable film series dedicated to the adventures of Indiana Jones, college professor, whose remarkable command of languages and cultures, and whose use of interpersonal and organizational skills get him into and out of a lot of trouble while in his pursuit of knowledge. More importantly, Spielberg is a master storyteller. In crafting an award narrative, Hugh said this about him:
This year’s award honors a man who has demonstrated the power of narratives to inform, persuade, and entertain, all the while reminding us of how important it is to be able to respect the past in order to imagine a better future.
In an age defined by new global communication and shaped by our use of new communication technologies, it is only right and fitting to honor an individual who has used film—and the innovations we associate with his films—to change how we think about our worlds, both real and imagined.
And in an age marred by enduring wars, injustice, poverty, cultural and religious prejudices and misunderstandings, it is through Mr. Spielberg’s deeply moving accounts of how ordinary people working together find the collective will and individual strength to overcome fear; that we too learn how to talk anew amongst ourselves about what we can and must do in our own time to end what is wrong and to improve each other’s lives where we can.
It is indeed a privilege to honor a man who himself has honored human communication. For in each of his films, whether it be comedy or drama, history or documentary, the most poignant moments are often ones that feature characters, using nothing more or less powerful than the words they speak or the actions they perform, to reveal all that makes us so human after all: our ability to give and receive friendship, hope, meaning, and love; to show respect for ourselves and for others, and for others’ differences, to share our passion as well as our vulnerabilities; to engage the great scientific and spiritual mysteries of life as well as our place and purpose in the Cosmos and in our communities; and, perhaps most of all, to choose to do the right thing, the noble thing, the true thing, against all odds.
Mr. Spielberg is the acclaimed and award-winning writer, producer, and/or director of over 100 films. From his early filmmaking classics “Duel,” “Jaws,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”; through unforgettable historical dramas such as “Schindler’s List,” “The Color Purple,” and “Saving Private Ryan”; or the engaging “Indiana Jones,” “Jurassic Park,” and “Back to the Future” series; to the more recent political and historical depictions of “Munich,” “Flags of our Fathers,” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” no other American filmmaker has produced such a range of work at so high a quality for so long a time. And clearly he is still in mid-journey, as two of his forthcoming films “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Lincoln” will no doubt attest.
For these many excellent reasons, and for the communication work of this excellent man, we are proud to award the 2008 Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence to Steven Spielberg.
Please join me in celebrating the second annual Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence and its honoree, Mr. Steven Spielberg. Hurrah!!!
2008 Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence Proclamation
ASU's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences news release
2007 Inaugural Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence presented to Larry King
