MANILA, Philippines ? Most acting awards celebrate outstanding individual performances in the lead and supporting categories. Instructively, however, one of the top honors in the US Screen Actors Guild awards especially cites ensemble performances. As enlightened viewers, we can learn a lot about excellence in acting by focusing on this truly special citation:

Late last month, the SAG awards for 2009 cited the collective performances in some outstanding movies, including ?Inglourious Basterds? and ?Nine.? The unique award, which was won by the stellar cast of ?Basterds,? was prized even by notoriously egotistic actors, because it underscored the fact that, in movies with large casts, the thespic challenge doesn?t rest on one or two stars? shoulders, but is shared by the rest of the ?company.?

This is important and should be underscored, because it goes against the myth of ?stellar supremacy.? Especially in the complicated medium of film?where scores and even hundreds of artists and craftsmen work together on one production?it is really a fallacy to say that a movie is ?by? a controlling film artist, or benefits from the box-office clout of just one superstar.

Monolithic view

Yes, we do have ?auteur? productions, but they?re more the exception than the rule. So, we should get away from the monolithic view of film and recognize the fact that movie production generally benefits from the inputs of many people, actors included.

In addition, ensemble movies depend a lot on the variety of characters that their actors create. Compared to films that focus only on a pair of protagonists, ensemble stories are more realistic and ?democratic? because they explore, not small and circumscribed situations and conflicts, but societal syndromes.

Advantage

The advantage of this is ensemble movies? ability to tackle broader and deeper issues that impinge on more viewers? concerns and experiences. It?s more difficult to tackle a syndrome like a school or neighborhood, so it?s much more rewarding than just telling the usual love story.

Screen romances are valuable and valid, but syndrome movies are ?love? stories in their own right?except that the love being vivified by the artists involved in the production is their love for life itself.

Of course, actors want to play major roles that dominate a production from start to finish and give them enough elbow room to show just how supremely talented and charismatic they are. But, there are actors out there who similarly value, for vastly different reasons, the working together and feeling-for that ensemble productions uniquely provide.