I warned that a Brokeback Mountain loss would lead to a lifestyle accusation. Arthur Spiegelman writes for Reuters: “The victory for Crash suggested Oscar voters were more comfortable with a tale that exploited the seamy underbelly of racial conflict in contemporary Los Angeles than with a heartbreaking tale of love between two married men…
“No overtly gay love story has ever won a best picture award and, as of Monday morning, none has. The big question going into the Oscars was whether Hollywood, often in the forefront of social issues, would break another taboo”.
Brokeback Mountain isn’t an Oscar social issue. It’s a movie. Personally, I think Crash is the better film. Period. I remember when Dances with Wolves bested Goodfellas for the Oscar. My pick was the latter movie (no disrespect to Kevin Costner). The will of the Academy be done.
This year, the Academy favored Crash. I would argue that the L.A. home-town movie, which had to have familiar appeal, is more likely a reason for its winning than gay intolerance a reason for Brokeback Mountain losing. Looks like the Crash movie studio may have had a better PR firm than the Brokeback Mountain studio.
Get a life.
Photo Credit: Lions Gate Entertainment