Letters to the Editor
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Oscars - Brokeback Mountain
CONTINUED: (I had the same problem with Crash, but it
wasn't supposed to be funny). But there was nothing
else, and Lion's Gate mounted an extremely aggressive
campaign, giving the anti-Brokebackers - the senior
males of the Academy - something to rally behind.
People like Ebert (one of only two 100 major national
critics who took part in a what should win poll who
didn't support Brokeback, the other being a
conservative from Kansas City) and Oprah Winfrey
chimed in, and instead of condemning Curtis and
Borgnine for their blatant homophobia, things became
strangely, shockingly silent in Hollywood re:
Brokeback. Everyone suddenly talked Crash - but NOT
for Crash's newly discovered merits (it was the
earliest release of all nominees and pretty much a
non-event), but because the Academy decided to play it
safe, go with politically correct Crash, and cower to
blant bigotry. This was not a
Warren-is-too-arrogant-so-we'll-pick-Chariots-over-Reds
backlash. This was not Harvey Weinstein going door to
door (literally) for Shakespeare in Love. This was a
blatant act of cowardice by the Academy. There is
truly no other explanation, I wish there was, but
there is no way that they suddenly deemed it better
when almost everyone else disagreed. The Academy had
never been mavericks, the Picture favorite almost
always wins. [By the way, this is not meant to chide
Ebert & Oprah, they both cited Brokeback as a great
film, each genuinely preferred Crash, fair enough, but
their influence was used by others to create the illusion of
mediocrely-received Crash as a true contender]
I had been an Oscars fanatic since I was 8 years old,
saw a list of major winners, and with an odd
photographic memory remembered them all. I still do.
And, I had disagreed with the Academy's Best Picture
choice all but twice in the prior 20 years. But I
realized my opinion wasn't the thing: was the Academy
being honest? I thought they were. But now, members
were admitting they were voting without even watching
all the nominees, the overwhelming slam-dunk
front-runner, because "John Wayne would roll over in
his grave". Am I the only one incredibly offended by
that? Gay/straight, black/white, etc., should not
matter, we should all be
offended because that is prejudice at its worst. And
besides, where is the Academy's credibility if their
members aren't forced to watch all nominees before
voting, at least in the categories where they vote?
Committees are appointed to nominate foreign films and
documentaries, and I agree with that policy since
obviously Academy members are too busy to see every
film, whereas committee members commit to do so. It
is it too much to ask the Academy to watch their Best
Picture nominees, and if they feel they have a
personal conflict with one (to put it kindly), to
recuse themselves and not vote? And is it too much to
ask the Academy to condemn bigotry, in whatever form,
from their members? I still cannot believe Brokeback
Mountain lost, although so did Citizen Kane, The
Grapes of Wrath, Raging Bull, Dr. Strangelove, The
Graduate, Goodfellas, Fargo, The Pianist, non-nominees
2001, Vertigo, The Searchers, Singin' in the Rain,
Some Like It Hot, City Lights, Touch of Evil, etc. But
despite the greatness of these other movies,
Brokeback's is the most egregious loss because it was
"supposed to win" more than any other ever (playing by
the Academy's own rules), because it so deserved the
prize - even Paul Haggis said so in Entertainment
Weekly ("EW: can anything stop Brokeback?; PH: No, and
nothing should, it's a wonderful film" - good for
Haggis). And it lost because a very large contingent
refused to open their minds and hearts, or to even
watch it, the antithesis of what an Academy should do.
As a crazy avid movie buff, it is painful for me to
shut off the Academy after 30 years, but I am done. It
is the right thing to do. I am aware of the Academy's
power, I don't care if my protest is in a vacuum
(though am pleased to have discovered so many others
who agree). But I hope it's not, because like
everyone else, they too are slaves to almighty
ratings. If enough people demonstrate they will not
tolerate bigotry and cowardice, perhaps in time they
might lose some of their luster. I hope so. Thanks for reading."
P.S. Not even nominated, English-language only: The General, Sunrise, The Crowd, The Wedding March, Frankenstein, City Lights, Duck Soup, Top Hat, Modern Times, Make Way for Tomorrow, Bringing Up Baby, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Gunga Din, Fantasia, The Lady Eve, To Be or Not
To Be, Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Meet Me in St.
Louis, My Darling Clementine, Brief Encounter,
Stairway to Heaven, Notorious, Odd Man Out, Monsieur
Verdoux, Letter from An Unknown Woman, Red River, Kind
Hearts and Coronets, The Third Man, The African Queen,
Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon, Rear Window,
Night of the Hunter, Rebel Without a Cause, Bad Day at
Black Rock, The Searchers, Paths of Glory, Sweet Smell
of Success, Vertigo, Touch of Evil, Some Like It Hot,
Rio Bravo, Psycho, Spartacus, The Manchurian
Candidate, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 2001: A
Space Odyssey, The Wild Bunch, Easy Rider, Young
Frankenstein, A Woman Under the Influence,
Close Encounters, Manhattan, Blade Runner, Sophie's
Choice, Once Upon a Time in America (& West), Blue
Velvet, A Cry in the Dark, Do the Right Thing,
Thelma and Louise, The Usual Suspects, Breaking the
Waves, Gods and Monsters, The Truman Show, Fight Club,
Being John Malkovich, Almost Famous, Mulholland
Drive, Far From Heaven, Finding Nemo, Eternal
Sunishine of the Spotless Mind, The Constant Gardner,
A History of Violence, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.
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Oscars - Brokeback Mountain
FINAL POST ON ARTICLE:
Just a few famous nominated, deserving include Grand Illusion, The Wizard of Oz (good thing for Wizard they had 10 nominees back then or it wouldn't have made the cut- GWTW, Wuthering Heights, Stage Coach, Mr. Smith & Goodbye Mr. Chips all did much better than Oz at the nominations, those would have been the 5), The Grapes of Wrath, The Magnificent Ambersons, Double
Indemnity, It's a Wonderful Life, Great Expectations,
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Sunset Boulevard,
Streetcar Names Desire, Place in the Sun, High Noon,
Shane, Giant, Defiant Ones, Dr. Strangelove, Doctor
Zhivago, Virginia Woolf, The Graduate, Bonnie and
Clyde, The Lion in Winter, Butch Cassidy, MASH,
Clockwork Orange, Last Picture Show, Exorcist or
American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, Chinatown,
Barry Lyndon, Nashville, Jaws, Network, Taxi
Driver, All the President's Men, Star Wars, Apocalypse
Now, Raging Bull, Reds, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
E.T., Tootsie, Field of Dreams, Goodfellas,
Beauty and the Beast, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank
Redemption, Quiz Show, Babe, Sense and Sensibility,
Fargo, LA Confidential, Saving Private Ryan,
Crouching Tiger, Traffic, Fellowship of the Ring, The
Pianist, Brokeback Mountain, and oh yeah, Citizen Kane, which got only one award in 1941.