Stories, Upsets, Contradictions: Just Another Night at the Oscars
by Dr. Marc T. Newman
March 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - - There were no blockbusters to root for at the Academy Awards this year. All of the films had an indie feel (though only one Best Picture nominee is truly from a small independent studio -- the rest are from small arms of the big players). Still, a hush fell across the conservative blogosphere as the Best Picture was announced. Having picked up awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, and riding a wave of critical support, it was only a matter of moments before Brokeback Mountain would be crowned Best Picture. Only it didn't happen. Crash.
In what has to have been one of the safest Oscar ceremonies in recent memory, the 78th Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards defied the odds in many categories. Those looking for a clean sweep from Brokeback Mountain were disappointed. Crash, a film that examined race relations in Los Angeles through a lens of moral ambiguity, won the Best Picture Oscar. Crash, of all the nominated films, probably has had the most significant social impact -- reaching all the way into the administrative offices of the L.A. Police Department. Brokeback Mountain also was shut-out in the acting categories as Phillip Seymour Hoffman took Best Actor for his dead-on performance as the title character in Capote, while Best Supporting Actor was awarded to George Clooney for Syriana, and Best Supporting Actress to Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener.
Though most of the nominated films had a political agenda, there were no bash-Bush speeches -- as when Michael Moore went on his rant in 2003. Reese Witherspoon, who won the Best Actress Oscar for Walk the Line, and Hoffman both gave moving speeches that focused on their families. The closest anyone came to making a political comment was George Clooney, who praised the film community for its courage in taking on issues before anyone else noticed. Clooney's measured fire was quickly doused when host Jon Stewart, after a self-congratulatory montage of scenes from "issues-oriented" films rolled, wryly quipped, "And none of those issues was ever a problem again." Stewart made a point throughout the ceremony to make fun of Hollywood's self-importance and celebrity culture.
In return, Hollywood seemed to spend much of the evening begging for patrons to come back to the movie theaters. Box office receipts are down over 6 percent from last year, the first year-over-year drop since 1991. Presenters asked the viewing audience to remember the magic of the big screen, and extolled the virtues of a darkened theater with booming sound. The Industry, over the year, has blamed its decline on everything from DVDs to Internet piracy to high-priced concessions and tickets at the local cineplex. It was as if they knew that this was not the right time to alienate more people. The show seemed to go out of its way to be as inoffensive as possible, except, perhaps, in its choice for Best Song -- "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp," by Three 6 Mafia.
The song, from Hustle and Flow, was a study in contradiction when compared to the rest of the awards program. While most of the nominated films championed what they deemed to be the marginalized or the politically oppressed, Hustle and Flow lionized a brutal seller of women for sex. The song's lyrics, which cannot be printed here, chronicle the life of a street pimp, asking us to have sympathy for the difficulties he faces in his chosen profession. The song summarizes the film.
In order to be performed at the Oscars a substantial portion of the lyrics were rewritten, and still there were moments when censors used a time delay to bleep out offensive words. The performance was accompanied by dancers clad as street walkers luring customers for their man. In the end, everybody cheered. It was a surreal moment, especially since last year's Oscar-award winning documentary, Born Into Brothels, exposed the horrid underside of Calcutta's prostitution industry, and the children who are trapped in it. I guess that over there it is a tragedy, but over here it's just "bein' a player" and "keepin' it real." What a difference a year makes.
In the long run, the Academy Awards do not matter much. While the win for Crash will probably propel its DVD rentals, the overall bump effect of a post-nomination win rarely exceeds more than 20 percent of the box office for films still in theatrical release. The nominated films grossed so little that the percentage increase will be negligible. Most of the films will now quietly recede into the background while a new crop of films takes their place.
The one thing said at the awards ceremony that rang true was that while technological advances in film making will continue, what remains the same is the importance of story. Every culture in the world has them. They are used to make sense of the world. They are the means by which Christians have been entrusted with spreading their faith -- we tell the story of Christ and then testify to our own. Stories invite more stories. So if there is anything to applaud about the tales that pour relentlessly from Hollywood, it is that these films provoke confrontation and response. May we be as bold in telling His story, and our stories, as Hollywood is in telling theirs.
Marc T. Newman, PhD (marc@movieministry.com) is the president of MovieMinistry.com -- an organization that provides sermon and teaching illustrations from popular film, and helps the Church use movies to reach out to others and connect with people.
