By: Penney Kome
Something funny happened on the way to the Oscars on Sunday night. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences seem to have taken a turn to the left. What do these award-winners have in common: Warren Beatty for lifetime achievement, Hilary Swank for "Boys Don't Cry", and John Irving for "The Cider House Rules"? They all deal with what some have called "taboo subjects" but which could also be called liberal perspectives.
As industry daily, Variety pointed out: "Of the 35 individuals who took home Academy Awards, 23 were first-timers." These were by no means shoo-ins. To understand the significance of an Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry", we must consider the current controversy about multi-media maven Laura Schlessinger, PhD (physiology). She takes to print and airwaves, especially in South California, "to dispense morals, values, principles and ethics" (she says), on her phone-in radio and TV shows, owned and distributed by Viacom/Paramount.
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John Irving accepting his "Best Adapted Screenplay" award for the pro-choice "The Cider House Rules". Oscar photos from www.oscarwatch.com. |
"Dr Laura" as she likes to be known, has made blatantly homophobic statements recently, and refused to retract them. She said that anybody who is a gay or lesbian is a "biological error", and a "deviant", and that "a huge proportion" of gay men prey on young boys. In response, South Californians have launched a campaign to persuade Viacom to take her off the air.
Let's look again at what it means when Hilary Swank wins an Oscar for portraying a teenage girl who dresses and acts as a young man - a transsexual in training. One way to read this award is that members of the Academy voted "No" to Dr Laura. Host Billy Crystal dedicated a nominated movie (Best Actor - Richard Farnsworth) to her in his opening quips: "'The Straight Story' ... is the story of Dr. Laura Schlessinger. She couldn't be here tonight because she couldn't get anyone in town to do her hair and makeup."
John Irving won the Oscar for "best adaptation" to a screenplay from his own novel, "The Cider House Rules". He dedicated the Oscar to the National Abortion Rights Action League, to the puzzlement of some commentators. Yet this movie has been attacked by the religious right for its sympathetic portrayal of a gynecologist who provides abortions, and a young girl (impregnated by her father) who seeks an abortion. It is a "pro-choice" film, although that might not be apparent from movie reviews.
Above all, consider Warren Beatty's Irving Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement as screenwriter/actor/director/producer of "Reds" and more recently of "Bulworth". Beatty campaigns and fundraises for Democrats, and last fall he publicly considered a bid for the presidency himself. In 1999, the extreme right wing celebrated the Thalberg award to Elia Kazan (whom Beatty mentioned as an early teacher) as vindication of the vicious 1950s Hollywood blacklists of artists and screenwriters deemed to be communists or sympathizers. Beatty's award could be seen as the Academy's attempt to balance the record. One thing is for sure: his invitations to Democratic fundraisers will have even more cachet now.
So if this Oscar season suggests a liberalizing of the Academy, what happened to Denzel Washington's Best Actor nomination in "Hurricane"? In a word: DreamWorks. This was the year that Steven Spielberg's two-year-old company made the big breakthrough and grabbed five Oscars, with "American Beauty". Although the Academy's recognition of actors of colour is still lamentably weak, it's hard to be too angry with Spielberg, who tugged the world's conscience with films such as "Schindlers' List" and "Amistad".
Penney Kome is an award-winning journalist and author based in Calgary.
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Dr Laura and anti-Dr Laura - drlaura.com / stopdrlaura.com
www.variety.com - "most unpredictable Oscars in recent years"
Beatty for President - www.beatty2000.com
"I thought I was seeing a movie about an orphan who finds himself. Instead I got a strong pro-choice film." - www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/reviews/ theciderhouserules.html
Elia Kazan's Thalberg Award discussed: www.wsws.org/articles/1999/feb1999/ kaz1-f20.shtml
