Well, Brokeback Mountain didn’t win Best Picture last night, but at least March of the Penguins won Best Documentary. The tux-clad birds seem to be morphing from right-wing ideals to gay icons.
Let’s also not forget that Ang Lee did win Best Director for Brokeback, and Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for his portrayal of gay author Truman Capote. Yes, it would have been a coup for the LGBT community if Brokeback had won as well, but, as Abigail Garner cautions us, let’s not let the personal relevance and groundbreaking nature of the movie blind us to what should be the real criteria for a Best Picture. (I haven’t seen Crash myself, so I don’t want to get into an argument about the respective merits of each film here; but I do agree with Abigail that we should keep some perspective in our judgements, whichever film we think should have won.) For Brokeback, getting distribution to mainstream theaters around (most of) the country is a not insignificant achievement. A Best Picture nomination and Best Director award are icing on the cake. Let’s celebrate that, and hope that LGBT-themed movies continue to contend at next year’s Oscars.