Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron and the Oscars
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Harrison
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american troops avatar hurt locker kathryn bigelow Liberals oscars politicsI saw her film Hurt Locker quite by accident (I didn’t even know she was the director until after) and I was impressed with the film. Some have said it mocked those in the U.S. Army’s bomb disposal squad but I think this was some pre-Oscar posturing. Unlike all of those other Iraqi war films (the horrible Lions for Lambs comes to mind), Hurt Locker not only did well at the box office but also at the Academy Awards. That other Iraqi war film (Avatar) was mocking of the U.S. military.
James Cameron could more easily imagine U.S. soldiers going into pristine lands and murdering the natives than he could having the Marines go to Haiti and disperse supplies and heal the wounded.
With the Left so active in Hollywood, I have to hand it to Ms. Bigelow for a classy speech, particularly this part:
And I’d just like to dedicate this to the women and men in the military who risk their lives on a daily basis in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world. And may they come home safe. Thank you.
Contrast Ms. Bigelow’s remarks with this disgusting drivel from Time magazine’s Richard Corliss:
The rooting interest in Avatar is for the Na’vi and against the American ex-soldiers whose job it is to police the planet. When some of them die in the battle that consumes the final third of this 2-hr. 42-min. extravaganza, you’re meant to cheer. And you will.
In an interview with Charlie Rose, James Cameron acknowledges and agrees with the point that his film, Avatar, is meant to remind audiences of the war in Iraq (though Cameron said he started writing it before the invasion). Cameron says:
The militarily superior culture takes over and displaces the culture, destroy the culture [of the weaker society] and so on…
Obviously, Mr. Cameron doesn’t recognize the establishment of a democratic Iraq (which just held its largest free election ever) as a noble accomplishment.
It’s nice to see, for once, some class in Hollywood during the Oscars and Ms. Bigelow’s words for America’s troops and the job they are doing was most welcome.
As for James Cameron… I’m glad his ex-wife beat him for Best Director and his film didn’t receive many awards.
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7:52 AM
Hurt Locker was an excellent film. We left the theater silent, trying to digest all we had seen. It is one thing to see reports from embedded reporters, but my guess is that they are limited in the places they can go and what they can or cannot comment upon. I thought the film brilliantly captured the dire circumstances our troops are under.
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10:50 AM
The Hurt Locker was just head and shoulders above every other film nominated this year. It was no contest for anyone who actually watched these films. So I was relieved that the Academy recognized what seemed to be the obvious, in fact the only possible choice for best picture.
And as you know I’m as interested in political messages as you are, but the political messages of these films should really be secondary in judging which was the best movie. There have been some great movies made about the destructiveness of war, the clash of civilizations, man against nature, etc. (The Thin Red Line, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Apocalypse Now), but unfortunately Avatar is not one of them. The reason Avatar was not a good movie was not because of its message but because it was predictable, it was childish, and it was simplistic. The reason Hurt Locker was a great movie was not because it was pro-military, but because it was filled with tension, it was unpredictable, it was thought-provoking, it was believable, it had powerful images, and it had great human characters. Whether or not it is an accurate reflection of what soldiers are doing I will leave to the experts. But to me it doesn’t matter too much whether the movie took some artistic license. It is a movie, not a documentary.
.-= Joe Markowitz´s last blog ..Health Care End Game =-.
10:59 AM
I thought Up in the Air, District 9, and The Hurt Locker were all excellent. Some have commented that the Academy chose “patriotism” over “anti-Americanism” but I think Avatar probably was a pretty silly movie and Cameron wore out his welcome with Titanic.
My thoughts were more about the sentiments of The Hurt Locker’s director.
11:21 AM
District 9 is a good example of a movie with some similar thematic elements to Avatar–in both movies the main character actually turns into one of the hated alien creatures, but District 9 is a much more interesting movie because the characters are more believable and not so cartoonish as in Avatar.
By the way, you mentioned that The Hurt Locker was successful at the box office and the Academy. Actually, The Hurt Locker is one of the lowest grossing movies ever to win best picture. It made back a little money for its producers, but only because the budget was extremely low. This is one case where the Academy Award might really help a deserving picture make some money.
.-= Joe Markowitz´s last blog ..Health Care End Game =-.
3:03 PM
The Hurt Locker was not successful like Avatar but I’m pretty sure it made more than The Valley of Elijah, Lions for Lambs, and Rendition did combined.
1:01 PM
I agree with Joe about District 9–very original sci-fi.
Avatar was Dances with Wolves with blue faced aliens and snazzy special effects thrown in. BORING.
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3:02 PM
I thought Dances with Wolves was a decent film overall though I see your point. District 9 was a bit too long I thought but a well written metaphor for race relations in S. Africa.
5:36 PM
Actually, Harrison, you might be surprised to learn that Hurt Locker only did about $21 million worldwide. Lions for Lambs did $63 million. Valley of Elah $29 million. And Rendition, $27 million. So Hurt Locker was actually the least successful of those four.
(source: Box Office Mojo. You can look it up)
.-= Joe Markowitz´s last blog ..Health Care End Game =-.
1:35 PM
I cannot find the link now but I believe those others movies lost money. Hurt Locker didn’t – perhaps only because its budget was so small? But the other three movies had some major, major stars in them, too.
6:23 PM
I thoroughly enjoyed The Hurt Locker, and I thought Kathryn Bigelow’s acceptance speech was especially classy. I also enjoyed watching Streisand’s expression as Ms. Bigelow made her speech. :-0
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8:47 AM
I have not yet seen Hurt Locker. I spoke to a colleague at work who served in Spec Ops units in both Afghanistan and Iraq and he thoroughly enjoyed the movie while admitting some (completely acceptable) dramatic license was taken.
Re: cheering for the death of ex-soldiers in Avatar (not seen yet, either). Years ago, I watched Das Boot and remembered developing sympathy for the crew to the point where I was genuinely saddened when their boat got blown to bits in the last scene. I had to check myself because I do not recall being a Nazi sympathiser back in high school.
Point being, in the hands of great director, a movie can bring out emotions which would not be plausible before watching that movie, though, I don’t think that was really what Corliss was trying to say.
3:52 PM
Corliss wasn’t trying to say that I agree.