News, Reviews & Commentary on Gay and Bisexual Men in Entertainment and the Media

No Country for Gay Men: Straightest. Oscars. Ever.

Indeed!

Indeed! 

Well, the nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards were released just minutes ago, and they're just as violence-filled, dour, and heterosexual as everyone had predicted.

Remember the days when Capote, Brokeback Mountain, Transamerica and more gave the categories some flair? Not this year, where angry, obsessed men make up most of the noms (No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, In the Valley of Elah, even Sweeney Todd) and the lone comedy is about a pregnant moppet.

At first glance there are no openly gay men up for any of the major awards, and the only role that has even a whiff of queerness to it is Cate Blanchett's gender-bending turn as Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes's I'm Not There. (Haynes, as well as Hairspray's Adam Shankman, were shut out despite delivering critically acclaimed films that were not nearly violent or depressing enough.) But hey - Norbit got a nomination!! 

Even though I saw almost all of the nominated films and enjoyed many of them, this is disappointing, and I can't imagine that the Oscar viewing parties are going to be much fun this year (if the ceremony even happens, as they are insisting it will).

I mean, how do you come up with a theme menu based on these titles?

"The Diving Bell and the Butterbeans"?

"Into the Wild Rice"?

"There Will be Blood Pudding"?

"Ratatouille"? Oh ... well, there is that...

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  • Locksley Hall's picture

    Michael Clayton

    George Clooney's character didn't have a love interest in Michael Clayton, and he was divorced from his wife, so I just told myself he was gay. There's nothing to contradict that interpretation.

    Ratatouille was incredibly gay. In a good way.

    brian's picture

    technically

    Neither Daniel Day-Lewis nor Paul Dano have love interests in There Will Be Blood, either. I shudder to think we're back to the time where we have to interpret gay characters out of nothing, though.
    bribitzer's picture

    *sigh*

    Quite disappointing - I agree. Are the 'guy flicks' (No Country, Blood) at least good cinematic experiences? I feel I SHOULD see them, although they really don't appeal to me.
    brian's picture

    they're all excellent

    And some of the best films of the year, no question. My disappointment is with the landscape overall, really, and with the shortage of out gay actors and directors being involved with this quality of product or being supported by the studios with the promotional power needed to snag these kinds of kudos.
    Marlowe's picture

    Not many other Minorities either

    Very few African-Americans or other ethnic minorities are represented in here either.
    kcholt68's picture

    Not high profile, but

    Freeheld is nominated for Documentary Short Subject:

    "Lieutenant Laurel Hester is dying. All she wants to do is leave her pension benefits to her life partner - Stacie, so Stacie can afford to keep their house. Laurel is told no; they are not husband and wife. After spending a lifetime fighting for justice for other people, Laurel - a veteran New Jersey detective - launches a final battle for justice. Knuckle-biting, dramatic Freeheld chronicles a dying policewoman's bitter fight to provide for the love of her life."

    - Kirby, moviedearest.blogspot.com


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