File Under: Bullshit

It's that time of year again where the film world throws shiny hunks of painted-gold statues at the industries faithful servants. Yes, award season is a time for celebration, a time for acknowledgement, and most importantly a time for vicious bickering between fan bases.



Now last year's Oscars seemed to go over rather well. The expected winners won and all was peaceful throughout the land. This year turned out quite different. While dramas Milk and Slumdog Millionaire made it into the coveted Best Picture category, two fairly notable fan favorites were shut out to the lesser realms of prestige: WALL-E and The Dark Knight. Both films were highly acclaimed this past summer and brought in a hefty sum of profit.

WALL-E told a tale as pixar only could, of a sentient robot who after centuries of organizing trash on the abandoned planet Earth comes into contact with another robot named called EVE. The two fall in love and in their struggle to find each other across the reaches of space effectively save return mankind back to its homeland from a space station resort where all progress and innovation has been at a stand still since the abandonment of Earth.



The film takes on environmental and cultural issues and warns us of that we're not too far from an age where robots are showing more compassion than humans who simply loaf around in a completely computer-operated, meaningless existence.

The Dark Knight continued the story of the series' cinematic reboot, Batman Begins. The gritty, dark depiction of Gotham city served as a departure from the bright, flashy superhero flicks we're accustomed to. Taking things further, director Christopher Nolan took the classic battle of good versus evil to a whole new level. Heath Ledgers portrayal of the sadistic Joker reinvented the character in ways I can't describe through a mere paragraph summary. The introspection of the hero is a window into the struggle in all of us.



The film tread where none of its brethren had before, dealing with not just a masked hero and a psychotic villain, but a look at the delicate line between chaos and order; sanity and madness; hope and despair and just how easily it can bend, twist, and break.

Now I’ve read justifications about the Academy’s decision all citing that in the end the TDK is a superhero/action movie and WALL-E is just a kid’s cartoon flick. Clearly, if that’s how you feel about it dear sirs, you’re missing the point. Nonetheless, it is the truth behind why neither of them are up for best picture. It’s not coincidence that all of this year’s (and almost every year’s) nominees are dramas - because a film is meaningless if it delves into any other genre right? These two films push the boundaries of their respective categories and get shunned for it? Well I have only one response for that: SHENANIGANS.

The Academy has lost its way and can clearly no longer decipher what is and is not a worthy film of their shiny little man. The Dark Knight and WALL-E both took risks and beat the odds, creating innovative, deep, yet entertaining films inside genres that are scoffed at by the film elite. Surely that deserves more praise than making a traditional drama (likely based on a book based on a true story). Now I’m not saying that any of the actual nominees are unworthy, but a couple of them at least got in easy.

It is notable however, that both are up for nominations in several other categories. But to be denied the holy grail of “best picture” just because of genre falls somewhere in the ranks of racism, sexism, and other facets of the supremacist elite. I might be taking this whole thing a bit too seriously but what can I say, I’m writing a blog. I need something to complain about.

WALL-E’s up for best animated feature film (against the fierce competition of Bolt and Kung-Fu Panda), sound editing, sound mixing, original screenplay, best song, and best score.

The Dark Knight is up for best art direction, cinematography, best makeup (but not best costume design?), best film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, and the shoe-in best supporting role for Heath Ledger as The Joker.

Well it looks like The Dark Knight won’t get the Oscar it deserves, but the Oscar it needs right now.

(And if Heath doesn’t win oh boy am I gonna blog HOT FIRE.)

-Brien