On the Zero Dark Thirty Controversy

Since last week, we've learned a lot about Zero Dark Thirty and the political climate surrounding the film. It appears that there is indeed a faction within the Academy voter base that worked to prevent the film from being nominated and is now working to prevent it from winning any categories (link). All of the complaints center around the issue of torture and the way it is depicted in the film. The film's detractors claim that the film reads as a direct endorsement of torture in the interrogations that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden. Director Kathryn Bigelow has responded with a series of statements (link) defending her film, saying that "depiction is not endorsement."

And so we find ourselves in a huge, media mess. Zero Dark Thirty was seen to have tremendous momentum going into the award season. However, Bigelow's snub among the Academy Award nominations has brought all of that to a screeching halt. Furthermore, we've now seen the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes crown their winners, with Argo taking top honors (as well as Best Director) at both ceremonies. It appears that the perceived momentum was either an illusion or that the film's controversial atmosphere is dividing the various voting bodies.

So, why do I care? Well, I happen to believe that Zero Dark Thirty is the finest piece of American filmmaking released last year. Over 2.5 hours, the film unravels an intensely engaging mystery, guiding the viewer through the ups, downs and endless loopholes required to find a man who was determined to not be found. The film gives us a hero, a woman named Maya, who has dedicated virtually her entire adult life to this one endeavor. The entire thing culminates in an unbelievable raid sequence, executed with no bravado, sensationalism or ra-ra-America bullshit. This movie is high-quality art, folks. However, we should always remember that it is, in fact, a movie. Even with all the research that screenwriter Mark Boal poured into the project, Zero Dark Thirty is a work of fiction. It is not the definitive statement on the actual hunt for bin Laden. The question is: why are so many critics determined to treat it as a documentary?

Earlier today, Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi posted an article titled "'Zero Dark Thirty' Is Osama bin Laden's Last Victory Over America." (link) Even ignoring that absurd, baiting title, I had too many issues with this article to ignore. Chief among them, though, is the following question he poses to Bigelow, in response to her "depiction is not endorsement" statement: "Are audiences not supposed to cheer at the end of the film, when we get bin Laden? They cheered in the theater where I watched it."

I must admit my own biases here: I hate Taibbi's writing. I find him to be a reactionary, sensationalist journalist, who attempts to manipulate his readers into muted outrage. However, even by his usual standards, asking that question is truly ridiculous. I encourage everyone to see the movie, just to understand how off-base that question truly is. The final shot of the film decisively answers that question once and for all.

To me, what writers like Taibbi (and many others in a similar vein) show is that we, as an American people, are not ready to deal with our own recent history. Here are some facts that cannot be denied: we tortured detainees in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. We gathered information that was used to find, assault and kill Osama bin Laden. Whether those two facts are directly related is open to debate, a debate which Zero Dark Thirty makes a point of not answering. However, it appears that viewers and critics are not ready to confront the possibility that, yes, we waterboarding people for information. If this is so morally repellant to Americans that they write columns and petitions decrying a filmmaking who dared suggest such events took place, what kind of culture of denial are we living in? Taibbi talks about America's "brutal, repressive hypocrite underneath" but doesn't seem willing to consider that perhaps, in that statement, he understands the movie even better than he realizes. We really do live in a country where morons on Facebook will write "spoiler alert: we got him" without understanding the full implications.

I urge everyone to see Zero Dark Thirty and ask yourself what is says about America and our own history. Try to leave as much baggage at the door as you can and watch the goddamn movie. If you don't like what you see, perhaps you have yourself to blame.

Making Sense of the 2012 Oscars

If anything was gonna to get me blogging here again, it was gonna be the goddamn Oscars...

I can't even fully explain my obsession with the Academy Awards. Sure, I really, REALLY love movies. That part makes sense. I also love competition and the Oscars give me a fun chance to win things from people foolish enough to bet against me. Above all, I'm obsessed with the way America sells its own culture back to itself. Best Of lists and award shows really intrigue me on those grounds. The Academy Awards are the last relevant American award show with any amount of credibility left. Thus, I've made the following pact: every year, I will watch every film nominated, in every category. Longtime readers will know that this is my third year attempting this.

So, all of this is important because... the Academy Award nominations were announced this morning! I've spent the past several months trying to watch as many relevant movies as I could. I ended up seeing 71% of the non-short films nominated. The Master has eluded me now that it has exited theaters, but all the other missing films are in the Documentary, Foreign or Art categories. This will soon be remedied.

Here's my initial thoughts on the nominations. I'll be back in February to break down each race in detail and announce my own personal favorites from the year's cinema.

-Let's get the big snub out of the way first: Kathryn Bigelow, director of Zero Dark Thirty, only woman to ever win an Academy Award for Best Director. The heavy favorite to win the award going into today. And then... she doesn't get nominated. I'm really at a loss here. There is no precedent for a snub this huge in recent memory. Sure, she's directing a politically charged, controversial movie. Sure, she's a successful woman working in an industry overwhelmingly controlled by men. But this is just inexcusable. I'm not going to quibble with the Academy for not nominating a personal favorite performance or screenplay, but to entirely ignore the director of one of the year's most universally acclaimed films is just a mistake. This is a bad one, guys.

-Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild both enjoyed surprising amounts of success with Academy voters. Amour has crept out of the Best Foreign Film ghetto to snag Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay nominations, all of which I can endorse. Meanwhile, Beasts wrangled up a Best Actress nomination for 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis and a Best Director nod for Benh Zeitlin. The Bigelow power vacuum had to filled somehow...

-A few names that ended up falling through the cracks: John Hawkes (Actor, The Sessions), Marion Cotillard (Actress, Rust and Bone) and the entire mess that was Supporting Actor, including both Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson for Django Unchained and Javier Bardem (Skyfall). Also, Rian Johnson failed to pick up a screenplay nod for Looper.

-I'm thrilled that the Academy avoided The Intouchables for Best Foreign Film. A feelgood French comedy about a crippled man who learns to live again thanks to his lower-class, black assistant, the film's haphazard dance around racial politics isn't nearly worth the acclaim ii got from certain circles. Pleasant surprise in the same category: Kon-Tiki, a fairly wonderful film about a raft full of Norwegians sailing across the Pacific Ocean.

-And so we have a problem on our hands: who the hell is going to win Best Picture? Had you asked me 24 hours ago, I would have said Zero Dark Thirty and then gone searching for cookies. Now, I'm full of confusion and doubt that even cookies can't dispel. Without Bigelow nominated, ZDT's chances have tanked. It's been 23 years since a film won Best Picture without having its director nominated. That was Driving Miss Daisy, generally seen as one of the worst choices in the Academy's voting history. Lincoln appears poised to pick up the pieces, as Steven Spielberg suddenly looks uncontested in the Best Director field. Does that make Lincoln the Best Picture favorite as well? Maybe... but I'm not ready to put my money there yet. Watch the Producer's and Director's Guild Awards this following month. If Zero Dark Thirty can get the predicted wins there, hope may remain.