LGBT Academy Awards #Oscars “And the Oscar goes to… “
When it comes to the Academy Awards there is always something to talk about good or bad. “OscarsSoWhite;” “X rated Midnight Cowboy wins Best Picture;” “Godfather II, first sequel to also win Best Picture;” the list goes on and on. For the LGBT Community, tonight’s 89th Academy Awards Ceremony may be talked about for the Best Picture finally telling one of our stories. Moonlight could pull off an upset making a seismic cultural statement by telling the realities of growing up as an African American gay man.
Previous post by theOUTfront here
Produced for only $1.5M, Moonlight has become the ultimate “little indie that could.” It’s nominated for eight Oscars tonight and last night at the “Independent Spirt Awards” won a record setting six awards, including Best Feature.
But that was last night; this is the Oscars! We’ve been here before, on the edge of our seats, holding our breath, hoping a LGBT film would take home the top honor. And every time, we’ve been left burnt like the duds at the bottom of our popcorn.
The Imitation Game (2014)
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Milk (2008)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Philadelphia (1993)
The Crying Game (1992)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
It’s not that LGBT stories have been entirely shut out of the film categories. They have picked up a couple of Oscars for Best Documentary
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Considering it was the 80’s and anti-gay hatred was being fueled by the AIDS panic, that’s pretty impressive. It’s also worth noting, we have another LGBT story nominated in that category tonight. I Am Not Your Negro, is based on James Baldwin’s unfinished memoir.
Previous post by theOUTfront here
Nevertheless, an LGBT feature film still hasn’t broken through to sit in the firmament of Oscar’s Best Pictures. Sounds like the perfect place for Moonlight.
Read theOUTFront previous Gay Academy Awards post HERE
