Do you remember where you were when
“Brokeback Mountain” lost in the best picture category? It was in 2006,
my first year in college, and I was at a crowded Oscar party. When Jack
Nicholson read the contents of the envelope, he delivered the news that
“Crash” had won with an implied shrug as if to say, “That’s Hollywood,
Jake.” Everyone in the room with me was stunned, almost unable to move.[...]
The “Brokeback” upset wasn’t just
unfair. It was a symbol of wretched homophobia (which continues to
plague the film industry). Many members of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences, including Ernest Borgnine, refused to even watch
Ang Lee’s mournful cowboy ballad. Tony Curtis opined that John Wayne,
über-masculine patron saint of the Western genre, wouldn’t approve. [...]
The academy loves to give actors
shiny trophies for “going gay” in a role, but seldom gives the stories
they’re telling the ability to compete at the same level or even
recognize queer actors who portray the stories of their own community.
To date, 11 straight actors have won an Oscar for playing an LGBT character.
But just two out queer people have ever even competed for an acting
award at the ceremony: Jaye Davidson (“The Crying Game”) and Sir Ian
McKellen (“Gods and Monsters”). Neither won. Actors like Jodie
Foster as well as Anna Paquin, was was just 11 when she won the best
supporting actress award, came out long after taking home Oscar gold.
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