The 2010 Academy Awards may not have marked the end of “liberal Hollywood” as we know it, but they certainly put a solid dent in it. With the pro-military “The Hurt Locker” winning over the enviro-pabulum of “Avatar” and Sandra Bullock garnering the Best Actress Oscar for a Christian movie, the times are a-changin’ at least somewhat, maybe even a lot.
Or maybe Hollywood never had political ideology uppermost in mind in its Oscar choices, despite what Simon, et al., seem to believe.
Or maybe the Academy has a soft spot in its heart for movies about ordinary people in tough situations — and I don’t mean “Oh-my-genius-is-SO-unappreciated” tough — with hopes and aspirations, and the people who call themselves conservatives today seem to hold those people in contempt and to delight in squashing those aspirations. I don’t actually believe that, but it’s at least as plausible a scenario as Simon’s and arguably more so.
*Yes, I know the LA location of Orso has closed. Do not ask me how I know this. I’m just wondering what important fact isn’t in my head right now because the closing of Orso is taking up valuable neural real estate.
