Why did ‘Brokeback‘ lose? I think everyone with an interest in film has an opinion, but I think we could all agree it has something to do with the fact that mainstream Hollywood just isn’t ready to take this on yet. The conservative rise to power has had a chilling effect on entertainment, so giving the nod to ‘Crash‘ I interpret as a sort of punting technique. It’s Hollywood’s way of communicating that it is in fact sensitive to the difficulties of people who aren’t straight and white, but that it’s still easier in 2006 to recognize a film that espouses better race relations than one which invites us to examine homosexual relationships. Essentially Hollywood has not found a ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’ for homosexuality, a film that can present this subject matter in a light that middle America will find non-threatening. And certainly a movie that hinges on infidelity and gay relationships is not that film.
It’s still very sad to me that until Hollywood allows it to be otherwise, gays and lesbians in mainstream films will be the serial killers, oddballs and comic relief.
This is what makes some films so tough for me to watch, in fact: it’s the necessity of stating everything for the record, of making an issue of sexuality or other traits simply because of the linear qualities of telling a story in filmic language. It’s a deeply flawed way of doing things. Right now, the moment a character announces he or she is gay in a film, the film instantly becomes “about” homosexuality. Is ‘Lethal Weapon‘ about the fact that Danny Glover is black? Of course not. But Hollywood is still in a stage where it wants us to be proud of it for having gay characters, so they turn homosexuality into an opportunity to preach.
How about a buddy cop movie where a guy and a girl are both detectives. They get off work and go to the local watering hole to meet their partners–for him a wife, and for her (tadaa) a wife. No one flinches. No one explains it. It just is. The characters aren’t fighting any prejudices, or asking for anyone’s approval. They’re demanding it, assuming it. That would seem like a much bigger victory to me than ‘Brokeback’ winning an Oscar. ~

Neko Case’s new record drops tomorrow. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is drenched in reverb and Case’s own bell-clear instrument, and was four years in the making. This is especially good timing for me, since I’m in the process of rediscovering my love for classic country and what they now call “alt.country”. It’s something about the sinister sadness of a Telecaster through ten feet of plate reverb, accompanied by a lonesome female voice that really makes me happy. Go figure.
Case’s solo records highlight her dynamism as a performer, as they’re so different from her output with The New Pornographers, Cub or Maow. She describes the thread connecting these various styles for her thusly:

“I was 19,” she once explained to an interviewer. “I was heavily into punk rock, and punk rock was really dogmatic and macho. But this record made me feel like, you know what, these people are singing about something they really care about. These ladies aren’t kidding. And they sing about religion with more passion than anybody sings about anything — not about love or sex or violence or anything. It’s like their voices are these crazy cannons or something, and they could just blow shit out of their way with them. I wanted to be able to sing like that, because I thought that must’ve felt really good.”

But no matter who she’s working with the fact is that her voice is without a doubt one of the strongest you can find working today, pitch perfect and rock steady even in live environments where poor sound can render such things a luxury. I’m going to go ahead and predict this record showing up on lots of top ten lists at the end of the year, including mine. ~