MOVIES: Passion vs. Fahrenheit -- it's a scoreless tie!

I can't believe I neglected to mention it in my previous post, but two of the biggest, most widely praised (and condemned), and certainly the two most divisive movies of 2004 were snubbed by the Oscars: Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11.

Passion received three nominations in minor categories, for Best Cinematography, Best Makeup (which is fitting, since those awards usually go to fantasy or horror), and Best Score. Fahrenheit was completely shut out, owing entirely to Michael Moore's hubris in withdrawing it from Best Documentary consideration, in the hopes of nailing (no pun intended, Passion!) a Best Picture nod instead. Frankly, it serves him right.

I loved Fahrenheit. I haven't seen Passion, but I'm not entirely opposed to seeing it at some future date, now that the lunatic fringe equating its viewing with the acceptance of the Lord Messiah Jesus Christ As Your Personal Savior has backed off. I enjoy a number of stories taken from the Bible -- from The Ten Commandments to Jesus Christ Superstar to The Last Temptation of Christ -- but they're only stories to me. I'm willing to see Passion on those terms.

So what does the Oscar snubbery of these two films say? That neither of them is any good? No. I renounce that theory. (And all its works and promises.) I know the quality of one of them, and I'm not yet ready to dismiss the filmmaking quality of the other. That neither of them is good enough to please the majority? More likely.

Did they cancel each other out? I couldn't say for sure, though it is possible. There are plenty of Academy precedences for something like that. "I'll nominate this one, and to hell with the other one! I didn't see it, I don't want to see it, and I'll be damned if I'm going to give it a chance in hell of being nominated!"

But I think it's most likely that the Academy was simply afraid of controversy, in any form, from any political agenda, from any color state. The Oscars have rarely courted the edgy or the polarizing. For all the strides they've made in recent years, choosing younger and more eclectic talents for honor -- even choosing Chris Rock to host this year! -- the Academy is still primarily old white men who don't like having their boat rocked. They probably avoided both movies like the plague (in the major categories, at least), whatever their feelings on either one.

And I think I'm happy with it this way. I would've hated to see it come down to a contest between both of them, because, despite the legendary liberal bias of Hollywood, I've already seen my side lose enough sure things and take enough punishment this last year to last me a lifetime. So I'm content with sitting this fight out.