I have to say, I’m pretty excited that Anne Hathaway is hosting the Oscars. I think she is as winning as Julia Roberts and wonderfully funny. I can’t say I feel the same about James Franco though–I’ve never enjoyed him in a film, though I know that he is the Hollywood-man-of-the-moment these days. Perhaps this is heresy, my admitting my lack of love for Franco?
Anyway. Religion Dispatches has a wonderful Oscars overview up, that considers the Oscar contenders in light of life’s biggest questions about meaning and purpose. Here is a taste of S. Brent Plate’s wonderful piece, “Looking For Answers at the Oscars: A Guide to This Year’s Contenders Forget the aliens and zombies, this year’s top movies are asking questions about who we are as human beings”:
“[T]his year’s crop [of films] reflects anxieties (as well as promises) about who we are and who we might be becoming in and as humans, in our own skins–never mind the “prawns” or “Na’vi.” Questions provoked by this year’s films include those concerning the nature of our selves in connection and collision with our families, our larger social institutional entanglements, and our own bodies. The other key theme, affecting each of the others, had to do with the ways new media technology is inserting itself into our intimate lives, and changing our identities, both public and private.”
Be sure to read the rest of Plate’s article to see which movies are dealing with what major life themes. My money is on ‘The Social Network” for Best Picture. Though, I haven’t yet seen ‘The King’s Speech’ and I hear it is amazing–though quiet. Which movie do you want to win for Best Picture this year?