Conspiracy Theory #1

Everyone seems to have an opinion about why Brokeback Mountain didn't win the Oscar. Here's mine...

When Michael Moore released Farenheit 9-11, it was during an election year. Many people assumed that Democrats endorsed the film, or at the very least were happy to see it do so well at the box office (when I saw the film in SF, it received a round of applause). I don't recall any Democrats saying outright that Moore's film was an example of why they should not vote for Bush, but I don't recall them distancing themselves from the film / Moore either.

Fast forward to last Sunday. Hollywood - the self-appointed proxy for the Democratic party - decides that they need to do whatever they can to help get the Democratic party back on its feet. By giving the Oscar to Brokeback Mountain, Hollywood would have sent a strong signal to America (the straight, middle class, suburban, white demographic) that homosexuality is OK. Not everyone in Hollywood is stupid, and they know that people associate the Hollywood message with the Democratic party. So, they do the safe thing and give the Oscar to Crash. Which, by the way, was a great film. Personally, I think this was a smart move.