Oscar’s Crimes – Part 2: 1989

January 21st, 2011 | POSTED BY Edward Davidson

Best Documentary of 1989

I feel that Oscar has a long history of simply screwing this category up. Often there will be only one documentary in a given year that most people have even heard of, let alone that most people have seen.  But the academy seems to feel that they can often only reward the most obscure of films in this genre.

Up front, let me state that documentary filmmaking is an arduous, often thankless process that is usually driven by love for a subject, or passion for getting a true story told. Also, often because these stories are real, one could argue that most documentaries are more important than fictional films. I don’t think that’s always the case, but I will give this genre tremendous respect for the motivations that go into all of these movies.

Sadly, and I’m just as guilty as most American film-goers, most people don’t go see documentaries in theaters. Sometimes we’ll catch them on video; often we’ll watch half of something when it’s on TV. But the audiences for these movies in general are pretty small when compared to their big budget counterparts.

Sometimes, though, a documentary comes along that people go out to see in droves. It’s a movie that usually everyone is talking about. Sometimes, it’s just cute and entertaining (e.g. March Of The Penguins). Sometimes, the film will shed the light on the collective consciousness of the public, and when that happens, Oscar should take note.

Now, in 1989, the winner for Best Documentary was Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt. I’ve never seen this movie, and I’m guessing most of you out there haven’t either. According to its IMDb write up, it’s “A collection of profiles of people dead from AIDS who are remembered in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.” That sounds very worthy of a film. I’m sure it is moving, and it is most likely a good film. I don’t object to its nomination.

But the first small objection would be that the highly regarded film about the space race, For All Mankind, was also nominated that year. If you just wanted to limit yourself to the actual nominees, this movie was the one audiences were drawn to. It featured amazing and groundbreaking shots of space travel. I know Oscar likes to feel important, and choosing the AIDS movie over astronaut heroes makes him feel relevant and important. Oooo, look how edgy I am snubbing the space race to champion emaciated AIDS victims. Well, guess what Oscar, you don’t get to actually cure AIDS by giving them an award. Good on you for shining a spotlight on it, but you should reward good FILM, not just good causes.

I in no way mean to say that Common Threads is a bad movie, or even that it should have been nominated. Nor do I believe that the cause it champions is not right or just. What I am saying is that the Academy’s decision to reward it instead of the other films I cite was a bad one. Also, I’m a movie lover and I haven’t seen it. Most people I know or run into haven’t even heard of it. I’m just trying to point out that it didn’t make much of a long-term impact when compared to other films from that year.

Again, though, we end up with a snub for the nominations that would have served both Oscar’s wish for prestige and resonated with audiences. 1989 was the year of Roger and Me. This was the documentary that launched Michael Moore’s career. His Woody Allen-like delivery while pursuing the then-chairman of General Motors while trying to profile the gutting of the American Dream in his hometown of Flint, Michigan was massively entertaining. A documentary had never before seen the kind of commercial success this film did. People were talking about this film. It was relevant. By inserting himself into the movie, Moore was breaking the fourth wall in documentary form. Moore’s style has been criticized for playing loose with the facts, or rearranging events to show a skewed take on the story. I would say his movies are more op-ed pieces than straight news reporting. He has an opinion, and he is trying to argue his point to the best of his abilities. Roger and Me is funny, sad, and smart.

The truly insidious part of the awards cropped up while evaluating this category. GM was a major advertising contributor at the time. And as they were quite obviously angered by what they perceived to be Moore’s hatchet job,they flat-out told the runners of the Oscar broadcast that they would pull their advertising if Roger and Me got nominated. The Academy caved, and Moore was snubbed. The New York Times reported on GM threatening to pull advertising at the time. That behavior is inexcusable. Great art, great movies, great stories, are supposed to challenge us. And if the Oscars are supposed to be rewarding great film, then they should be judging them on the merits alone. But in this case, money spoke louder than art. What a crime.

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1989, Academy Awards, Best Documentary, Best Picture, Do The Right Thing, Driving Miss Daisy, For All Mankind, Oscar, Roger And Me