Brokeback at Oscars

By Rachel Nowery
Back in January, it was reported that Brokeback Mountain swept the Golden Globe awards off its feet. The Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) was held on March 5. To the surprise of many, Brokeback Mountain only took home three Oscars, but it was nominated in six categories. One of these categories was Best Film of the Year, which Brokeback did not win; the award went to Crash by producers Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman.

Memoirs of a Geisha tied Brokeback in total awards, each winning three Oscars.Geisha had received nominations in six categories. No film actually “swept the awards” away from anyone. This year, things seemed to be quite calm and noncompetitive.

The biggest thrills of the night were the performances by Dolly Parton, Kathleen “Bird” York, and Three 6 Mafia. Throughout the broadcast, the singer performed the songs nominated for Best Original Song. Songs in the past such as “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” “Into the West,” and “Shaft” were some unique songs that won the awards in the past. This year’s song was no exception to the “uniqueness” of the night. The winning song was “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp,” a rap song performed by Three 6 Mafia for the movie Hustle and Flow. The performance by Three 6 Mafia was also supposed to change Oscar history, being the first time that “bitches” was ever said at the awards. However, when it came time for the word to be said in the song, the female singer said “witches” instead. It sounded a little funny, but this way no one was offended.

All in all the night was mundane and had no major happenings to liven up the evening. The most comical thing that happened would be host Jon Stewart who acted like a complete idiot throughout the entire broadcast. His jokes, comments and acting kept the audience from falling asleep from the long, droned on speeches that usually started with “I would like to thank the Academy…”