No Oscars in Malaysia?

 

After the recent Academy Awards, I was left wondering. Why weren't any of the three big winners of the night screened in Malaysia?

As you probably know by now, The Hurt Locker swept the Oscars by winning six trophies, including Best Picture and Best Director, trashing crowd-favourite Avatar in both categories.Wonder how James Cameron felt, having his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, steal the awards from right under his eyes, as well as creating Oscar history for becoming the first female director to win the coveted Best Director Oscar. Maybe that's why Tom Hanks simply blurted out the words, "The Hurt Locker" to catch Cameron unawares. However, Cameron did give a show of sportsmanship by applauding Bigelow's big win, though he must be pretty torn up inside.

*  *  *

Another movie which scored Oscar gold was Crazy Heart as leading man Jeff Bridges took home the Oscar for Best Actor after five years of nominations. Fellow nominee, George Clooney, who starred in the movie Up In The Air, acknowledged the win even on the red carpet, before the Oscars had even begun. Bridges delivered a stunning performance as down and out country singer Bad Blake, who fell in love with a journalist, played by Maggie Gyllenhall (also nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but lost to Mo'Nique from Precious). Well, I'm glad he won and finally achieved the recognition he deserved after so many years! Crazy Heart also won the Oscar for Best Original Song with The Weary Kind (theme from Crazy Heart), written by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham.

 

 *  *  *

The third winner of a major Oscar this morning was family drama The Blind Side, in which Sandra Bullock beat out the likes of Meryl Streep and Gabourey Sidibe to emerge winner of the Oscar for Best Actress. Her role as a rich mother who took in a homeless African American teenager and groomed him into one of America's best football players is indeed an Oscar-worthy one. 

 

Anyway, back to what I was saying earlier. Why weren't these three movies; The Hurt Locker, Crazy Heart and The Blind Side shown in Malaysia? Is it the fact that Malaysians are too dense nowadays to appreciate good movies? Or is it only the authorities who think so? It is understandable that A Single Man was not shown in Malaysia due to it's homosexual theme, but what's wrong with the rest? Most of the shows available in the local cinemas are those that didn't win ie. The Princess and the Frog and Up in the Air. Don't get me wrong though, Up In The Air is a good movie, but it lacks the depth portrayed by the characters from the aforementioned three movies. (Princess and the Frog is horrible)

I've watched all of them, and I didn't find any content that would incur the wrath of Malaysia's censorship board. So the question that remains is "Where the heck are these movies?" We have the right to watch them too. I did, an I enjoyed them immensely due to how touching they were (especially Crazy Heart, but maybe I'm a bit biased here). I guess most people would find them a little dull, but still, there is a minority in our country which will enjoy the literary values in such performances.The lives they portray are harsh and unyielding, but the tiny spark of hope stays strong till the very end.