This past weekend was not only the weekend of the Academy Awards but it was also the weekend of the Independent Spirit Awards, a ceremony designed to celebrate the achievements of independent filmmaking. This year, however, three of the five films nominated for the Best Picture Spirit Award, Juno, I'm Not There and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly were also nominated for major Academy Awards with the winner, Juno, also being nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
But what does this relatively new intersection between the Oscars and the Independent Spirits mean? It's Hollywood's way of acknowledging what many critics and filmgoers have known for a while now, that the best work being done in film today is not by the traditional Hollywood machine, but by the independents.
Other than Juno, filmmakers who also go against the typical Hollywood system made two of the other Best Picture nominees. Both Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen Brothers, directors of There Will Be Blood and Best Picture Winner No Country For Old Men, got their start making independent films and their nominated films keep alive the independent spirit that made them the renowned filmmakers they are today.
These films make this era an exciting time for movies. Instead of the typical Hollywood schlock that comes out on a weekly basis being the films that get remembered with the prestige of an Academy Award, there are now films that challenge the audience to think about what they just watched well after the movie ends. This is the greatest influence the sudden popularity of independent cinema has had on the movies today.
However, while this may be accepted by Hollywood, audiences still may not like it. This year's Oscar telecast was the lowest rated ever. Hopefully soon the general public will begin to enjoy the new blood that has begun to influence the movies.
Ethan Goldsmith is a junior video production major and a columnist for The Post. Send him an e-mail at eg973705@ohiou.edu.
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Ethan Goldsmith
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