The Academy Awards: A Glimpse Into America’s Grief

The Academy Award for Best Picture — the top honor of the film world — went to “The Hurt Locker,” a clear depiction of the insanity of the Iraq War. At the end of the red carpet, what we saw was a glimpse of America’s grief and of its conscience.

This year’s awards ceremony was more talked about than ever, but the Oscars also brought serious, incisive questions about the United States of today.

Beginning this year, 10 films were nomiated for Best Picture (twice the usual number).

Of those, critics pointed to two that were destined for a head-to-head competition. The first was “The Hurt Locker,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow, which depicts the daily life of a bomb disposal unit, whose members have been recognized as unsung heroes of the Iraq War, and the madness they experience. The second was the 3-D science fiction epic “Avatar,” directed by James Cameron, which smashed box office records. The fact that the two directors were once married also set tongues wagging. Each film was nominated in nine categories. In the end, “The Hurt Locker” won six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (the first time a woman has won the honor). “Avatar” garnered three wins, which were limited to special effects and similar categories.

“Hurt” doesn’t mean “heart” but rather “wounded,” and so “The Hurt Locker” means a casket — a place one doesn’t want to go. [Translator’s note: The Japanese transliterations of “hurt” and “heart” are homonyms.] The whole film is contained in that title: a desert war in which explosions are part of everyday life and soldiers who have volunteered to serve because they are poor but wind up in the place they least want to go. A battered America must be pouring out its soul in such a film. Perhaps the fact that it won the film world’s highest honor means that America is waking up.

On the other hand, ”Avatar” isn’t just revolutionary filmmaking. It is the story of the invasion of a distant world’s forests, which are teeming with diverse wildlife, in a quest for a precious metal of great value. What’s more, it is told from the point of view of a wounded former Marine turned mercenary. Here, too, flows an undercurrent that warns against war and the destruction of the environment. One after another, conservative groups in the United States have decried “Avatar” as anti-American and anti-military. Its three Oscars were won in spite of this outcry.

“Avatar” has been criticized for being unoriginal, relying too much on computer animation and being in thrall to the cult of the “epic.” For the past few years, whenever Oscar season would roll around, it has been the habit to despair of the sinking quality of Hollywood films. Yet, cinema has not lost its place as one of the symbols of the United States. American cinema — which has established 3-D as a new mode of expression and has shown a willingness to face its mistakes and its grief — is fascinating, in name as well as in deed.

Now is not the time for Japanese cinema to rest on the laurels of its popular anime. It still has many things to learn from the movie capital of the world.