Oscars Viewership Plummets

Hollywood goes whacko and America notices, with viewership down 3 million from last year. Fewer than 40 million people -- that's only happened in two previous years since 1987.

As Lisa de Morales points out in WaPo,

[Low viewership] was an easy call, given that none of this year's best-flick nominees was considered "mainstream" -- "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Munich" and winner "Crash" collectively have seen less box-office action than the most recent "Star Wars" alone.

There's a reason these films' boxoffice was so low. The first four dealt with homosexuality, right-baiting and moral relativism. America stayed away.

Crash, the only one of the four I've seen, was a powerful film, fully deserving of an Oscar for its gritty look at racism in America. But the audible gasps that apparently greeted the announcement of the best film winner showed how out of touch Hollywood is, just as did the ratings.

hat tip: Media Bistro
Related Tags: Oscars, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich, Crash, Boxoffice, Ratings