The Minnesota Independent

academy awards - Latest Stories

Religious Right Watch: ‘Oscars turn into blatant homosex-fest’

By Andy Birkey | 02.24.09 | 3:13 pm

The religious right’s favorite bogeyman, Hollywood, brought out the fury Sunday evening when Milk, a film about murdered gay man Harvey Milk, won two Oscars including Sean Penn for Best Actor. The fact that the film had been in consideration at all prompted anti-gay protesters outside the Kodak Theatre, but it was the acceptance speeches that really got the religious right worked up.

Acceptance speeches aside, Oscars’ best gay-rights moment was Mel Gibson cheering ‘Milk’

By Chris Steller | 02.23.09 | 9:00 am

mel-and-milkAmong the highlights of last night’s Oscars were anti-Prop. 8 comments from “Milk” star Sean Penn and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black that gave new meaning to the term “acceptance speech.” But the evening’s most delicious  pro-gay-rights moment came a bit later and…

Politics at the Oscars: Documentaries nominated for Academy Awards

By Chris Steller | 01.22.09 | 11:22 am

The Academy Awards often draw attention to a cause or a plight or a social concern, particularly in the categories for documentary films, a genre still enjoying an extended revival. Even being among the nominees for the Oscar (as