CheekyChicago

Of course, we at Cheeky are thrilled that a woman has finally won the Academy Award for Best Director (and we love that Babs presented it).  But personally, I’m even more thrilled that Kathryn Bigalow’s lack of a Y chromosome has absolutely nothing to do with her film, or why she deserved to win.

We already knew women could do amazing things!  The Hurt Locker’s domination of the 82^nd Academy Awards is a coup for many reasons other than its director’s sex.

So here are a few of those reasons – some a little silly, some serious, but all factors to consider when relishing the landmark wins for Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker.

1)      The Low-Budget Factor.  The movie cost $15 Million, which of course begs comparison with the $300 Million budget of Avatar (discussed in Cheeky here).  Maybe it’s the recession – we’re just not buying big this year.  We’re keeping it real.

2)      The DVD sales.  Yep.  The Hurt Locker is the first Best Picture winner to have earned more money in DVD sales than at the box office.  Screw you, over-priced movie houses and hyped-up opening weekends.  Personally, I heard about this movie on NPR, months after its quiet release.  And by word of mouth – stunned, enthusiastic word of mouth.

3)      The Ex Factor.  Sure, this one’s a little bit gender-related, but we must enjoy the David vs. Goliath factor of the unknown ex-wife sweeping the ego-inflated superstar ex-husband.   I kick myself for even wondering if she’d mention him in her speech.

4)      The Horror Movie.  Bigelow got her start by directing the cult horror movie Near Dark.  And horror movies got their due at this year’s Awards in that much-deserved (if sometimes off-base) tribute montage.  So Bigelow stands among great Oscar-winning directors like Spielberg, the Coen Brothers, and Peter Jackson, who honed their skills in that genre.

5)      The Patrick Swayze movie.  Yes, Bigelow directed the late, great Mr. Swayze in Point Break.  Just a bittersweet tie-in to one of the year’s saddest, untimely celebrity deaths.  When Swayze’s image flashed across the screen during the memorial montage, I like to think Bigelow had a “moment.”

6)      The War Story.  Oh yeah!  Our nation’s actually at war right now.  The Hurt Locker has been called one of the most realistic depictions of warfare ever made, by veterans all over the political spectrum.  When Bigelow dedicated her wins to the troops, it wasn’t partisan or forced.  It was because she had actually made a movie that told a story about those troops.  A deeply moving, gritty, realistic, tension-filled story.  When the hype has passed and the dust settles, it’s that story – not Bigelow, not her triumph, and certainly not her gender – that will remain.   And that, my friends, is exactly why she won.