Film Rant: How the industry snubbed a film based on rating

SHAME is not a film about ordinary people in ordinary situations. It is not the "feel-good" comedy of the year,  nor is it the next big budget Hollywood blockbuster. It is a film about people many of us encounter on a daily basis. It is about the real world, and the trouble some people in the real world have. Writing about sex addiction is one of the most taboo and harsh undertakings for any screenwriter or author. It isn't like everything else that we've seen a thousand times over, it's a fresh new subject that the United States of America has deemed untouchable. Sure, you can show someone getting their face devoured by a creature of unknown origin, but as soon as you start talking about the most primal and basic factor of human nature, we all shut our eyes in disgust.

Praised as one of the best films of last year, and making a huge splash in the realm of cinema, Steve McQueen's masterpiece of control and insanity has become a critic favorite. However, unlike the other films to gain praise (besides the equally snubbed Drive), SHAME hasn't received any Oscar nods. Even with Michael Fassbender's performance being called haunting and fantastic, the film still can't seem to catch a break.

Let's travel back in time a little, to a time when Hollywood was struck with an equally controversial film (for it's time). A film that challenged both critics and viewers alike because of it's adult subject matter and X rating. 

Midnight Cowboy is a film with sexual themes, an X rating, and an all-star cast, all the same attributes that SHAME has (besides of course the X rating which is replaced with NC-17). However, Midnight Cowboy won three Academy Awards, including the coveted Best Picture Award. 

Now,  I could sit here and break down each film scene by scene, and go over the fact that SHAME is the Midnight Cowboy of today's cinema. Or, I could stress that you go out and watch both films, make an opinion for yourself before you let the "standards" of this nation and it's ratings board make your mind for you. Fassebender's performance is haunting, tormenting and so raw that if you told me he was an actual sex addict, I'd believe you.

The core of the issue here, is not the Academy or the ratings board, but the topics we have declared unclean or taboo. Sex is a natural human act, and the abuse of such should be examined in the film format and presented as is. It shouldn't be watered down, just like the violence of many Hollywood films are not watered down. It's become okay to show all this blood and guts on television but any mention of full frontal nudity and everyone looks the other way. 

When did sex become so bad? When did the human body become such a dirty sight? We should be embracing these new films that push the boundaries of what we've seen before, not turning them away. 

-Michael