Boring montages aside, the Oscars are usually a celebrated ceremony, providing entertainment for movie buffs and fashion critics alike. This year, however, there was a subtle, but certainly noticeable, difference about the award show. Hank Stuever discusses the “Dark Victory at the Oscars,” noting the wins for rather, well, disheartening films. For example, No Country for Old Men, a movie filled with violence and focusing around vice, took home the coveted award for Best Motion Picture.

Stuever also details how the ceremony as a whole was a bit more somber then usual. In addition to other wins for depressing movies, even the dress was especially reserved. Many of the actresses sported basic black, and others wore orange ribbons in recognition of US torture. He accredits this partially to the increasingly gloomy American outlook, from the never-ending war in Iraq to the omnipresent threat of global warming.

In the end though, I do not completely agree with Hank’s pessimistic take on the Oscars. While rather depressing films did win, Oscar rarely chooses the cliché, happy-ending film, even though these are usually much more popular with audiences. In fact, if there is anything that the Academy should be worried about, it is the extremely low ratings. I think these numbers prove that Americans are not just disillusioned by politics, but also about the length of the writers strike, perhaps more so.