Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker

Usually the question “Which film deserves to win Best Picture?” is very easy to answer. Just pick the best movie. However, this year’s race between The Hurt Locker and Avatar raises a philosophical question that hasn’t had to been asked in a long time. Is there more to a Best Picture winner than the quality of the movie itself? The debate hinges on a presupposed notion. The Hurt Locker is the better movie, but Avatar is the highest grossing film of all-time and has a chance to completely alter the movie-going experience. Should this year’s race be determined by which was the better movie or which plays a more significant role in movie history?


One theory is that Avatar will win because it is the highest grossing movie of all-time. The Academy will reward its dominance over pop culture the same way the Academy crowned Titanic Best Picture of 1997. To see if this is true, let’s take a look at all the movies which previously held the “Highest grossing movie ever” title since 1939:

Gone With The Wind (1939)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws(1975)
Star Wars (1977)
E.T. (1982)
Titanic (1997)
Avatar (2009)

While every movie on this list was nominated for Best Picture, only Gone With The Wind and Titanic won Best Picture. The best explanation for this is to look at the film genres of the other films. The Exorcist and Jaws are horror films while Star Wars and E.T. can be classified as science fiction. Historically, these are the two most ignored genres by the Academy. The only time these movies even get a Best Picture nomination is when their place in pop culture simply can’t be ignored. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s 2003 victory was the result of it representing the achievements of three films.

The best argument going for Avatar is how it might change the course of movie history with its use of 3-D technology. This is where deciding what deserves to win Best Picture becomes very tricky to decide. I think Avatar will make a more lasting impression on movie history, but I still don’t think it was the best film of the year. Each voter will also have to determine for him or herself whether they are judging it based on the theatrical experience or how the movie will hold up fifteen years down the road and the movie happens to be on t.v. Again, this situation assumes that Avatar was the better movie going experience but Hurt Locker is the better film. I would make an argument that the Hurt Locker was just as thrilling of a movie going experience for reasons other than visual impact. It was the first time in many years that I called people right after getting out of the theater to tell them how amazing a movie was.

Despite my inclination towards The Hurt Locker, I can very easily imagine Avatar being announced for the big award. It may help to look at past trends, but many of the people voting this year were not voting 30-35 years ago. Maybe we’ve reached the point where voters are not hesitant to choose a science fiction film. Come Oscar Night, I’ll be pulling for The Hurt Locker because the bottom line is I liked it more than Avatar.

Best Picture Prediction: The Hurt Locker