What Can Be Learned from Best Picture Nominations

Even though the movie industry is separate from the book industry, I believe they go hand-in-hand when it comes to general creativity and current trends. As such, there can be several things to learn from award season when a year’s worth of films is transformed into a handful of high-quality contenders. This year’s nominees are as follows:

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Right away, it’s obvious that historical fiction played a huge part in cinematic stories this year. Movie-goers were wrapped into the possibilities of getting a window to the past and witnessing what that era or event might have been like. I would say this is due to people’s desire to understand the unknown. There are events, like those from Les Mis, Lincoln and Django, that are impossible for those of us alive today to know how that era truly looked and felt. However, these period adaptations help us 21^st century folk relate to the past.

Argo and Zero Dark Thirty perform a similar function by providing insight to historical events we may know about, but perhaps aren’t aware of the whole truth. Adding clarity to the unknown, these stories highlight facts and demystify rumors about the recent past.

What Writers Can Learn: Exploring the truth and the unknown in historical fiction is no longer “high-brow”.

Another common thread in this group is the slice of life style narrative that centers on the everyday struggles of a character as seen in Amour and Silver Linings Playbook. What these stories share is the difficulty of overcoming a seemingly insurmountable obstacle and the power of the human connection. In dark days, people gravitate towards each other for security and support and these stories strike a chord in every scene.

What Writers Can Learn: There is conflict in every[one’s] story and as such, it can be uplifting to know you’re not alone.

The final grouping is the semi-fantasy category where the majority of Life of Pi and Beasts of the Southern Wild would otherwise fit in the aforementioned category of “slice of life” if not for a mesmerizing fantastical element. The imagery and settings are breathtaking and even so, these focused stories that follow Pi and Hushpuppy are really about the incredible and inspiring main characters.

What Writers Can Learn: Seek deeper inspiration for readers than just how your story shapes a character or how a character shapes the story.

Did you see one, a few or all of these films? Share your thoughts about what writers can learn from them!