Why 'Crash' beat 'Brokeback' for the Oscar

"Is Hollywood really not as liberal as the right-wingers make it out to be, but instead filled with aging Academy voters who just weren't ready to support a love story about two gay men?

…theorized that audiences initially were bowled over by "Brokeback Mountain," but any perceived lead that it took in the Oscar race was vulnerable. In a telephone interview Monday from his San Francisco home, Thomson said that while he calls his theory speculation -- only the 5,800-plus Academy voters know for sure -- the subject matter of "Brokeback" could have been too much for some voters.

“A lot of people who recognized an element of breakthrough, of venturing into dangerous or unusual territory, with 'Brokeback Mountain,' could not quite pull the string at the last minute and backed off," Thomson suggested. "They were the people who were saying they thought it was going to win, that it would be a tremendous step forward. In the end, in their secret soul, it was hard for them to vote for a gay film as best picture."

Thomson's theory mirrored the feelings of some in the gay community, who felt that "Crash" won because it was a safer choice."

This was taken from an article in the SFGate, click here to read the full article.