In 1954 Marlon Brando uttered a line of dialogue that would become one of the classics of the silver screen. In one of the more riveting scenes from On the Waterfront, Brando struggles with what might have been in his boxing career and delivers the line: “I could have been a contender, I could have been somebody…” As the 80th Annual Academy Awards draws near on February 28th, some of us wonder what films and what actors might have been contenders if only their genres and subject matter had been more “mainstream.” Cinefantastique Online asked me to be a part of a handful of select websites and blogs that would discuss this topic in anticipation of next week’s Oscar night.

As I reflected on Cinfantastique‘s request and looked back at 2007 and what it produced in terms of cinema in the genres of horror, science fiction and fantasy, like any other genres of film, these genres produce a lot of mediocre material, as well as a lot of bad films and performances as well. But such things are surely not limited to the genres of the fantastic. If we look closely we can find a few gems worthy of careful consideration, and I would argue, even a few that should be considered on Oscar night.

For those of you who have read this blog before, especially over the last six months or so, it should come as no surprise which films I would nominate. The first film that stands out in my thinking is I Am Legend, and readers might take a look at my previous discussion of this film from last December here. This film surprised me in a number of positive ways, not least of which was Will Smith’s strong performance. Most of my exposure to Smith’s acting over the years has been from his early television work, and then his films, particularly his action and comedy movies. I have not seen his more critically acclaimed roles in films such as Ali (2001) or The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), thus I was surprised by the credibility he was able to bring to his character in Legend. Beyond this, Smith’s prior work in science fiction, such as Independence Day (1996), Men in Black I (1997) and II (2002), and even less so but to a certain extent in I, Robot (2004), while representing good acting, in my view Smith’s performance still emphasized his background in comedy rather than drama, and certainly did not rise to the level of serious drama as showcased in Legend. Smith’s performance in this film is especially striking when we consider that for the most part the film is a one-man show, and the story’s initial and ongoing credibility is either sustained or lost through Smith’s acting ability. I believe it would be difficult for any viewer not to suspend disbelief and to enter into Legend‘s story as Smith’s character slowly unravels emotionally as he deals with the ongoing challenges of being (in his mind) the only survivor of a human-made apocalypse that has impacted the globe. For these reasons I would argue that Smith should have been considered for the Best Actor category.

In my mind another film stands out from last year, one which represents a blending of genres, in the form of comedy and horror (a difficult blend to accomplish well), the 2006 film Fido (but which did not see U.S. release until 2007). Readers might recall my previous discussion of this film, a hilarious domestic take on the growing zombie mythology, similar in many ways in style and substance to Shaun of the Dead (2004). Fido may even be slightly better than Shaun in its ability to engage various social, cultural, gender, and religious issues. Unfortunately, this film seems to have received very limited release in the U.S. and thus even many horror fans have not been exposed to this gem. Fido receives my nomination for a new category, that of Best Comedy.

My fellow commentators associated with Cinefantastique will make a case for other films that they feel were worthy of Oscar nominations that will add to my own contribution. But if these films really do represent quality examples of cinema why were they overlooked? We might also ask, why do science fiction, fantasy, and horror films tend to get overlooked by the Academy year after year? I think the answer is because their genres are not taken seriously as legitimate venues for acting and cinematic production. As I mentioned briefly in a previous post:

“the horror genre, along with science fiction and fantasy, are not, in general, taken as seriously as other genres of film. Even though these genres have produced some of the highest grossing films in history (as Jaws, E.T. Star Wars [and Harry Potter] indicate), they still tend to represent marginalized genres…”

While these types of films have always served an important social function in providing a context for the culture to either process issues of contemporary angst, to engage the imagination, or to consider utopian or dystopian possibilties, for whatever reasons, while large segments of the culture draw upon such sources for individual and collective engagement, nevertheless they hover on the fringes of mainstream respectability. I don’t think this situation will change anytime soon, but if anyone from the Acadmy is listenting, how about considering the genres in the future for awards that move beyond makeup, film score, and special effects?

What other fine cinematic treats might have been ignored by the Academy Awards? You can read about Cinefantastiqueonline’s selections and those of the other bloggers and websites here.