Movies about love, tolerance and hope are defended

I'm writing in response to the opinion about the Academy Awards being too liberal ("A list of winners if conservatives handed out the Academy Awards," March 9 T.O. Acorn).

The comment about the highest-grossing movies not being nominees is ironic because most of the highest-grossing movies of last year are violent, explicit (with lots of foul language) or downright obnoxious. They're not movies with any sort of positive message. They're not works of art theatrically.

The movie "Crash," on the other hand, does make us actually think and examine our own prejudices while teaching us how hurtful they are. "Brokeback Mountain" was a tastefully done love story that helps teach how difficult it must be to be gay. Both movies were also very well done artistically.

The movie "Narnia" is supposedly a "better choice" for best picture and yet it was filled with violence and was a mediocre portrayal of a wonderful book.

It was okay for "Walk the Line" to portray a struggle with drugs and alcoholism, but not okay to portray a struggle with gender identity in "Transamerica."

If movies about tolerance, love and hope are "liberal" than we certainly need more of that in these times of hate, war and intolerance. Christine Espe Newbury Park