Film Reflects Life?

I've now seen all five of the films nominated for this year's Best Picture Oscar.

All but one features death, despair and violent deeds.

This means I'm actually viewing teen pregnancy as a positive life-affirming activity.

Juno is the only one of the five in which nobody dies. In fact, someone is born! Hurrah. Yes, to a 16-year-old unwed mother who thens hands it over, with no strings attached, to another unwed mother. Ain't the 21st century grand?!

The only thing that really bothered me about Juno was none of the kids had cellphones. That's not normal.

As for the other four - Atonement is desperately sad, There Will Be Blood is long and gloomy, Michael Clayton is dark and lonely and No Country For Old Men is just plain horrible.

The movies themselves are all fine pieces of film art, but the stories they tell are miserable in the extreme. What has become of America?

If this is some kind of reflection of the national psyche .. even allowing that Atonement is British, the USA is in a very bad way.

I won't be the only one mulling over all the new techniques I've seen for disposing of people either.

It's going to take a lot more than a black man in a fat suit and Steve Martin dressed as a French policeman to balance up against these Hollywood grim-fests.

If this is all tied up with Iraq and sub-prime lending disasters, then next year's Oscar nominations could have us all reaching for the razorblades.

Or we'll be watching a whole bunch of people doing it on the big screen.