A critical mass of the American population is still reeling and distraught over 2004: the year of Bush. In the face of the best efforts of the 'Rockers for Kerry' - the Bruce Springsteen, Dixie Chicks, R.E.M. and friends Vote for Change tour - the all-out "Vote or Die" campaign commandeered by P Diddy himself, and the staunch celebrity support from the likes of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jack Black and Jon Stewart, the Ohio conservatives still trudged out to put their "gays burn in hell" rallying cry into good ol' fashioned, red-state, pro-discrimination philosophy voting. And so we woke up on November 3 and realised our country might just get a little worse. We all fastened our seatbelts for that bumpy night (four more years?!) Bette Davis's Margo Channing promised us over 50 years ago.

Hollywood itself, along with the peppered blue states in the north east, got bamboozled. We went out, we voted, and it didn't matter. And so, Howard Dean took the reins and we were left dusting off our knees and scratching our heads as the right wing high-fived the religious right.

Historically, Hollywood has always settled on the liberal side of the coin. It's well known that the Republican backbone is corporate; while the Democrats push their "we are the world" pledge to reach deep into the pockets of rich liberals, like movie stars. There's nothing new in spouting politics at awards shows and making anti-war and anti-government films. There were, of course, plenty of propaganda war films in the 1940s and, generally, a seed of patriotism sown through the celluloid, but, for the most part, Hollywood and its stars have taken liberal politics to heart. From Henry Fonda to Robert Redford to the new-generation Gyllenhaals, all have proudly shouted to our governmental system, "we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!" So, is it really surprising that in 2005 - with a war still blazing in Iraq, record-breaking deficits, Katrina leaving our poor stranded, and still no health care - there would be liberal misery all round and that, in response, Hollywood would release back-to-back, big, blatant, star-studded, thought-provoking films? As liberals lick their wounds, Hollywood triumphs as our saviour, our knight in shining armour, and reminds us that we aren't crazy, that America is messed up and we need to address it.
Enter Syriana, Munich, Transamerica, Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Crash, and even Hustle & Flow (with a pimp striving for the American dream), all films that examine the issues of the day and plant a thorn in the side of the Bush Administration.

With the Golden Globes, Directors Guild, Screen Actors Guild, and Academy Awards honouring all these 2005 films, it forces reporters to ask this award season: "Hey, you, Presidential cowboy from Texas, have you seen that film about your people?" Err… cowboys, that is. A collective eye-roll must have swept through the conservatives when that gay, gay, gay film was regarded as one of the best of the year and its 'everyone deserves love' theme was shoved down their throats. As they regurgitate, I would like to whisper in their ear - it is no accident.

It is certainly not by chance that gay and transgendered performances got billed as the best this year; particularly when conservatives desperately tried to stamp 'second-class citizen' on the backs of those same people these last few years. Observing the most recent awards show, the Oscars, shows that Hollywood is clearly gay and proud. The Academy made sure to make those rabid 'mainstreamers' cringe by nominating a gay performance in each major category except for Best Supporting Actress. In that category, it is the wife and friend of a complex gay character, Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain, and Catherine Keener in Capote respectively, who got the nominations. Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote and Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain fill the gay quota for best actor, while Jake (that liberal) Gyllenhaal represents in the Best Supporting Actor category, and Felicity Hoffman holds it down by not just playing gay, but by playing (gasp) a transgendered person, in Transamerica.

In case you still want to dismiss the liberal representations as accidental, let's turn to Hollywood's favourite liberal, George Clooney, who got much love from the Academy for his on-target performance of an ex-CIA operative in Syriana. The character, which earned George the Oscar, is caught up in shady corporate-government wheeling and dealing for control of that most precious Texas commodity - oil. Oil… don't we have a war going on over this stuff? Wait, no that was the first one, this one is over terrorism - my mistake. Well, luckily, Hollywood has not missed a beat, also recognising Steven Spielberg's Munich, a film scrutinising revenge on terror. Another Clooney favourite, this time highlighting the dangers of forced, blind patriotism, Good Night and Good Luck, has not-so-subtly raised an eyebrow at this administration co-opting our votes by reminding us that if we had elected a flimsy Purple Heart Vietnam Vet, America the Empire would surely had fallen. The similarities between McCarthy and his patriotism through fear and those who hurl the accusation 'un-American' at others refusing to support a pseudo war on terror are so glaring that a 10-year-old could connect the dots. George Clooney's 21st century mirror to McCarthyism received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (for David Strathairn's portrayal of journalist Ed Murrow), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

We all realise, because of the flogging the Oscars got by the media as the show approached, that every single Best Picture nomination had political overtones: terrorism, patriotism, homosexuality, and race relations were all covered. Even the Bush favourite Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, received a Best Documentary nomination. The idea of Hollywood purposely seeking to enrage bigots is brilliant. Notice the absence of the kind of films that won Best Picture during the Clinton-era, such as Shakespeare in Love and Titanic. No time for sappy love stories. Even the complex and compelling love story in Match Point had to take a backseat - again, no time for superb Woody Allen thrillers, we got a war going on here. And surprise! It wasn't that 'offensive' gay love story that captured the big prize, but the film on the pervasive racism in American society. Racism is over, so why is Hollywood dragging up that old issue? To give voice to those who still feel it. With Philip Seymour Hoffman's awkward effeminacy and George Clooney's very political supportive role being rewarded, and voters giving Brokeback Mountain directing honours and Crash Best Picture, every repressed group came out a winner at the Oscars. If that ain't a backlash against Bush, then what is?

The conservatives, always ready for a fight, conjured up their own backlash against the Hollywood backlash. They claimed that Hollywood is now "out of touch" with mainstream America, because most 'regular' Americans have not seen the Best Picture nominees. The Oscars, in typical Hollywood fashion, one-upped the backlashers who questioned Hollywood's backlash techniques with a tribute to the many films in Hollywood history that have gone against the grain, thereby demonstrating how Hollywood has consistently been the voice of the stifled liberal- so leave us alone! It is clear that with Tinseltown leading the way, we all have more courage to say "that ain't right," and continuously question our ailing American society.

George Clooney said it best during his acceptance speech, where he touched upon Hattie McDaniel being honoured with an Oscar so many years ago, and how Hollywood has dealt with injustice in order to continue the discourse surrounding such issues. He uttered the best line of the night, when he stated he is in fact "proud to be out of touch with the mainstream". It is truly totalitarian to be blind to injustice.

These films make us a little bit stronger; they continue the debate. Brokeback Mountain encourages our entertainment-obsessed culture to talk about masculine gay characters who struggle to be straight, but… just… can't. Munich teaches us that revenge is not the easiest pill to swallow, even in the face of terror. Crash drops us into the melting pot and asks why it can't just simmer? Why do we hate our neighbours and how are we empowered by splitting ourselves into us versus them? It destroys us all - wake up, we're one. Film can be a good vehicle for those who question what is, and explore what could be. Thankfully, Hollywood continues to go down this critical path at critical times and recognises the need to ruffle a few feathers and pull heads out of the sand.