Their political and cultural values had been forged during the Cold War era, but by the 1990s the Cold War had come to an end, “traditional” gender roles were in retreat, and with the Clintons in the White House, the Religious Right seemed in disarray. When the film was released, in 1995, evangelicals were in a time of transition. With William Wallace their hero and “Freedom!” their battle cry, American evangelicals assigned the film a prominent place in their culture-wars liturgies.
Gibson was a conservative Catholic, but it was white evangelicals who would become the film’s most fervent fans. In a very different way, Gibson’s film, too, would make history. Based on the legendary 13th-century Scottish warrior, the film was less about kindness and hope and more about unquenchable violence avenging evil and injustice. Gibson also starred in the film as the freedom-loving, kilt-wearing William Wallace. That year, Mel Gibson captured both for his epic film Braveheart.
Twenty-five years ago, the Best Director and Best Picture awards went to a strikingly different feature film. In her acceptance speech, she thanked those she had “met on the road” who had taught “us the power of resilience and hope and for reminding us what true kindness looks like.” The film was only the second best-picture winner directed by a woman, and the first by a woman of color. When Chloé Zhao took home the awards for Best Picture and Best Director for her movie Nomadland at this year’s Academy Awards, she made history.
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