We would be here all day if I listed all the ways Moonlight is unlike other Best Picture winners, but suffice to say it doesn’t really fit into any of the usual boxes.
Was it a drama? Most Best Picture winners are dramas.
It was a drama unlike many I’ve seen. It’s not just a unique winner, it’s a unique film, period.
The Greatest Show on Earth
As boring and bland a winner as any other. I can’t think of any other with this exact subject matter, but I can think of many that are the same type of movie.
Rocky
Feel good underdog tale. Classic. Chariots of Fire comes to mind, as does the recent King’s Speech. Million Dollar Baby is another boxing winner.
The Godfather
Certainly a bit of a trailblazer at the time, but it was the biggest film of the year and an instant classic. Sort of fits with other family epics and definitely The Godfather Part II and The Departed.
Gigi
I get this movie mixed up with My Fair Lady all the time.
A Man for All Seasons
Period costume drama based on a popular play. One of many.
Patton
All Quiet on the Western Front
Two war films. Obviously not exactly the same, but the type.
The Broadway Melody
Don’t even remind me of this boring POS. Another show business musical.
Gone With The Wind
A big epic. Classic Oscar fare.
This are all vastly different movies and all Best Picture winners.
I think vastly is a bit of an overstatement. Best Picture winners usually fit into boxes: big budget epics, war dramas, feel good stuff, period dramas, etc.
Moonlight is an intimate drama about an individual growing up. Honestly the closest that I can think of is Boyhood, but that didn’t even win (and is still VERY different). And there’s the matter of identity. As I said before, 12 Years a Slave is about race, but not really about an individual’s racial identity (and there’s no film that’s won about any LGBT identity).
It’s just not stylistically what they go for. It’s also not super well known. Yeah, Oscars don’t always go for the biggest box office successes, but still, this is the lowest grossing winner in decades.
They just don’t go for these small indie films. I don’t know how clearer I can be about that.