Oscar documentary nominees include March of the Penguins and Murderball

As part of reality blurred’s new coverage of quality, reality-like nonfiction TV and film documentaries, it makes sense to recognize those documentary films that were nominated today for an Oscar. One of last year’s nominees, Super Size Me, eventually led to a reality show spin-off, FX’s 30 Days. And the winner, Born Into Brothels, told the story of children in Calcutta who were born to prostitutes.

This year, the documentary features include Murderball, which follows quadriplegic rugby players, and March of the Penguins, which follows penguins as they march. Interestingly, while the US version featured narration by Morgan Freeman, the original French version of March of the Penguins had the penguins “speaking” dialogue, so it was far less reality-based than the US version, although ours certainly still anthropomorphizes the penguins enough for us get to know them.

Anyway, here are the nominees for best documentary feature:

• Darwin’s Nightmare
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
• March of the Penguins
• Murderball
• Street Fight

And nominated for best documentary short subject are:

• The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
• God Sleeps in Rwanda
• The Mushroom Club
• A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

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