Films about gay cowboys ("Brokeback Mountain"), a flamboyantly gay novelist ("Capote"), a pre-operative transsexual ("Transamerica") and a pimp ("Hustle & Flow") made a strong showing in the latest Oscar nominations.

Do these choices reflect the current state of Hollywood culture, an increase in America's tolerance for alternate lifestyles or just the fact that mainstream filmmakers are now addressing topics they avoided in the past as being noncommercial?