I've been hammered about the passive voice for as long as I can recall (through both UK and US school systems). As Wendy says, academically speaking, it's highly encouraged, but in writing fiction it's not considered appropriate. But I think there's definitely a place for both.
One of the biggest criticisms leveled against writers in of romance languages when they are translated into English is that they don't "show" enough because so much is in the passive voice. So part of me wonders if this action-orientation isn't some kind of obsession on our parts.
But I definitely do use active voice more in writing fiction nonetheless. In English at least it works well.
