People complaining that the Oscars snubbed “Barbie” may be misguided, said Communication instructor Jake Giles.
“If you look at the Oscars, historically there’s a lot of oversight and perceived snubs, but I think a lot of it [is because of] the process,” said Giles. “Actors are nominating actors, writers are nominating writers… I know that Greta Gerwig, the director of ‘Barbie’ was also the writer and she was nominated for that.”
When the 2024 Academy Award nominations were announced in January, the year’s biggest movie, “Barbie”, received eight nominations, with Gerwig receiving a Best Adapted Screenplay nod, and star Margot Robbie receiving a Best Picture nomination for producing. Meanwhile, “Killers of the Flower Moon” received 10 nominations, including Lily Gladstone for Best Lead Actress for her performance as Mollie Burkhart, a real Osage tribe member whose family was targeted for their oil wealth and murdered in the 1920s.
Eyes around the world will be watching Sunday as the 96th Oscars are presented live from Hollywood. Many will be attracted by the controversy over whether “Barbie” got enough acknowledgement.
The two women behind that film did not receive nominations in the Best Director or Best Lead Actress categories. The internet, and most people who saw and loved “Barbie”, quickly deemed it a “snub” for both women. Ryan Gosling receiving a nomination for his performance as Ken in the film only made things look worse on the academy’s part.
“It’s easy to look at that and say ‘Here’s a movie addressing sexism, and then they weren’t nominated’,” Giles said. “The two women weren’t nominated and … [Gosling] was. Correlation is not always causation.”
Senior Communication student Camryn Fields isn’t convinced.
“I think it has a lot to do with sexism. Many people see a movie like “Barbie” and assume it is childish or immature simply because it is a feminist-type of movie,” said Fields. “If people would have watched the movie and seen how impactful it was, their opinions on whether these two deserved awards would change.”
Fields is not complaining that “Killers of the Flower Moon” got so many nominations. She also acknowledges that Gladstone’s nomination for Best Lead Actress is an Oscar milestone. She is a member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana and the first Native American woman ever nominated for Best Lead Actress.
“Lily had a lot of intensity in her acting, and she had a very strong personality that shined through even when she was playing a character,” said Fields.
Giles said the Academy has a long history of overlooking people of color and their stories.
“There’s always been a bit of mistreatment of Native Americans in film and certainly the Academy has been scorned,” said Giles.
He said he believes Gladstone’s nomination shows the Academy is actively trying to be more inclusive.
“There was probably very little attention paid to her ethnicity, but there may be a touch more paid to making sure that the Academy is recognizing beyond just the really known stars,” said Giles.
