The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced on Jan. 23. Alongside this announcement, came a massive outbreak of backlash. Oscar nominees and winners are voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a group that consists of almost 10,000 industry professionals. Within the past few years, fans of award show season have noticed the unfairness being displayed in the nominations.
Academy Award “snubs” have been debated for almost as long as the award show itself has been around—2024 will be the 96th year. The most controversial and talked about Oscar snubs include Morgan Freeman losing his “Best Actor” nomination for “The Shawshank Redemption” in 1995, and “Brokeback Mountain” losing its “Best Picture” nomination in 2006. However, no amount of disappointment expressed towards the Academy and its choices has kept them from putting deserving films, actors and directors at a disadvantage each year.
“Barbie”—directed by Greta Gerwig—was the highest-grossing film of 2023. The film has made over $1.4 billion since premiering in July 2023. Paraphrased from the article, ‘Barbie’ Broke Records, but Studios Employed Fewer Female Directors on 2023’s Top Films, by Variety, “Barbie” has become the highest-grossing film (of all time) directed by a woman. But despite the film’s undeniable successes, many were disappointed in the 2024 Oscar nominations that it received. The film’s director, Greta Gerwig, was not nominated and neither was the film’s star, Margot Robbie.
“Barbie” was a huge hit among students at OHS. The film was an inspiration to young women everywhere. Senior Chloe Ingvaldson said, “No matter how old you are, this movie is a must-see for everyone.”
Other upsetting snubs include Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”, Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw” and “All of Us Strangers” directed by Andrew Haigh. The article 25 Great Films Rejected by the Oscars in 2024: ‘The Iron Claw,’ ‘Priscilla’ and More by Variety, praises the brilliant 2023 films that were wrongfully overlooked by the Academy. On Andrew Scott’s performance in “All of Us Strangers”, the article said, “Searchlight ran a strong campaign for Andrew Scott in the best actor race, but the film’s quiet box office release surely didn’t help its cause at the Oscars.”
OHS students were not only inspired by the message portrayed throughout “Barbie,” students were also moved by Scott’s grief-stricken performance that was disappointingly snubbed by the Academy. Senior Kiley Knudson said, “Andrew Scott did a spectacular job portraying the role of Adam, it is crazy to me that the Academy didn’t see what everybody else saw in his performance.”
Despite the numerous complaints directed towards the Academy, there is still much to be celebrated about the 2024 Oscar nominees. Actress Lily Gladstone, nominated for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, made history as the first Native American woman to be nominated in the “Best Actress” category. Beyond the “Barbie” controversy, America Ferrera scored a well-deserved nomination for “Best Supporting Actress” for her role as Gloria in the film.
According to Statista, the Oscars drew in almost 20 million viewers in 2023. Regardless of differing opinions about the Academy and their yearly nominee choices, the Oscars remain to be the most famous award show in American cinema. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 10 at 6:00 p.m. CT.
