1.446 billion dollars. Highest grossing movie of 2023. Barbie.
Yet, director Greta Gerwig did not receive a nomination for Best Director. The whole reason the movie was so successful was due to the director’s dedication to the movie.
If you thought Margot Robbie, who played Barbie, got a nomination – she did not.
The message of the movie, centered around breaking the roles of a patriarchal society and uplifting women, clearly did not get across at the Grammys.
Ryan Gosling, who played Ken, did receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actor and published a statement addressing the issue. I applaud Gosling for publishing a statement addressing the injustice his female colleagues faced. Due to the double standards between men and women, if a response came from Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, they would be labeled as ungrateful. Using his platform was good to acknowledge his privilege in being nominated and to address the growth that is needed in award shows.
There are a lot of uncomfortable situations happening mainly towards actresses. For instance, when Ayo Edibiri was inappropriately asked about her male co-host’s Calvin Klein campaign, Edebiri could be seen with visible discomfort. Instead of asking about her work, the interviewer asked her her thoughts on the video. Attending award shows is part of the job for actors and actresses. At a workplace event, it is not appropriate for interviewers to push boundaries and ask questions that sexualize their co-workers.
Comedian Jo Koy’s statement addressed the plot of Oppenheimer and contrasted it with a misogynist joke about Barbie. This statement undervalued the message and importance of the Barbie movie. Luckily, a camera pan of the audience showed no chuckles and humor taken from the comment. The script writers along with Koy were acting in a disrespectful manner, but luckily it showed these comments were not culturally accepted. The award show controversies surrounding Barbie shows the vast audience this has reached where it seems that many are in consensus that this was a wrong-doing.
For the first time in Oscar history, Lily Gladstone, a Native American, achieved a nomination for her role in “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
However, due to the attention focusing on Robbie and Gerwig, it takes away focus on historical achievements of Gladstone as well as America Fererra for her work in Barbie.
This is a big deal because Hollywood has a historically low representation of indigenous actors. Additionally, the representation has a history of cultural appropriation. Many films promote white actors allowing them to be given more opportunities to be nominated. With this nomination, it does, although cliched, “break down barriers” for other ingenious actors to have a spot in the film industry.
Therefore, it is possible. Award shows have taken impactful strides to uphold diversity. They need to continue improving their system to guarantee that the opinions of the audience are reflected in the nominations and winners.
