Oscars season has reared its ugly head again, and it’s time for you to hear all the movie opinions from the worst person you know: Hi, how are you?
The day that nominations were released, the Internet and mainstream media exploded at the news that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie missed out on nominations for Best Director and Best Actress in a Leading Role, respectively.
In a matter of minutes, words like “snubbed” and “misogynistic” began bouncing around the film world’s favorite website, Twitter, now known as X.
According to these so-called critics, the Academy just didn’t understand “Barbie” and completely ignored its themes when making these nominations. Yes, each of the over 10,000 members of the Academy just didn’t get “Barbie.”
To be clear, “Barbie” received eight nominations. Gerwig and Robbie, as director/writer and producer, either are part of the nominations or at least get kudos for those nominations, certainly not any rational person’s definition of snubbed.
And to be even clearer, the Oscars have three women-directed Best Picture nominees, a hotly-contested Best Actress race and a Best Director nomination for Justine Triet. This doesn’t come close to the most complex definitions of misogyny.
The Academy does have a nasty history of excluding women from its ranks, but this is certainly not one of those times.
I’m sorry your favorite movie didn’t get nominated for every award on the face of the planet, but that does not mean you get to throw around claims of misogyny for fun.
Why does it only matter if the women you like get nominated? Why does it only matter if the women who look like you get nominated? So, women in line at Starbucks, just know that your feminism can extend beyond your mirror and your own personal experiences.
It can also extend beyond the teaching of Gerwig’s pink-hued Barbieland. As someone who previously called “Barbie” a “part feminist manifesto,” let’s just say that the manifesto might be called “Feminism for Dummies.”
This is a year where there is a chance for Lily Gladstone to make history as the first Indigenous American actress to win Best Actress. This is a year where Da’Vine Joy Randolph is a lock to win Best Supporting Actress in a pool of highly talented actors.
Hell, America Ferrerra, a long-time Hollywood veteran, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Barbie.”
All this upheaval is yet another example of an increasing and never-ending trend of white feminists disproportionately invoking feminism to stand up for their favorite blonde-haired, blue-eyed celebrity. (Looking at you, valiant Taylor Swift defenders.)
Why does it only matter if women are recognized as individuals rather than parts of a whole, especially when the plot of “Barbie” emphasizes prosperity in solidarity among women?
This sort of flag-waving feminism ultimately does damage to those who experience gender-based discrimination, not only in the world of celebrity but to everyday women who have to constantly battle for their place in the world.
This year, choose to support and celebrate female-presenting actors, directors and other creatives instead of throwing a fit about two white women who have been nominated for Oscars both this year and in previous years and will certainly be nominated again.
