Barbie’s nominations prove the Oscars have missed the point

As the Oscars announce their final nominations, a lot of Barbie fans have realized the irony with the film’s controversial nominations.

To say that Greta Gerwig’s pink dream blockbuster Barbie was a massive success is a bit of an understatement as it went to be the biggest film of 2023.

Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the movie examined Barbie and Ken’s humanity outside of their assigned roles, which resonated with audiences everywhere and earned the film over $1 billion.

So, a lot of fans had high hopes for the movie’s Oscar prospects as they were sure Robbie, Gerwig, and the film as a whole would be nominated for all the major characters but, as the nominations were just announced, it seems like The Academy Awards completely missed the point of the movie.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Barbie’s Oscar nominations prove the Oscars missed the mark

It was recently announced that Barbie managed to secure six Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Gosling), Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design.

Throughout those nominations, it becomes quite clear that two people were left out of the conversation and they happen to be the two most important ones: Robbie and Gerwig.

Despite directing the biggest film of 2023, Gerwig was not nominated for Best Director and, despite starring in a role that has taken the world by storm nearly a year later, Robbie was not nominated for Best Actress.

However, Gosling managed to get nominated for his role as Ken (a deserving moment, yes, but still very odd) and his in-character song “I’m Just Ken” was nominated for Best Original song, beating out the bigger tracks from the movie like “Dance The Night” by Dua Lipa and “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish, which recently won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

Mostly highlighting the male aspects from the Barbie film really shows how the Academy completely missed the point of the film as the movie was centered on uplifting women and examining all women can be if they put their minds to it.

No one is saying that Gosling wasn’t fantastic as the bumbling himbo Ken and everyone enjoyed rocking out to his self-titled anthem, but to shut out both Barbie and her creator seems incredibly ironic in the worst ways.

Gerwig was technically nominated for her screenplay, but that nomination is alongside her partner Noah Baumbach, who is, you guessed it, another man.

Barbie showed the world that women-led stories written and performed by women are not only profitable, but also incredibly needed in Hollywood, especially with filmmakers like Oliver Stone relegating the movie to an “infantilization of Hollywood.”

Robbie and Gerwig deserved to be praised amongst their peers because the movie they created has changed how people see “girl movies” and it’s a real shame that the Academy continued its tradition of having their heads stuck both in the sand and in the past.