The Oscar Nominations – Has Barbie Been Snubbed?

William Rudkin on 22 February 2024

It’s that time of the year again. The Oscars is approaching – the prestigious awards ceremony where
the film industry celebrate their finest work of the past year. And so, as usual, the nominations for
each category have now been released to the public so we can all formulate our opinions. While
plenty of actors, actresses, directors, and films have been recognised for their outstanding
achievements, there has been plenty of unrest surrounding the “Barbie snub.”
Barbie was definitely a highlight for the film industry in 2023 – releasing on the same day as
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer as the phenomenon “Barbenheimer”, Barbie generated $1.4
billion at the worldwide box office and received critical acclaim, with a current 88% on Rotten
Tomatoes. The acting, directing, and overall message of problems within our society were all crafted
beautifully by director Greta Gerwig. Despite this, while the film was nominated for eight categories,
Barbie did not receive any nominations for Best Actress and Best Director, causing a controversy that
has caught many an eye.
It’s not only the fact that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who played the titular Barbie, did not get
ample recognition from the Academy. In Barbie itself, Gerwig shows us the flaws of society (with a
hot-pink coat of paint), helping audiences realise that the villain of the film wasn’t Will Ferrell’s CEO
of Mattel, or Ryan Gosling’s emotionally conflicted Ken, but the inequity of genders in society itself.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Academy has proved Gerwig’s message right. Gosling, who played
Ken, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and yet, in his own words, “There’s no Ken without
Barbie, and there is no Barbie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie.” Robbie also came out to
say that “I think Greta should be nominated as a director because what she did is a once-in-a-career,
once-in-a-lifetime thing.” The fact of the matter is that Gerwig and Robbie, the driving forces behind
the true meaning and success of the blockbuster, are being hugely underappreciated with not being
recognised for their deserved categories.
It isn’t all black clouds and sad faces for Barbie fans, however. America Ferrera, who played Gloria, a
Mattel employee who helps Barbie in the real world, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas were nominated for Best Original Song for “What Was I Made
For?” And of course, Barbie has been nominated for the top award of Best Picture, being a huge
contender for taking the main prize.
But how does a film get nominated for Best Picture but not have its director and leading actress
recognised? Only if we look into the problems of our society and the industry, just as Barbie tells us
to do, will we begin to figure this out. Until then, we all know in our hearts that even if they weren’t
nominated for their respective categories, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig will always be ‘Kenough’
for us.

Are Films and TV Having a Creativity Crisis?

William Rudkin on 24 October 2023

David Tennant coming back to play the titular character in Doctor Who. Hugh Jackman having one
last hurrah (again) as Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Disney shovelling out remake after remake of their
classic tales. Are we relying too much on nostalgia to fuel our entertainment?


It definitely seems to be the case. Recently, film and TV have been heavily relying on that good old
feeling of nostalgia to itch that spot in our brains and to make us go “that’s Tobey Maguire as
Spiderman!” And yes, I would agree that it’s a delight to experience your childhood characters back
on screen after a long time. But as the entertainment industry seems to be losing all original ideas
for this blatant nostalgia bait, is that particular itch worth scratching?


Let’s have a look at why bringing back old favourites is such a big thing. The idea isn’t new, but it has
been revolutionised in the past decade. In the past 7 years we’ve seen Disney put out 11 remakes of
their classic films, Indiana Jones has come back for one more adventure twice in the last 15 years,
Marvel have been heavily leaning into their “multiverse” to bring back classic characters, and
Warner Bros. can practically smell the money that they will make from their Harry Potter TV remake.
And that’s the reason. Money. And lots of it.


In 2019, the remake of The Lion King grossed over $1 billion. Bringing back Tobey Maguire and
Andrew Garfield as the titular character, 2021’s Spiderman: No Way Home made $1.9 billion. David
Tennant and Catherine Tate’s return to Doctor Who after starring together 13 years ago has
generated the most attention that the show has gotten since Jodie Whittaker’s poorly received run
as the Doctor. The fact of the matter is that nostalgia brings lots of attention, and even more money
(and as we all know, these corporations love money).


But what does this mean for the creativity of the film and TV industry?
It means a lack of originality.


Film and TV corporations are putting a hefty amount of their resources into their remakes and
resurrections, so less money, effort and attention is being put into new, exciting stories. Of course,
we are still getting great standalone films to this day – the recent successes of Barbie and
Oppenheimer shows that original works are still highly loved and wanted. In fact, it shows that we
need more of them. Imagine the amazing, original, directorially-driven films we could get if the
entertainment industry was not hampered by this corporately-fuelled obsession with the same old
characters and stories.


And will this nostalgia infatuation ever end? Actually, it seems to be slowing down. The Little
Mermaid earlier this year grossed $569 million – a huge number, but much less than previous
remakes, and the film itself received less-favourable views than its predecessors. Similarly, Indiana
Jones and the Dial of Destiny made only $375 million on a $300 million budget, and with an extra
estimated $100 million spent on promotion, it’s a severe low compared to Disney’s expectations for
the film. Personally, I can’t see this deterring this focus on nostalgia bait for a while, with Disney
having planned another 10 live action remakes for the future, but it’s a step in the right direction for
new, original stories to take centre stage.


So, please, move over, Indiana – it’s time for a new age of cinema to take the spotlight.