The Barbie controversy: Why is the movie’s Oscar rejections such a big deal to people?
What is taking place
Every year, a surge of joyous anticipation greets the films and artists that have been nominated for an Academy Award, while jealousy grows for those that have not been included. When it was announced that two important players behind Barbie, director Greta Gerwig and producer/star Margot Robbie, had not received nominations for their roles in the most successful movie of 2023, the outrage over the Oscar snubs reached an unprecedented degree of severity this year. Barbie was acknowledged by the academy. In all, the film was nominated for eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and nominations for America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling for supporting roles.
However, many found it shocking—as well as surprising—that Gerwig and Robbie were left out of the director and actress categories, which supported the movie’s main point about the difficulties women face in a world where males rule. Both Gosling and Ferrera expressed their dissatisfaction with the nominations in remarks that they made; Gosling referred to Robbie and Gerwig as “the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.” Posts on social media emphasized the irony of the women who acted as the film’s creative power and depicted its famous main character not receiving the same recognition as the most notable male cast member.
Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, felt obliged to comment in order to reassure Robbie and Gerwig that they are “much more than Kenough.”
