The “Barbenhemier” showdown has been a media story ever since the blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” set summer box office expectations ablaze. Everything about the two films has been measured against each other, from reviews to audience attendance and, finally, to the year’s top awards.
The snubbing of the movie’s lead actress, Margot Robbie, and female director, Greta Gerwig, has fans and critics alike feeling like the academy missed what “Barbie” was saying.
Although “Barbie” was nominated for eight Oscars on Tuesday, including best picture, the high-level snubbing of the movie’s lead actress, Margot Robbie, and female director, Greta Gerwig, has fans and critics alike feeling like the academy completely missed what “Barbie” was saying.
As America Ferrera’s character says during the film’s key scene, women are always caught in a no-win situation. They have to be pretty, but not too pretty, smart, but not so smart that men are intimidated. Those who saw the film may have felt like “Barbie” was preaching to the choir, but Robbie and Gerwig getting snubbed like this is a reminder that some truths need to be spoken often, out loud and to every audience.
The optics of two of the eight nominations for an openly feminist movie going to Ryan Gosling, its male lead, were hard to ignore and added to the frustration. Gosling was nominated for best supporting actor and for his performance of the song “I’m Just Ken.” Ferrara was nominated for best supporting actress.
Yes, Barbie was nominated for best picture, but a film that doesn’t have a best actor nomination, a best actress nomination or a best director nomination rarely lands the award for best picture. At the end of Tuesday’s announcements, “Oppenheimer,” nominated for 13 Oscars, sat pretty with a full topline slate of nominations. The best picture nod for “Barbie” felt more like the nomination given to “Black Panther” back 2019. That is, the nomination felt…
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