TRENDING

The Barbie movie was more than a blockbuster hit. It was more than the pink outfits and dance-pop music, and more than its incredible box-office success. The Barbie movie was a message to women everywhere that they are capable, and they deserve to be celebrated.

Unfortunately, the film was also a stark reminder that the patriarchy still exists. And Oscar critics just proved that very point. 

First things first, Barbie was far from ignored this Oscar season. The summer phenomenon racked up eight nominations, including Best Picture. Ryan Gosling was recognized for his performance as Ken and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. America Ferrera's iconic monologue on the contradictions of womanhood earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

But despite these accomplishments, the major snub was painfully obvious: Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were left out of their respective categories of Best Director and Best Actress.  

The two women most responsible for bringing our favorite doll to life in an emotional and profound commentary of what it means to be a woman were deemed undeserving of recognition.

@barbiethemovie

Ryan Gosling released a statement to several news outlets expressing his disappointment:

"I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films...but there is no Ken without Barbie. And there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie...To say that I'm disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement."

He went on to honor America's performance and all of the other artists who contributed to the film. 

America shared that she couldn't believe her nomination was even real. She shared her exciting news with her besties and former Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants castmates Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn on a group FaceTime call, but she also expressed her disappointment:

"One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician in front of the screen," America shared with Variety. 

Greta Gerwig *did* pick up a nomination alongside Noah Baumbach for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Margot Robbie was recognized under the Best Picture category for her work as an executive producer. But the fact that these leading ladies weren't recognized for their instrumental in possibly one of the biggest cinematic cultural sensations of our generation? It's giving "we're all still living in a Mojo Dojo Casa House world."

On a positive note, this year, three women-directed films—including Barbie— were nominated for Best Picture, the most ever in the award's 96-year history. So we *do* have that to be proud of. But this blatant snub tells us that we have soooo much more progress to make.

Top image: @americaferrera
Slider image: @panavisionofficial

by Alex Marek | 1/25/2024