Nominations for this year’s upcoming Oscars came out on Jan. 23. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” had the most nominations with 13 total and Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things” followed close behind with 11. In this year’s list of nominations, the two most missed names were those of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, responsible for the “Barbie” movie.
“Barbie” did receive several nominations for this year’s Oscars. The film is nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, along with two nominations for Best Original Song. One nomination is for Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” and the other is for “I’m Just Ken.” America Ferrera received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and Ryan Gosling received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
With the obvious absence of Gerwig for Best Director and Robbie for Best Actress, people were quick to turn to social media with their outrage.
People were quick to point out how similar this was to the theme of the movie, even with Ferrera’s nomination. The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, blew up with posts expressing disappointment for the lack of nominations for Gerwig and Robbie.
In Robbie’s first interview since the nominations came out, she made it clear she was not too disappointed with her lack of a nomination.
“People’s reactions to the movie have been the biggest reward of this entire experience,” Robbie said.
This is the third time one of Gerwig’s films has been nominated for a Best Screenplay award at the Oscars. The first was in 2018 with her film “Lady Bird,” and the second was in 2020 with “Little Women.” With her nomination for Best Picture, this is the first time in Oscar history three female directors are nominated in this category.
But this does not mean the disappointment is not there for the lack of a Best Director nomination, with Robbie making it clear that she was more disappointed in Gerwig’s lack of a nomination, rather than her own.
“Obviously, I think Greta should be nominated as a director,” Robbie said. “What she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing. What she pulled off, it really is. But it’s been an incredible year for all the films.”
When asked about her feelings on the nominations, junior mass communication major Abby Pollock expressed just how frustrated she was with the lack of nominations for these women.
“Them not getting nominated is the whole plot of the movie,” Pollock said. “I think Ryan Gosling deserved his nomination, but this movie wouldn’t have been what it was without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie. They deserved more recognition than they received.”
Grace Greer, a sophomore public health major, shared a similar opinion.
“I feel like it’s very saddening that Margot, and ‘Barbie’ in general, was snubbed for the Oscars,” Greer said. “However, I loved that America got the recognition that she deserves.”
Ken himself also made sure his thoughts were known in a statement he released about the nominations. Gosling did say how excited he is for Ferraera’s nomination, along with the fact that he does appreciate his nomination, but made it clear the film would not have been as successful without the women behind it.
“But there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no ‘Barbie’ movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film,” Gosling said.
With the main nomination for “Barbie” being Best Picture, people speculate that the lack of a Best Director nomination could mean there could be a benefit of the snub that could result in higher chances of a win for other awards.
This is a possibility that could come true on March 10. The world will be watching to see just how many wins “Barbie” pulls through with at this year‘s ceremony.
