Opinion/ Ken In, Barbie Out: Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie’s Oscar Snub A Cinematic Irony

A defining moment in Barbie unfolds as Writer Barbie (portrayed by Alexandra Shipp) receives the Nobel Prize in Barbieland and in her speech proudly declares, "I worked really hard for this and I deserve it.”

In a surprise move Tuesday morning, when the Oscar 2024 nominations were announced, the women behind the blockbuster hit film Barbie — Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, were blatantly blindsided by the Academy in what is now being termed as one of the biggest snubs this year.

Greta Gerwig And Margot Robbie Snubbed Despite Barbie's Global Success

For many, Gerwig and Robbie’s nominations in the Best Director and Best Actress categories was inevitable considering the global success of the film. In fact, the runway fan-favourite Barbie winning the first-ever Golden Globe award for cinematic and box office achievement and six Critics Choice Awards was only being looked upon as a precursor to the ultimate honour — an Oscar nod. But, the Academy sprung a surprise by overtly disregarding the women central to and behind the success of Barbie.

While Barbie, the first female-led and female-helmed film to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide, secured eight Oscar nominations —  Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Costume Design, Music (Original Song): "I'm Just Ken", Music (Original Song) "What Was I Made For?", Production Design and Writing (Adapted Screenplay) — with nods to Robbie as a producer and Gerwig under Adapted Screenplay, however, their exclusion from the prominent Actress in a Leading Role and Directing categories prompted speculation on the reasons behind the snubs. 

While some highlighted the gender bias within the Academy towards female directors (Not just Gerwig, Past Lives director Celine Song was also snubbed by the Academy!), others were surprised and puzzled that Robbie, whose portrayal of Barbie was one of the most-talked about performances of 2023, lost out on a nomination in a category where she didn’t have the ‘gender hurdle’ to face, making the snub even more baffling.

A Man's World Indeed!

The Oscars' historical bias towards male directors and male-led stories persists, with only a handful of female directors earning nominations in the Directing category.

Until last year, only eight female filmmakers had been nominated in the category. And, in the Academy’s nearly 100-year history, only three had won an Oscar for Best Director.

2020 marked the first time the Academy handed out nominations to two women in the Best Director category -- Chloé Zhao for Nomadland and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman. Zhao went on to win both Best Director and Best Picture that year.

This year, Justin Triet is the only woman nominated in the directing category for her film Anatomy of a Fall, standing alongside Yorgos Lanthimos, Bradley Cooper, Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese. She is also only the ninth woman ever to be nominated in the Best Director category.

List of female directors who were nominated, won and Oscar in the Academy's history:

- 1977 Lina Wertmüooer, Seven Beauties - Nominated
- 1993 Jane Campion, The Piano - Nominated
- 2003 Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation - Nominated
- 2009 Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker - Winner
- 2017 Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - Nominated
- 2020 Chloé Zhao, Nomadland - Winner
- 2020 Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman, - Nominated
- 2021 Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog - Winner
- 2024 Justin Triet, Anatomy Of A Fall - nominated (winner to be announced)
 

Despite Barbie's groundbreaking success, Gerwig’s exclusion from Best Director Oscar, underscored the gender gap prevalent in Oscar nominations.

Female-Led Comedies Face Additional Hurdles

While Barbie did not face any hurdles securing an Oscar nod in the Best Picture category which has ten nominations unlike other categories that have five, the snub of Gerwig and Robbie certainly raises questions about biases within the Academy, especially towards comedies led by women.

Previously, comedies led by male filmmakers such as Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot) and Woody Allen (Annie Hall) have won Best Director Oscar while Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Peter Cattaneo (A Full Monty) have secured nominations in the category.

Directors Branch Influence: The Voting Dynamics

The Directors' Branch, consisting of 587 voters, only about a quarter of who are females, cast their votes to determine who ends up earning a spot in the Best Director nomination. This group has a historical inclination to overlook mainstream studio fare, as observed in previous snubs of directors like Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and Ben Affleck (Argo). This year, Gerwig's snub in the Best Director category has put the spotlight on the biases against mainstream studio fare films like Barbie.

Controversial Backlash: Labelled an "Anti-Men" Film

Despite its cultural phenomenon status, Barbie faced backlash with accusations of carrying a "misandrist message." The film's success was marred by claims of being "anti-men" and labeled as "woke propaganda" or "Man-Hating Feminist Trash." The influence of such criticisms on the Academy's decision to snub the women behind the film remains a subject of speculation.

Ken In, Barbie Out

While there’s no denying that Ryan Gosling totally nailed it as ‘just Ken’, the irony in him getting recognised for Barbie while Robbie and Gerwig were overlooked wasn’t lost out on the cinephiles. Many even took to X to express their disappointment. “The fact that Ryan got an Oscar nomination and not the director/writer or the producer/lead actress that were the biggest part of the movie’s success and one of the only reasons the movie got made is just so fkn disappointing and tragic,” wrote an X user. “Ken getting an Oscar Award nomination but not Barbie says it all really doesn’t it, absolute insanity!” wrote another. “Maybe in BarbieLand  “She’s everything. He’s just Ken.” But in OscarWorld the winner is….patriarchy!” noted yet another user.

Meanwhile, like the moviegoers, Gosling, who earned two Oscar nominations — Actor in a Supporting Role (for his portrayal as Ken to Margot Robbie’s Barbie) and Music (Original Song - I’m Just Ken from Barbie) — too called out the Academy in a strongly worded statement.

He emphasised the indispensable roles played by Greta Gerwig and Robbie in making Barbie a cultural phenomenon. Gosling asserted, “There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie.” “No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius,” read a part of his statement.

However, Gosling having to emphasise the contributions of his female colleagues and the Academy shutting them out from the two main categories is only illustrative of the film's central theme: the pervasive influence of patriarchy in every aspect of our culture, mirroring the challenges women encounter in achieving fair recognition in the film industry.