On Jan. 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released their nominations for the 2024 Oscar awards, and people are angry, rightfully so. 

The blockbuster hit “Barbie” was nominated for eight categories including Best Picture as well as Best Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling for his role as Ken. However, who the Academy failed to recognize in their nomination list were the women who truly made this film possible: lead actress and executive producer Margot Robbie and the film’s director Greta Gerwig. 

In poor ironic fashion, the Academy nominated the leading man in the film about recognizing women and not even the star herself. The film would not have been nearly as emotionally or culturally impactful if it were not for Robbie’s fantastic performance as Barbie, but alas, Robbie is snubbed yet again. 

On behalf of Gerwig, this snub is not only shocking but downright unbelievable. Both critics and general audiences alike have praised the film for its directing. It’s not like the Academy doesn’t feel the same way given its Best Picture nomination, yet it’s still not nominated for directing? 

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which was largely compared to “Barbie” due to the Barbenheimer memes of the past summer, also received a Best Picture nomination as well as a directing nomination which makes sense, right? But why does Greta Gerwig not receive one? 

The Academy has been notorious for being extremely tone deaf when it comes to choosing which film gets nominated for which category, but this time it just comes off as extremely distasteful. 

Gosling was even outraged by the Academy’s poor voting and addressed his disappointment in Time magazine in which he stated, “…There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.” 

Many other celebrities have spoken out against the Robbie/Gerwig snub including actress and singer, Bette Midler in which she tweeted, “This movie not only resonated deeply but also grossed a billion dollars. Yet, in a twist of irony, it was Ken who received the Oscar nomination. Everyone go re-watch ‘Barbie’ tonight.” 

The reason why we are all outraged by the Academy is because they are embodying exactly what the film is talking about, that men will always be acknowledged more than women despite working just as hard as them. Women are not recognized as women in our patriarchal world for their brilliance, and it is sad to see that the Academy not only proved the film’s thesis, but continue to carry on their tone deaf legacy of poor nomination selection. 

A silver lining to all of this is that America Ferrera was nominated for Best Supporting Actress which is great since she gave one of the best monologues in cinema history. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the world is one big “Mojo Dojo Casa House,” and we continue living in it. 

All we can hope is that the Academy finally learns to acknowledge the women that have reshaped cinema. Gerwig and Robbie are two of the many women taking cinema by storm, and it is sad to see that they continue to be put down by the patriarchal Academy.