When America Ferrera said, "[Women] have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong" in the middle of the Barbie movie, I knew the statement applied to the present, but I didn't realize it would continue to apply to the future. But when the Academy Award nominations dropped January 23, leaving Barbie director Greta Gerwig and lead actress Margot Robbie out of the running (not to mention Rachel McAdams forAre You There God? It's Me Margaret, and Celine Song and Greta Lee for Past Lives), all my work chats and text chains exploded — and I felt my heart break a little. Academy Award nominations exhibit which voices we choose to elevate, and what we're willing to deem valid, worthy, and important. Does an Oscar inherently make a movie a good film? No, but it still says a lot.
After years of difficulty in cinema (and media overall, TBH) because of COVID, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie — among a vast team of very talented people — reinstalled the joy and the buzz that movies deserve when Barbie hit theaters July 21, 2023. For a movie about a favorite childhood toy, Barbie — and Greta Gerwig — had a lot riding on its shoulders and it absolutely delivered: it made women feel seen, it started ample and overdue discussions about the patriarchy, and it led Greta Gerwig to become the first solo female director with a billion-dollar film. So, then, why in the world wasn't she nominated for an Oscar?
AMERICA FERRERA as Gloria in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Image via Warner Bros. Pictures.
The AMPAS, or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are comprised of 10,000 members, 9,500 of whom vote on the Oscars. As of 2021 (viaThe Los Angeles Times), only 33 percent identify as women. In the same way the success of women behind the scenes continually proves we need to be telling our own stories, the lack thereof leaves a lot to be desired — especially when unbalanced voting is so consistent, it's become a running joke that the Academy only lets one woman in the Best Director category every year.
Expressing her disappointment that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie weren't nominated, America Ferrera (who did score a nomination for Best Supporting Actress) tells Variety, “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve [a nomination]. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon.”
“What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable,” Ferrera continues. “One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did. She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”
RYAN GOSLING as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Image via Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ryan Gosling also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Ken, and released a statement after the nominations were announced:
“I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films. And I never thought I’d being saying this, but I’m also incredibly honored and proud that it’s for portraying a plastic doll named Ken.
No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius.
To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.
Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.
Having said that, I am so happy for America Ferrera and the other incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this such a groundbreaking film.”
Barbie actor Simu Liu agreed with Gosling's sentiments. "Being involved in a small way gave me a window into just how hard Greta and Margot had to fight to get Barbie made, and how flawlessly they executed. Together they started a movement, touched the world and reinvigorated the cinema. They deserve everything. They ARE everything," he says on X.
Even former First Lady Hillary Clinton released a statement, saying, "Greta and Margot, while it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You're both so much more than Kenough."
MARGOT ROBBIE on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Image via Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures.
The whole point of Barbie is seen in the way it was received: women squealed, laughed, and wept, while the men around us either allowed it to give them a better understanding of the female experience or used it in an atrocious and sexist Golden Globes monologue. To leave Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie out of the nominations feels like the Academy was presented with the female experience and simply decided it wasn't worth honoring. And considering the Academy (which is also 81 percent white, FYI) also snubbed Past Lives lead actress Greta Lee and director Celine Song, it's a continual, ever-present message that while a story might be popular, the women who do the work aren't worth their weight in Oscar-gold — or even the chance of it.
Director/Writer GRETA GERWIG and Cinematographer RODRIGO PRIETO on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Image via Dale Robinette/Warner Bros. Pictures.
After Barbie, everyone in the entire world talked about Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, cementing Barbie (or Barbenheimer, if you prefer) as an event that will go down in pop culture history. So what do women have to do to finally be recognized?
Who decides what stories are valuable or worth honoring? Barbie's colorful, joyful exploration and celebration of womanhood isn't mutually exclusive from serious storytelling. Because all the women in my life can talk about is how seriously they took the film. Barbie’s struggles felt familiar, full of things we all deal with daily — catcalling, dismissal, fear.
(L-r) KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR as Ken, RYAN GOSLING as Ken, MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie, SIMU LIU as Ken, NCUTI GATWA as Ken and SCOTT EVANS as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Image via Warner Bros. Pictures.
America Ferrera's Gloria (which is really to say Greta Gerwig’s writing) put it best when she says that women are constantly tying themselves in knots over and over, but despite our best efforts, it's just not enough. Respecting women's experiences or literally just letting them talk is absolutely "Kenough," but I'm sick of being told to smile or be content with the way things are when getting people to like us — and literally boosting the economy — clearly isn't enough.
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Lead image via Dale Robinette/Warner Bros. Pictures.
