We are coming towards the end of the 2024 Oscar season, with the long-awaited ceremony just two days away on March 10.
There are always fans who feel their favorite movie got snubbed by the selection committee, and this year is no different. As always, there has been controversy and even anger regarding several of the nominations- or, more specifically, things that did not get nominations. “Barbie” has been the most notable this Oscar season. Greta Gerwig did not receive a nomination for Best Director, and Margot Robbie did not get one for Best Actress. As someone who loves “Barbie,” this is upsetting to me too; however, “Barbie” still received a respectable eight nominations, including Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay (which would go to Gerwig), and the coveted Best Picture (which would go to Robbie as a producer).
There has also been controversy regarding Jewish representation in the films “Golda” and “Maestro,” as both were nominated for Best Hair and Makeup for two non-Jewish actors portraying Jewish characters. Prosthetics, including large fake noses, were used to transform Dame Helen Mirren into the Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and Bradly Cooper into Jewish composer Lenerad Bernstein. Many people have pushed back against these nominations, claiming that they are offensive and make use of Jewish stereotypes, though Berstein’s own children supported Cooper’s appearance. “Oppenheimer” was also nominated for Best Hair and Makeup and had the similar task of making Gentile Cillian Murphy into the Jewish inventor of the atomic bomb. However, there has been less internet discourse about that, as no prosthetics were used.
There are certainly places where the Oscars could continue to grow and things that may need to be taken into consideration in the future. However, people will always find something to be mad about in any given awards season. Instead of focusing on the negatives, let’s look at some of the positives and records from the 2024 Oscar nominations.
This was an exciting year for women in film. Seven of the ten Best Picture nominations were produced by women. Gerwig made history as the first female director to receive three Best Picture nominations, with “Ladybird” and “Little Women” preceding “Barbie.” While Gerwig was left out of the Best Director nominations, Justine Triet became the eighth woman to be nominated for Best Director with “Anatomy of a Fall.” This year is also the first time in Oscar history that three films directed by women were nominated for Best Picture: Gerwig (“Barbie”), Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”) and Celin Song with her directorial debut (“Past Lives”). Song is the first Asian female director to have her film nominated for Best Picture.
The 2024 Oscars are also a big win for LGBT actors. For the first time, two openly LGBT actors received nominations for portraying LGBT characters: Coleman Domingo for civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in “Rustin,” and Jodi Foster for swimming coach Bonnie Stoll in “Nyad.” They will be joining Sir Ian McKellan, who won Best Actor for his leading role in “Gods and Monsters” in 1998. Until this year, McKellan was the only openly gay actor awarded for portraying a gay character at the Oscars.
If Foster wins, she will join the list of six actors to receive three Oscars, which also includes Merly Steep and Daniel Day-Lewis. Domingo, on the other hand, is one of ten actors nominated for the first time this season, along with Emily Blunt, Jeffrey Wright, Danielle Brooks, Sterling K Brown, America Ferrera, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Hüller, Cillian Murphy and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
Lily Gladstone has the potential to break an Oscar record by becoming the first Native American actress to win an Oscar for her portrayal of Molly Burkhart in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” She is also the first Native American performer to be nominated for any acting academy award. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese, who is now the oldest person to be nominated for an Oscar at age 81. John Wiliams also became the oldest competitive Oscar nominee with his original score for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” at age 91.
Despite controversies and upsets that have surrounded this Oscar season, progress toward inclusivity is being made. This is a big year for female-directed and produced movies, and we can only hope that women will continue to get the recognition they deserve in the film industry. The nominations for this year also show an increasing desire for LGBT characters to be represented by LGBT actors, which will most likely carry on into the future. Lily Gladstone’s nomination is also another step toward diversity and recognizing actors and actresses of other ethnicities.
Are there still problems? Of course. But take a minute to celebrate the progress instead of only focusing on the areas that still need to grow.