Snubbed Reflections: The 'Barbie' Oscars Overlook and the Quest for Women's Recognition in Hollywood

Why did the Oscars overlook the director and star of 'Barbie' , and what does it say about the state of female empowerment in Hollywood? Your TikTok Bubbie is here to unravel the tapestry of triumphs and snubs from the 2024 Academy Awards nominations. Amidst the sparkling contenders and celebrated cinematic achievements, we're not afraid to call out the Academy's blind spot when it comes to recognizing stories that shine with empowerment and wit. With an ear to Mary McNamara's piercing critique, we dissect the possible reasons behind the dismissal of Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' and the implications it holds for women in the industry. Let's raise a glass (or our TikTok thumbs) to the films that dare to blend fun with smarts, and question why Hollywood’s gold standard often shuns the light in favor of the dark.

Hang on to your movie tickets, dolls, as we steer the conversation to the paradoxes facing women in Tinseltown. We're peeling back the curtain to reveal the irony of accolades versus actual value in Hollywood, exemplified by the juxtaposition of LA Times Studios' Oscar nod amidst internal layoffs. Does the industry recognize the true rule of women, or are we still chasing a mirage of equality? In this heartfelt and frank episode, we salute the undaunted spirit of women across all walks of life, sharing personal stories of resilience that intersect our own. For every woman who's been overlooked, this one's for you, bitches—it's time to spotlight those who outshine the status quo.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Morning bitches and dolls. If no one told you they love you today, then I love you because you're you, that's right. It's your TikTok Bubby. Excuse me, I got a frog in Detroit and I can't talky. Okay, and I'm going to be talking about the 2024 Oscar Nords. Okay, it's going to take me a few minutes and then I'll give you my opinion.

Speaker 1: 0:34

First of all, best picture, american fiction. Anatomy of a fail, barbie, fabulous. Killers of the flower moon. Maestro Oppenheimer. Past lives, poor things, fabulous. And the zone of interest.

Speaker 1: 0:53

Actors in a leading role Annette Benning-Ponayed, lily Gladstone for killers of the flower moon. Anatomy of a fail, sandra Hewler. Carrie Mulligan, maestro. And Emma Stone, poor things. Actor in a leading role Bradley Cooper, maestro, coleman, Domingo Rustin, paul Giamatti fabulous the holdovers. Killian Murphy, oppenheimer and Jeffrey Wright.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Fiction. American fiction. Actress in a supporting role Emily Blunt, oppenheimer. Danielle Brooks phenomenal. The color purple. America, ferrari, ferrari, sorry, america. Barbie, fabulous Jody Forst and I had divine joy. Randolph the holdovers. Actor in a supporting role, sterling K Brown.

Speaker 1: 1:48

American fiction, robert De Niro, killers of the flower moon. Robert Downey Jr, oppenheimer. Ryan Gosling, barbie and Mark Ruffalo, or Ruffalo, poor things. Director Jonathan Glazer. The zone of interest, your ghost, lanthimos, poor things, very good. Oppenheimer, christopher Nolan, yes, martin Scorcese. Killers of the flower moon, justin Triad, anatomy of a fail.

Speaker 1: 2:19

So I'm just not going to read all the others. These are the important things to me and everybody else who watches the Oscar. So I wanted to read this article. By the way, that Times is getting rid of 150 people in the way. The paper's so thin you could use it as toilet paper. Okay, here we go. By Mary McNamara, I'm going to read this article.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Academy deals a blow to female empowerment. But guess what? Which film told us what to expect? Right, of course, right. If only Barbie had done a little time as a sex worker that's what they call them now or barely survived becoming the next victim in a mass murder plot, or stood accused of shoving Ken out of the dream house's top window. Certainly, millions of Barbie fans are currently wishing they could push someone, perhaps a member or two of the film Academy, out of a very high window. How on earth does the list of 2024 Oscar nominations not include the amazing, incredible director, greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who respectively directed and starred in a film that defied all critical expectations and made movie going fun again? And guess what? Did it make the most money last year. I'm just saying More pointedly how did the voters justify giving Barbie with its very clear message that women have to dance backwards and heels to get half the validation from their male peers?

Speaker 1: 3:58

Hello, does the world ever change? Of course not. Okay, women can't win. Right, get a behow could? I'm looking under the way Snubs We'll do snubs later, but we'll go by. I'm a great, but often the great here. Okay, women can't win Get a best picture while ignoring the two women who made that picture possible.

Speaker 1: 4:35

That Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera got nominations for their supporting roles was caused for rejoicing, right. But apparently no one in the academy was actually listening when Ferrara's Gloria delivered her now famous monologue about why it feels impossible to be a woman. Gerwig was nominated alongside her husband, noah Baumback, for adapted screenplay, but the irony of her being snubbed again for directing the film that featured that scene is heartbreaking. Right, of course? Right. First, hollywood tells us repeatedly that female directors can't win the box office, and then, when one does, while also winning raves from critics, well, apparently had nothing to do with the quality of the directing.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Did too many people, particularly women, enjoy Barbie for it to be considered important enough for Academy voters. Did Robbie's Barbie not suffer enough? Did Gerwig, simple, make it look too effortless? Simply, was it just too pink? It was the great year for film and all of the nominees did tremendous work, but no director or actor face the same degree of difficulty as Gerwig and Robbie.

Speaker 1: 5:51

Not to detract from anyone's achievements, but stories that center on death and or mass murder, which fill most of the directory category, have a certain level of tension and drama are built into it, and the film Academy has a modern history of valuing at least when it comes time for awards movies that are tense and dramatic over anything bright and shiny, even when the bright and shiny is also deeply moving and brilliant. As Barbie herself discovered, some people have a difficult time believing that something fun and beautiful can also be quite smart and important. Though the increased diversity of voters has forced a welcome movement away from bio pics of famous men, there remains a certain snobbery over tone, a certain level of real life. Grittiness is all but required to be considered best, even for sentimental favorites like Koda or groundbreaking winners like Moonlight and Parathy. It's all but impossible to imagine the original Mary Poppins making its Oscar Oscar sweep today. Right, of course. Right. What is absurd. Excellent comes in all forms and color palettes, and if the Oscars are honoring actual achievement and filmmaking, who thought a big Hollywood film about a doll, and that one that most modern children reject after the age of six would, would make audiences of all ages Laugh, cry and cheer, sometimes all at once?

Speaker 1: 7:22

Who thought Barbie would become one of the most successful female empowerment films in history? Maybe it was the PG-13 rating that turned off its difficult not to contrast the limited nominations for Barbie with the overwhelming amount of Academy love for poor things. Another fantastical story of a manufactured woman finding her way in the world, though hewing more to traditional Oscar-approved lines. So what was I made for themes that are remarkably similar, but poor things is in many ways the male gaze on a plate. What exactly are we to make of the sight of a full-grown woman with the brain of a child discovering the joy of orgasm, or her literal, childlike appreciation for sex, or her questionable, if more mature, decisions at sex? Work is the obvious, an enjoyable answer to her need for sex and money. Perhaps a scene sex scene or two would have convinced Academy voters that Barbie was just as affecting and a creative story of female empowerment that required the same level of direction and acting.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Traditionally, films that do well at the box office almost come up short for Oscars, just as Christopher Nolan just now perched with Oppenheimer on a pile of nominations that it was the outcry of the mission of his dark night Love, that movie From best picture, that sparked the Academy's decision to expand the field from five to up to ten nominees. Okay, so no one can only hope Gerwig's Nest Project is a biopic of Madame Curie or Lizzie Boyden and that Robbie seriously glams down for her next film like Charlize Theron did it for her Oscar-winning role as a serial killer. Aline Warnows Wow, that was. She was amazing in Oscar, in monster Oscar, monster, whatever In terms of the race and the telecast, which, to be fair and not what voters should consider, these snubs cast a different Paul over the proceedings.

Speaker 1: 9:33

Few thought that Ger would win in a category that includes Nolan and Martin Scorsese, but it sure would have been nice to see her out there campaigning. Honestly, she probably should have lean more heavily on. The making of the film was so hard. Everything felt so impossible, impossible narrative, instead of stressing with unfailing generosity how satisfying the experience was. The same goes for Robbie, who also produced the film through her production company, lucky Chap Entertainment.

Speaker 1: 10:05

Obviously, getting snubbed by the Oscars is not the worst thing that could happen to a person. As I write this, more than 100 of my colleagues at the times are getting layoff notices. In another instance of breathtaking irony, la Time Studios, which has been deeply affected by recent cuts, receives its first Oscar nomination for the short documentary film the Last Rapacea. But the Oscars remain one of the most visible barometers of value and success in Hollywood. And so who makes the list and who does not, and how people react to it, means something.

Speaker 1: 10:39

Many people believe that Gerwick and Robbie were shoo-ins. Never believe anything. I don't believe anything anymore, right as history has proved time and again, assuming a woman is going to be a shoe-in for anything, even the actress category, is never a good idea, because to succeed, women have to defy all manner of expectations while also meeting every single one of them. You know that's the truth. You know I am woman. Hear me roar, more roar, with numbers too big to ignore. But you know what? They still ignore us. You, tiktok Bobby, knows that after working male-dominated industries all my life. So hats off to you, greta, margo, hats off to you, mary. I love this article and your TikTok, bobby believes that women rule no matter what. If you don't think so, come into my house where I'm taking care now, care and feeding of my husband who has the beginning of my dementia. Okay, anyway, love you very much, love all of you, and hail to Barbie, hail to her and the director, producer, actors, and I've known and told you they love you today. I love you because you're you, take care.