2020 Oscar nominations: Neglecting diversity and the best movies – DU Clarion

It happens every yearthe bustling of media, cinephiles and critics as the 92nd Academy Awards approaches. Its looking to be unpredictable with surprise nominations and brutal snubs; however, as prestigious as the awards are regarded, the academy continues to overlook certain thingstwo of the biggest being diversity and the best filmmakers.

Joker led the academy with a startling 11 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and Best Director (Todd Philips). The Irishman, Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood and 1917 followed after with 10 nominations from the academy.

With the cap limit for the number of movies in the best picture category being 10, the pool for this year almost reaches it with nine nods ranging from all over the publicity spectrum. Netflix productions The Irishman and Marriage Story run in the Best Picture category while Klaus and I Lost My Body stand tall for the Best Animated Feature category. In recent years, the industry has diverted its ways to publicize and make these films more accessible to the public all while still racking in revenue and recognition. Yet, however diverse the academy is getting in this new way of recognizing movies, they still remain punch-drunk to diversity in all other aspects.

Neglected Works

The Lighthouse was one of the most provocative films this year. Its somber, vulgar and didnt abide by any conventional film rules. Robert Eggerss new work captivated the hideous side of humanity in his tale of isolation and madness but the Academys obstinate views remain closed. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson gave haunting performances that blewI dare saymost of the nominees out of the water. Its scandalous that they werent even considered when their performances are some of the few that really defined the movie experience.

In addition, The Last Black Man in San Francisco told a story thats never been told before, truly a breath of fresh air in an industry thats been saturated with the same type of movies for such a long time. The originality in beauty really separated the movie from its counterparts yet it still wasnt able to gain the publicity it deserved.

Following his horror, a genre-defining breakthrough with Hereditary, Ari Asters Midsommar was a victim once again to the Academy. It was amazing to see Florence Pugh get nominated for Little Women, but her performance in Midsommar was all the more poignant. The Academy is notorious for holding a grudge against horror movies, and in an era where the genre is being revolutionized, its almost a crime that the Academy doesnt give Ari Aster the recognition that he deserves.

Diversity Drought

Throughout the acting categories, only one black actress was nominatedCynthia Erivo for Harriet. On Jan. 5, Awkwafina won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her marvelous performance in The Farewell but didnt even get a nomination for Best Actress in the upcoming Oscars. The South Korean film Parasite from director Bong Joon Ho has had a stomping season for awards, and it is satisfying seeing it as the one film, besides Little Women, that didnt centralize around white men.

As for directors, not a single nod was given towards Greta Gerwigwhich wouldve made her the first female director to be has be nominated twice for the categoryor Lulu Wang, who made a prominent mark in the world of cinema with her movie, The Farewell.

Its almost as if the Academy forgot the backlash that theyve been getting for the past several years about the lack of representation in the industry. Jordan Peele made history with Get Out in 2017, scoring nominations from the industry in four categories, but his new debut Us (which is arguably better) didnt even get an ounce of recognition from the Academy. Get Out crushed political barriers and had a lot to say about society and race, while Us broke the ideal standard for what is believed that black filmmakers should make movies about.

A step back for an industry thats been struggling for so long, the Academy had been stepping up its efforts for the past couple of years but has seemed to throw that all away this year, which is an abhorrent disgrace.

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2020 Oscar nominations: Neglecting diversity and the best movies - DU Clarion