This year’s Oscar nominations were released Monday morning, which means the internet was immediately filled with unnecessarily outraged opinions.
When actress and nominations presenter Issa Rae announced the all-male lineup of best director nominees, she quipped, “Congratulations to those men.”
The nominations — which are dominated by Joker, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, The Irishman, and 1917 — are being criticized as racist, sexist, and everything in between.
While it’s true that Little Women director Greta Gerwig’s omission was a disappointing snub, the ensuing fury over the lack of gender diversity in the other categories was … excessive.
i genuinely think not nominating j lo is rooted in racism and sexism about the kinds of performances the oscars deem worthy of praise doNOT @ me
— E. Alex Jung (@e_alexjung) January 13, 2020
Not surprised that Hustlers was totally shut out from the Oscars tbh. It stars two woc over 30, emphasizes their friendship and mutual respect, and passes the Bechdel test.
It also treats men the way Oscar films usually treat women: as set dressing.
— Women Film Directors (@women_direct) January 13, 2020
I’m not writing anything about the Oscars today because I’m off work with a fever, but these nominations can absolutely get in the bin.
The Academy is sexist & everyone just decided to ignore Tarantino’s Weinstein/Thurman issues in favor of Hollywood nostalgia.
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) January 13, 2020
Unsurprisingly, some moviegoers were also upset that Joker, which most of the media lambasted for months, actually cleaned up with 11 awards, more than any other film.
Lol. The Oscars snubbed women, people of color, and Jewish hipsters so they could lavish awards on the incel clown.
— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) January 13, 2020
When The Oscars voting body is overwhelmingly white,male and with an average age of near the grave we really have to question what validation from them even means. Filmmakers like Lulu Wang,Alma Harel,Mati Diop and Greta Gerwig made the films that moved me this year not clownman
— Nigarette (@attackontima) January 13, 2020
Todd Phillips over Greta Gerwig or Noah Baumbach is a joke. https://t.co/93tRPu1S6S
— Will Darbyshire (@willdarbyshire) January 13, 2020
Spectators will find plenty of reasons to be enraged by the Academy until the Oscars air on Feb. 9. Whoever wins best director, expect to see a Natalie Portman-esque introduction, similar to her quip at the 2018 Golden Globes: “And here are the all-male nominees.”
Despite a few snubs, this year’s nominations were largely predictable — Laura Dern got a nod for her much-celebrated portrayal of a feminist divorce lawyer in Marriage Story — with some surprises: Ford v Ferrari and Parasite for best picture and only one nomination for Knives Out.
There’s one thing about the Oscars that you can always predict, though. Moviegoers will find plenty of reasons to be upset, and these days, those reasons usually center not on the content of the film, but on identity politics.
