And the award for best representation goes to...
Barbie wasn't the only example of a snub at this year's Oscars ceremony, oh no! And it's happened before, oh yes! On behalf of BBC Culture, Sarah Bregel recounts past and current woes, as those who wait to be called up to the stage are cruelly sidelined.
This year, those who arrived starry-eyed but left empty-handed included Lily Gladstone, nominated for being an indigenous American actress playing an indigenous American character. Her loss to Emma Stone in the best actress category was lamented by at least one culture critic:
“While Emma Stone is really beloved, there were a lot of people rooting for Lily Gladstone to be recognised,” Angela Andaloro, a culture critic at People Magazine tells BBC Culture. … "A win for Lily", on the other hand, who was the first Native American woman to have ever been nominated in an acting category, would have been really poignant and opened the possibility for more of that representation," Andaloro concludes.
Sarah Bregel, features correspondent, BBC News
So, there you have it, according to at least one culture critic, baubles should be handed out for visibility and representación!(representación!), rather than merit.
Of course, there have been cases where behind-the-scenes shenanigans triumphed over merit; for example, 1998's best picture win for Shakespeare in Love was said to have been [cough] in the bag
, as it were. And even when the winner is ostensibly decided fairly, the best
is often subjective.
But when the quiet part is said out loud, and awards become subject to some kind of quota system or simply given for more of that representation
, like some kind of participation trophy, it should come as no surprise to culture critics and organisers alike if the great unwashed lose interest.
Although Gladstone's loss meant she didn't get the opportunity to repeat her Golden Globes acceptance speech—which started with her talking in her native Blackfoot language, and was just the kind of eloquent, heartfelt acceptance that plays well at the Oscars
(yawn)—I don't really have a dog in the fight. I've seen neither Poor Things nor Killers of the Flower Moon, and while the latter is available to my Netflix subscription, it's not even on my incredibly long but hardly watched watchlist.