Barbie Snubs: Did The Critics Not Watch The Movie??

The 96th Academy Awards were just released last week, and Barbie fans, including myself, are fuming. My question to critics is did they all actually watch the movie? Based on the idea of feminism, it’s ironic that the lead who played Barbie, Margot Robbie, and the director herself, Great Gerwig, wouldn’t get a nomination but the actor who played Ken did not just for his acting but also his song in the movie “I’m Just Ken.” Why? It’s quite simple: patriarchy is still with us to this day. These nominations helped prove that men are in control, the main point of the movie. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the major motion picture helped to bring people back to movie theaters, as it was a big hit among the fellow film Oppenheimer. But being based on a doll may have hurt the success of the film. It seems as though the Academy only focuses on films with intense and dramatic acting, especially biographies (aka Oppenheimer) but disregard the comedic acting within films (Barbie). It’s so ironic to me that the whole message of the movie about feminism flew right past critics’ faces, and instead they focus on Ken when the movie is literally about Barbie. Ryan Gosling only had almost 29 minutes of screen time in the 2 hour movie, while Margot Robbie who played the lead had almost an hour. It should be obvious that this is a problem that isn’t just an overreaction. A movie based on an iconic woman with a powerful female cast shouldn’t be shut down by a supporting male. Aside from all this Ryan Gosling outrage, there is a high note with these nominations. America Ferrara got nominated for actress in her supporting role, so Barbie fans and women haven’t been let down just yet. With her powerful monologue in the film showcasing her acting talent, Ferrara deserves this nomination. “It is literally impossible to be a woman . . . we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.” Her speech is ironic because it applies to these nominations: “I’m just so tired of watching myself and literally every other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.” Make sure to catch the Oscars March 10 on ABC to see if Barbie will redeem herself.