Awards season is in full swing and the last major award show to take place highlighting the films released in 2023 is the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars. If you know anything about the Oscars you know that the nominations are released in mid-January and there’s always some type of controversy surrounding them. Hundreds of films are released each year and the Oscars only make room for five nominations in each category—barring the best picture category which leaves room for ten films—so there’s no way everyone will be satisfied with the nominations. The nominations for the 2024 Academy Awards were announced on January 23, 2024 and a few nominations, or lack thereof, sparked a ton of discourse online. 

The biggest controversy that came with this year’s nominations was the lack of nominations for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig for “Barbie,” the highest-grossing film of 2023. Many believe that Robbie should’ve been nominated for Best Actress and Gerwig should’ve received a best director nod. However, Ryan Gosling and America Ferrara walked away with best supporting acting nominations for their performances in the summer blockbuster. I loved Barbie as much as the next person, but the only nomination it truly deserved was Best Picture. No, Margot Robbie wasn’t snubbed out of best actress and Ryan Gosling should not have been nominated for best supporting actor. You could definitely argue that America Ferrera deserved her best supporting actress nomination, but to me it reads like a legacy nomination a la Jamie Lee Curtis’ nomination and win at last year’s Oscars for her subpar performance in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” You could also argue that Greta Gerwig deserved a best director nomination but I would disagree with that as well. 

Every year there’s an indie film, likely an A24 film, that people get a hold of and love. This year’s hit indie film was Celine Song’s “Past Lives,” a film that follows Nora (Lee) as she reconnects with a childhood friend over the course of 20 years. The film focuses on the what-ifs of life and what one leaves behind when immigrating to another country. (This is a very simple summary, but I highly recommend this film.) Lee’s performance in “Past Lives” was nothing short of extraordinary and in the eyes of many, including myself, she was surely going to be nominated for Best Actress. So when she wasn’t, it was clear to me and others that this was the actual best actress snub.

I also stated that Gosling shouldn’t have been nominated for best supporting actor and there are several men I would have loved to see take his place. Firstly, Teo Yoo for his performance in “Past Lives.” Some would argue that he should be in the leading actor category but I would put him in supporting. Either way, he should have received a nomination for his role. Anyway, more men who could’ve taken Gosling’s spot include Charles Melton for his performance in “May December,” Dominic Sessa for “The Holdovers,” and literally any other man who was on a movie screen last year. 

But enough with the complaining, let’s highlight some historical moments and surprises that came with this year’s nominations. I can’t go any longer without acknowledging Lily Gladstone and her nomination for best actress in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone gave a stellar performance in the film and has been racking up awards left and right, and breaking records while doing so. She recently won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, making her the first Native American woman to be nominated and win the award. Her Oscar nomination also makes her the first Native American woman to be nominated for best actress. Gladstone is clearly the front runner for the award, so if she wins it’ll be a big moment for her and the Native American community. 

Here are a few snapshot highlights. Colman Domingo was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Bayard Rustin in “Rustin.” Domingo is an Afro-Latino gay man and makes history as the first out Black and first out Latino actor to be nominated in the category. Da’Vine Joy Randolph received her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her performance in “The Holdovers.” Randolph has taken awards season by storm and also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress just a few weeks ago. While this nomination isn’t “historical” many, including myself, are incredibly happy to see a plus-sized Black woman being acknowledged for her work and be the front runner in this highly competitive category. 

While we could all spend hours complaining about the snubs that took place for this year’s Oscars—by we I mean me because I didn’t even mention the zero nominations for “The Iron Claw”—it’s also incredibly important that we acknowledge those who continue to break down the walls that the Academy has had up for years. If you’re interested in seeing all the nominations you can go to oscars.org and  catch the 96th Academy Awards Sunday, March 10 on ABC.