The Academy Awards are not the final word in film, but like any institution they reflect the power dynamics of American society, including those in the church. That’s why the Academy denying Greta Gerwig a nomination for best director for her blockbuster and barrier-breaking film Barbie is such a big deal.
Gerwig’s fingerprints are all over the Barbie movie. She is an auteur with a point of view who was heavily involved in the many facets of the film’s production. Production designer Sarah Greenwood told The New York Times, “It was one of the most difficult philosophical, intellectual, cerebral pieces of work we’ve ever done.”
Gerwig’s Barbie engages issues of identity, womanhood, consumerism, patriarchy and the meaning of life through the pink plastic lens of a toy doll. This Oscar snub is just another example where a woman must once again “always stand out and always be grateful but never forget that the system is rigged,” to quote America Ferrera’s character, Gloria, in the movie.
The system is rigged. Read how, here, at Baptist News Global.
