On Sunday, March 2, the 97th Academy Awards will honor the most notable films of 2024. Among the numerous movies nominated and competing for the chance to grab one of the golden trophies, ten individual films have been decreed the greatest of 2024. The following were nominated in the category of Best Picture: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and Wicked. From a biopic about Bob Dylan to a musical taking audiences back to Oz, the nominations represent the astounding breadth of cinema this year. Most notably, the lineup features one science-fiction movie (Dune: Part Two), one horror movie (The Substance) and one fantasy movie (Wicked). Upon scrolling through the Oscars nomination database all the way back to the first one in 1927, a trend appears — it seems that almost all nominations for the Best Picture category have been from the genre of drama.
The Best Picture award at the Oscars recognizes the “best motion picture of the year.” Originally titled “Outstanding Picture,” the first winner was Wings (a female detective drama), and recent popular awardees include Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Parasite. Traditionally, winners and nominees for Best Picture have been drawn-out, serious, fictional films centering on the development of characters in the real world. Only recently have films from more fantastical backgrounds broken into the elite circle of Best Picture nominees. In fact, according to ScreenRant, only seven horror movies have even been considered for Best Picture. One of the films on that list is this year’s nominee, The Substance. The Substance is a body-horror movie starring Demi Moore. Her character, Elisabeth Sparkle, is an aging celebrity who succumbs to a black-market drug to create a younger double of herself. Though only receiving a 75 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Substance has largely been heralded as a smashing hit. However, it will be going up against such powerhouses as Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist, which combine for a total of twenty-three nominations. Not only that, but as a horror film, The Substance has a distinct disadvantage. Only one horror movie has ever taken home the golden trophy for Best Picture: The Silence of the Lambs. Furthermore, even films such as Jaws, which won three other Oscars, could not secure the elusive Best Picture trophy. Facing such impossible odds, it is necessary to question the validity of an Academy that does not recognize all talent in the vast industry of film.
What is the Academy? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is an organization of experienced actors, actresses, directors and film workers who decide on Oscar winners. Composed of nine branches, the Academy brings together experts of the cinema world in order to create a fair voting environment. But how fair is it? According to the Academy Membership page of the Oscars website, the “membership process is by sponsorship, not application.” In order to gain entry into the hallowed voting ranks, prospectives have to be sponsored by two current members of the Academy. Even if a director or actor was the best in the field, if they could not accrue the favor of two Academy members, they would not be allowed in. Therefore, this approach breeds bias and favoritism. Even more interesting is the fact that the Academy does not publish the demographics of its own five-thousand-plus organization, making information on diversity within the group difficult to come by. Los Angeles Times reporters in 2012 undertook the painstaking project of acquiring demographic information on the Academy and found that voters were 94 percent white and 77 percent male. A lack of diversity within the Academy could be the key to understanding the lack of diversity in film nominees and winners. Without new ideas and differing perspectives, the Academy will only continue to struggle with recognizing incredible movies outside the drama genre.
More fantastical movies are radically different from their more realistic counterparts. Besides the obvious dissimilarities of content matter, fantasy, sci-fi and horror films often rely more upon special effects, epic visuals and intense fight scenes to draw crowds. Drama movies, on the other hand, often allow more time for actors and actresses to showcase emotional range and overall skill. Among critics, this can lead to a general condescension towards such works. For example, the Academy wouldn’t necessarily be searching the scores of superhero movies to discover a gem. In fact, only two superhero movies have been recognized at the Oscars and neither for Best Picture. Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Dark Knight, and Joaquin Phoenix won Best Leading Actor for his role in Joker. Interestingly, both these awards were for the character of Joker, a role that lends itself to more psychological acting. Besides the lack of superhero movie representation in the Best Picture category (with many potentially deserving it, like The Dark Knight), fantasy movies do not often fare well, either. The best example here is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were all nominated for Best Picture. Only The Return of the King was able to snatch the trophy, however. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, instead of winning Best Picture, won awards for Visual Effects and Cinematography, the two areas in which fantasy movies most often excel. However, when considering the merit of the movies as noteworthy and impressive pieces of art, only The Return of the King was able to succeed.
Problems are hard to avoid when bringing together elite groups to rule upon the quality of art. Even though the Academy has had trouble appreciating genres other than drama, there seems to be hope. Looking only at the past few years, more fantasy and horror movies have been nominated and won major awards at the Oscars, from Everything Everywhere All at Once to Poor Things. This year is shaping out to be one of the best yet for unconventional genres.
Jane Locke is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at [email protected].