Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

TV & Film

Where Are The Women? Oscar Nominations For 2023 Are Lacking Diversity (Again)

It’s one step forward two steps back for representation in The Oscars.

LanKS / Shutterstock

It’s that time in the new year again when film fans finally have something to look forward to the 95th Academy Awards. The Oscars take place on 12th March 2023. After releasing the full list of nominations, people can’t help but notice the lack of female directors in the nomination lists.

After its success at the BAFTAs, everyone thought The Academy would give Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ‘The Woman King’ a place on the list of nominations. They did not. As The Times points out, there were plenty of female directors this year who deserved recognition. ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, ‘Fire of Love’ by Sara Dosa, and ‘Emily’ by Frances O’Connor are just a few of the examples given.

Instead, films such as ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘Elvis’ are all up for best picture. Dede Gardner’s ‘Women Talking’ also made the cut. People were hoping Gardner would be up for Best director. Female directors have won the Best Director category for the last two years. This year, the category is completely dominated by men.

Brad Pitt, Steve McQueen, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner & Anthony Katagas at the 86th Annual Academy Awards. FeatureFlash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ leads with 11 nominations, closely followed by ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’. Spielberg is up again, this time with his film ‘The Fablemans’ which is expected to do well.

The nominations for Best Lead Actor are interesting. Austin Butler (‘Elvis’), Colin Farrell (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’), Brendan Fraser (‘The Whale’), Paul Mescal (‘Aftersun’) and Bill Nighy (‘Living’). All five are first time nominees. In total, 16 of the 20 acting nominees are first timers.

Austin Butler attends the “Elvis” UK Special Screening at BFI Southbank in London, England. Fred Duval / Shutterstock

After earning the support of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, and Jennifer Anniston, actress, Andrea Riseborough, found herself nominated for Best Actress for the film ‘To Leslie’. The film only made $27000 at the box office when it was first released. The A listers’ constant support managed to get the Academy to recognize Riseborough’s performance. She is going up against Michelle Yoeh who is the second Asian woman ever to be nominated for Best Actress.

The number of nominations for films on streaming services has gone down since last year. In 2022, services Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, had 37 nominations. This year they only have 19. The BBC believes this is because after spending two years in a lockdown, we can all finally leave our houses and actually go to the cinema to watch a film.

While it’s nice to see the Academy nominating some new faces, the lack of female directors is disappointing, to say the least. In 2023, it seems they have gone backwards. You can still look forward to watching The Oscars on 12th March. Hopefully, no one will get slapped this year.

You can find a full list of the nominations on the Oscars‘ website.

Written By

Advertisement
Advertisement

You May Also Like

TV & Film

A 2023 Netflix movie featuring a light-skinned Black woman and how her life turns upside down when her two worlds collide.

Music

Within the music industry lies a diamond mine of artists and bands waiting to be discovered. Here are some underrated rock musicians you should...

Celebrity

Bad Bunny ex-girlfriend sues over voice recording used without permission.

Music

'I'll be there for you' was not what the Remebrandts thought it would be.

TV & Film

Which Star Wars character does Gen Z love most?

Music

Drake has recently announced a tour with artist 21 Savage. However, the cost of tickets has many fans scratching their heads.

TV & Film

How a genre-bending film became the most awarded of all time, and how the Academy failed the actress at the heart of it.

Music

Diving into the early, budding career of rapper/producer Young Orange, we explore the hard work and dedication put in to the New Jersey product's...

TV & Film

From underdog to champ, which Rocky/Creed movie is best?

TV & Film

Peacock has not risen to the same popularity as other services, but still offers so much. Read to find out what movies are on...

Music

I didn’t think it was possible to host a successful festival in Manhattan. That is until I went to The New Colossus Festival.

TV & Film

The Black Phone trailer shows why this movie shouldn't have gone under the radar - here's why you should watch it in 2023.