Oscar Snubs of the 2010s

While this year's Oscar ceremony has been filled with controversy, it is not the first time someone received a slap in the face during the award show. Here are what I find to be the biggest Oscar snubs of the past decade.

87th Academy Best Actor

2015 was a year of great performances, with Best Actor nominees including Michael Keaton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bradley Cooper, Steve Carell, and Eddie Redmayne. Two peak performances that went unrecognized by the Academy came from Miles Teller and Jake Gyllenhaal. Both actors delivered the performances of their careers. The Academy has a rule in place limiting the number of nominations per category to just five. However, this is not representative of all the talent of the films that year. In fact, the Academy recognized this in 2009 when they changed the rules for Best Picture, changing it from five to ten nominations.

The policy change should apply to all other categories to fairly represent the achievements of all the best work in the year. This archaic rule didn’t allow for some of that year's best acting performances to be revered. In Whiplash, Teller portrayed a young drummer whose ability and sanity are put to the test under his new teacher. Gyllenhaal played the role of a psychopath willing to do anything to get ahead as a crime scene filmer in Nightcrawler.

90th Academy Best Picture

Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017) is a rare sequel that respects the original while still being its own unique film. The Academy did recognize the film for its sound and production design, and it even took home awards for best cinematography and visual effects. However, it was severely underrated both at the box office and the Oscars. With no nominations for Best Picture or Best Director, it was overlooked for its beauty as a complete film. The film told an incredible story, taking the viewer on a journey with K (Ryan Gosling) to discover what it truly means to be human. Blade Runner 2049 was severely overlooked and should have received a nomination in that category.

91st Academy Best Picture

When Green Book won Best Picture in 2019, it seemed that a lot of the internet was not happy. Many thought it was an inaccurate representation of the relationship between the real people portrayed in the film. Some were upset with it, describing it as a white savior film and diluting real issues of racism. Aside from the controversy of what the film represents, it simply wasn’t as good as some of its competition: films like Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman and Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma. There was nothing new, special, or exciting about Green Book. It didn’t do anything better than other movies in the same genre and certainly didn’t deserve to win Best Picture over the other nominees. BlacKkKlansman, on the other hand, was a refreshing portrayal of a true story. With Spike Lee at the helm of the project it turned out to be a masterpiece. John David Washington also delivered a convincing breakout performance as Ron Stallworth. The film has high tension throughout, keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. Many films fail at finding the delicate balance between comedy and drama, but BlacKkKlansman perfected that.

91st Academy Best Visual Effects

I never thought I’d be criticizing the Academy for not giving an Oscar to a Marvel movie. However, I just had to for the 2019 Best Visual Effects. Damien Chazelle’s First Man won Best Visual Effects over Avengers: Infinity War. While First Man’s visual effects were stunning it did not compete with Infinity War, a movie that consisted almost entirely of computer-generated images. IF had a plethora of well done CGI characters who played vital roles throughout the movie. Many locations throughout the movie were also shot with a green screen, creating realistic and fantastical settings through visual effects. The stunning visuals outperformed every other film in the category and was truly snubbed that year.

92nd Academy Best Supporting Actress

I don’t think Florence Pugh gets enough recognition for her performances. This is especially true for her role as Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019). The story began with Amy being 12 years old but continues as she grows up. Unlike other films, Pugh was the only actress to play the character at different ages. Despite being a decade older than her character she convincingly portrayed the character in each stage of her life. Her performance outdid the other nominees for actress in a supporting role and I believe she deserved it.

The Academy Awards are often recognized as the highest awards in the film industry. Each year's selection has to recognize the artists that truly deserved it. When someone deserving has their work go unrecognized it is a slap in the face to the artists involved and the field of filmmaking as a whole.

Written by Sudarshan Sindhuvalli

Art by Solymar Estrella