Making Sense of Marvel’s Absence from the 2022 Oscars
For any film fan that observes the festivities of the 94th Annual Academy Awards, there was one glaring omission; join us in trying to make sense of Marvel’s absence from the 2022 Oscars.
This week marked the debut of the 2022 Academy Awards; which has long been viewed as the biggest day in the film industry’s calendar year, promoted as the celebration of excellence in the genre of filmmaking
Source: ABC
It was a celebration that was well-deserved, as these past two years have been tremendously difficult for anyone in the movie-making business; with the COVID-19 pandemic doing its best to completely destroy the cinematic experience as a whole.
There was nothing more fitting than a night to come together, as admirers of this incredible industry, and attempt a return to normalcy, in which we champion those who have so brilliantly shined during this incredibly tumultuous period.
Source: New York Times
There was controversy afoot- for anyone watching, yes I am referring to the unfortunate physical altercation that took place- but perhaps nothing was more glaring from a viewership perspective than the absence of what is clearly the biggest entity in the world of film.
What sense, if any, is there to make in Marvel’s absence in the 2022 Oscars? well, maybe…
Source: Marvel Studios
The world stood together in shock that the biggest film of the past two years, Spider-Man: No Way Home– a film that celebrated 20 years of Peter Parker on the big screen- was absent from a nomination for Best Picture.
With the limited films that were released in 2022 and the massive contribution that Marvel’s Spider-Man epic made in keeping cinemas alive, it was perplexing to imagine a world in which Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t deserving of one of the 10 nomination slots.
Source: Marvel Studios
To answer this, and protect the sanctity of their own event from the horrid and detrimental presence of comic book films, the Academy introduced fan-voted Catagories; an option for films that were beloved by audiences, yet not by critics, to find a chance to be celebrated among the Hollywood elite.
Yet, Marvel was, once again, absent from these categories; as Zack Snyders zombie film Army of the Dead won the Oscars Fan Favorite Awards, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League won the Oscars Best Cheer Moment.
Source: Marvel Studios
No, I promise I’m not making this up…
Really, the only sense we can make is to confront the reality that the Oscars- an institution already wrought with controversy in a dying rating system that is no longer indicative of any form of expertise or film literacy- is no longer important.
Source: New York Post
We’re talking about a general public that has just made Spider-Man: No Way Home the third highest-earning film in domestic box office history, the same general public who made the Spider-Man film an almost $2 Billion dollar earner in a Pandemic Era that has critically wounded the theatrical experience.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the life support that has preserved movie-going, it is the one entity that has kept countless cinemas- many on their last legs- the beneficiary of that financial gain.
Source: Marvel Studios
The only thing that is remotely logical, the only way to truly make sense of Marvel’s absence from the 2022 Oscars, is that people just don’t care anymore…
The Academy Awards mean less than they ever have, and a Nominee slapping a host in the face won’t change that.
onstage during the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.
