e304. Barbie, the Oscars & Leavisism (What’s That Now?)

Last week the Oscar nominations came out and if you were hanging around the internet, you might have heard one story in particular… Barbie was snubbed. Everyone was talking about it… but was it? At the end of the day, it was nominated for eight awards and while Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie weren’t nominated for Best Director and Best Lead Actress respectively… what does that mean exactly? What does it mean to be nominated for any of the awards? Why are the Oscars still a thing? We’re not quite ready to talk about our Oscar picks for this year yet, so instead, on this episode, Mav and Monica are rejoined by returning guest, Stephanie Siler to talk about the purpose of the Oscars in general, the Barbie snub in specific (was it a snub?) and explain the cultural theory of Leavisism and why high culture institutions like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are still a thing. How do Oscar nominations and voting even work? What is Leavisism anyway? Why does it matter? On this episode of VoxPopcast navigates the landscape of the Academy Awards, shedding light on controversial issues such as the voting system, nomination process, and the academy’s demographic composition. Crucial subjects surround the Oscars’ evolution in terms of diversity, the influence of money on nominations, voting biases, and the discernment process in awarding the ‘best’. What role do award shows like this provide? Listen and find out, then let us know your thoughts in the comments. Citations and Links: * Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme * Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick * Follow Monica on Instagram: @monicamarvelous * Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast * Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast * Subscribe to our YouTube channel * Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!