No Oscar for No Way Home at least in this universe
‘When did we decide the best picture has to be serious?’ Late Night host Jimmy Kimmel recently asked the question that avid moviegoers have been wondering about for ages. Kimmel was angry – understandably like most fans – over Oscars’ yet another snub to the superhero genre. Sony and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: No Way Home didn’t make it to Oscar best picture category.
From a movie that singlehandedly revived the box-office in a post-pandemic world and bind nostalgia worth 3 generations into 2 hrs 28 mins run time – the cast and crew of No Way Home deserved more… much more…
While it’s clear there is a long-running bias towards the superhero genre that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences again fell prey to in its Oscar 2022 nominations. The debate whether superhero movies are “not cinema” or are “ruining the film industry” continue to rage.
Superheroes are always on the hit list
It is nothing new for major players like MCU and DC to be criticised for their cinematic themes. The never-ending debate continues on social media and once in a while actors and directors respond to it!
The latest addition to the critique list is the Moonfall director Ronald Emmerich. “Naturally Marvel and DC Comics, and Star Wars, have pretty much taken over. It’s ruining our industry a little bit because nobody does anything original anymore.” The director/producer of movies like The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, 10,000 BC recently, expressed his concerns about the development of various cinematic universes and how they are affecting the original feature film business.
Speaking to Den of Geek about his latest movie, Moonfall, Roland praised Christopher Nolan for making bold movies and castigated cinematic movies for spoiling the film industry. “You should make bold new movies, you know? And I think, actually, Christopher Nolan is the master of that. He is someone who can make movies about whatever he wants.”
It’s worth noting director Christopher Nolan also delved into the superhero universe with his most realistic take on DC’s Batman with his Dark Knight trilogy. While the movie was nominated for several Academy Awards none was in the top categories. Only actor Heath Ledger bagged the Best Supporting Actor for his Joker performance albeit posthumously.
Where it all started?
Emmerich’s remark reminds this writer of director Martin Scorsese’s remarks made in 2019. “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being,” he said. Scorsese who is praised for classics like The Irishman, Shutter Island, Goodfellas and many more, further claimed that Marvel movies are ‘not cinema’ they are like “theme parks.”
After Scorsese’s comment, the Guardians of the Galaxy’s actress, Karen Gillan (Nebula) praised MCU for putting in a lot of heart and soul in their movies. And, when this debate sparked again after No Way Home, the Disney backed studio made its own remarks.
“You can ask Scorsese, ‘Would you want to make a Marvel movie?’ But he doesn’t know what it’s like because he’s never made one,” No Way Home lead Tom Holland said to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 25-year-old hit back at Scorsese’s comment. “I’ve made Marvel movies and I’ve also made movies that have been in the conversation in the world of the Oscars, and the only difference, really, is one is much more expensive than the other. But the way I break down the character, the way the director etches out the arc of the story and characters – it’s all the same, just done on a different scale. So, I do think they’re real art.”
“I think we are always at a deficit because of the Marvel logo and because of a genre bias that certainly exists.” Marvel Head Kevin Feige told THR. Speaking about the hard work that the cast and crew that into making these he said, “the audience recognized it and I sure would love the hard work of all of these people who are telling their story to get recognized.”
Academy did recognize Shang-Chi and No Way Home but for the VFX category. Yet again proving that it’s miles to go before the superhero genre can get into the top 5 categories.
What Is Art?
Let’s just take a moment to ponder over the question itself, are superhero movies a work of art?
That would solely depend on your definition of art. Both superhero fans and casual moviegoers will vouch that Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is indeed a piece of cinematic art. Many may argue that the absence of CGI and superhero finery makes 2019 Joker more of a commercial film. And also, attributed to the fact that WB didn’t want to spend a lot of money at the time on the movie.
However, the truth is Tod Philips’ origin story is based on a comic character. A character that is the yin to Batman’s yang. Joker wouldn’t be Joker if Bruce Wayne wasn’t Batman. The treatment is always a director’s choice. So, be it Joker’s mental illness, his unpredictability, his maniac laugh – everything was set by comic book writers ages ago. Philips and Phoenix just did a bloody good job of interpreting it… of making it more relevant…
But one artists’ interpretation cannot discredit others’, right? Because it’s art, it’s subjective!
When Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man saves MJ played by Zendaya – it is the most precious piece of cinema we have. It wasn’t just another recall to Amazing Spider-Man’s Gwen Stacy Death scene, it wasn’t a cash grab… It was catharsis for all!
For Andrew’s Peter who stopped pulling his punches, for Garfield, for us, the audience who could not recover from that… ever!
In the said scene, when a teary-eyed Peter (Andrew) nods to MJ’s (Zendaya) ‘are you okay,’ it was ALL of us. We were okay after that redemption.
And to be honest, we’ll never know in that moment, Peter saved MJ or they saved us or we, the audience saved them!
Because that’s the thing about art, its only point is to move us.
