Ryan Gosling’s face said it all…

The Oscar nominations are in setting the stage for the 96th Academy Awards ceremony in March. While some of the results were as expected, there were some notable outliers that left Gosling bewildered, and Twitter users raving.

For best picture, movies such as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, and Bradley Cooper’s Maestro were nominated. If you’d like to learn more, read our thoughts on Barbie and Oppenheimer.

As expected, Cillian Murphy’s riveting performance in Oppenheimer earned him a nomination as Best Actor; he faces competition from established stars like Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) — whom Murphy lost out to for the Critic’s Choice Award — and Bradley Cooper (Maestro), as well as rising talents nominated like Colman Domingo (Rustin) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction). For Best Actress, Emma Stone stands out for her transformative role in Poor Things alongside Carey Mulligan’s powerful performance in Maestro and Lily Gladstone’s portrayal of Mollie Kyle in Killers of the Flower Moon. Seasoned veterans Annette Bening (Nyad) and Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall) add further competition.

The race for Best Director at the 96th Academy Awards promises to be exciting with established masters like Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) facing off against rising stars like Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall) and Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things). Finally, Jonathan Glazer’s (The Zone of Interest) also earned him a nomination.

However, there are two notable absences in these categories: Greta Gerwig as Best Director and Margot Robbie for Best Actress – both for Barbie. This is quite ironic considering the feminist message of the film, and the fact that the movie garnered massive praise among critics and casual viewers alike. Needless to say, this was huge. Hillary Clinton, offering support to the two after their lack of nominations at the Oscars, posted, “Greta and Margot, while it can sting to win the box office, but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You’re both so much more than Kenough. #HillaryBarbie.” Actor John Stamos sent a similar support (in their case, a video) on Instagram.

Amidst the pushback from Barbie fans, there are some – most notably, Whoopi Goldberg – who maintain that Robbie and Gerwig were not snubbed by the Oscars. Whoopi, a four-time host, has a long history with the Oscars having won Best Supporting Actress with her role as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost. She mentioned that it isn’t just “the elites … who vote,” but “the entire family of Academy Awards.”

All this aside, 2023 has been a groundbreaking year for film. It will be interesting to see where the votes fall and which films, actors, actresses, writers, and directors come out on top with the famous Academy Awards. They are a testament to the direction Hollywood is going and, by extension, what recurring themes will make their way into our zeitgeist.