The Oscars are known for making certain choices to make statements — or to up their ratings — so we have to wonder, with the number of people who were supposedly snubbed this year, what is the Academy trying to say now?
Broad comedies like Bridesmaids haven’t been given recognition like this since the early 90s, and, with the impact Kristen Wiig’s script-baby had on Hollywood’s appreciation of women in comedy, and the sheer publicity it received, it seems the Academy’s determined to have us all believe they’re “with the times.”
Given the organization’s propensity to award movies with a certain formula (“social issues” + tear-jerking + foreign accents), we McCarthyists — Melissa, not Joe — are probably in for a letdown. However, the fact that the actress is nominated at all is a pretty hopeful and fist-pump-worthy event.
Can we expect more recognition for funny ladies in future? Will broad comedy — which is, arguably, the most underappreciated genre of movies and television — once again be considered worthy of “critical acclaim”? And, most importantly, will the women who do what they do because they love to do it really give a crap about recognition? Seeing as how limited representation pretty much wasn’t guaranteed when they all started out?
Let’s honor Melissa McCarthy in our own way — the way we think she’d want to be honored: as a Dark Unicorn, because we here at Comediva think Dark Unicorns are way more badass than Dark Horses.
(Also, in the words of one Brittany S. Pierce: “A unicorn is someone who knows they’re magical and isn’t afraid to show it.”)
— Saturday Night Live
— Bridesmaids
— Gilmore Girls
