…deconstruct

oscar-2 This morning the 2015 Oscar nominees were announced, quickly followed by the traditional mourning over this year’s snubs. As is quite often the case, when all of the names were read and the dust settled, there was a certain something missing from the list of nominees.

After the names were called and the dust had settled, it was clear that certain groups were woefully unrepresented.

I am not talking about the two missing nominees in the category of best picture…yet. I will admit that I did specifically say (shameless plug alert) in my “Big Eyes” review that I would freak out if there were only nine nominees again. Sure the category allows for ten nominees, but what can they do? The math only allowed for eight this year. (Gosh darn you math!)

Now, back to the outrage at hand: It’s no secret that the Academy has been struggling to connect with a new generation and build its audience. That new generation is diverse and expects diversity in its nominations. Perhaps someone needs to let the members know.

When you take into consideration that the nominators in question have a median age of 62, are 94% white and 77% male, expecting diversity seems a bit silly. (Math strikes again!)

True, we don’t want nominations made purely to fill a diversity quota, but this years crop could use someone to stand up for the little guy, and all those overlooked by the Academy. You know who I’m talking about.

Of course, as you can imagine, it didn’t take long for this outrage to spread to Twitter:

The biggest Oscar nomination snubs: http://t.co/0QHqmBnhkn pic.twitter.com/j8StHoiWaf

— Slate (@Slate) January 15, 2015

"The Lego Movie" didn't get nominated for Best Animated Feature?! http://t.co/IyUV40cR74 pic.twitter.com/rqeQrjbKSS

— Mashable (@mashable) January 15, 2015

The "Lego" movie Oscars snub is garbage http://t.co/KXqUroAFwe pic.twitter.com/GyB2aZ4nCP

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) January 15, 2015

Personally, I think we should all draw strength from the perseverance and bravery of the snubbed, who will not let their awesomeness be defeated by their lack of nomination glory.