# Anyone know why fantasy and science fiction seem snubbed at the oscars?



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

Because i have noticed everytime a fantasy or science fiction film seems to get ignored,while other films seem to get oscars. And i don't get it myself. Because seems many fantasy themed stuff seems popular,like game of thrones,lotr, world of warcraft,fantasy/science fiction cosplays and such.


I wonder why the stuff seems to get snubbed at the oscars


----------



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Lord of the Rings??


----------



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

Taggart said:


> Lord of the Rings??


yup? why you ask?


----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

The Lord of the Rings films did all get nominated for Best Picture, and Return of the King won. I think that's what Taggart is getting at.

I would agree that there is some bias at the Academy against SF/F films, but it is not impossible for them to get nominations and wins, either.


----------



## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Frankly, a lot of sci-fi/fantasies aren't necessarilly Oscar-worthy. Although there are financial/popularity considerations, artistry is a significant factor. There are no Oscar worthy Star Wars, Star Trek, or Marvel Comic films. (And although I'm a distinct minority, even 2001 A Space Odyssey was less than meets the eye.)

There aren't a lot of Oscar-winning horror films either
.


----------



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

The Lord of the Rings films won seventeen out of thirty Academy Award nominations, and The Return of the King holds the record for most Oscars with eleven alongside Titanic and Ben-Hur. The Return of the King also has the distinction of being the only fantasy film to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture (best film).


----------



## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

Never be concerned about any awards shows.


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Oscars love movies that deal with social / political commentaries/ events (usually American), or celebrate the human spirit. ie. The Post, All the President’s Men, 12 Years a Slave, Forrest Gump, Spotlght, Argo, King’s Speech, Schindler’s List. 

They are more concerned about those themes and messages over artistry, IMO. ie. Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction. And also Blockusters with star power over independent arthouse films.


----------



## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

Phil loves classical said:


> Oscars love movies that deal with social / political commentaries/ events (usually American), or celebrate the human spirit. ie. The Post, All the President's Men, 12 Years a Slave, Forrest Gump, Spotlght, Argo, King's Speech, Schindler's List.
> 
> They are more concerned about those themes and messages over artistry, IMO. ie. Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction. And also Blockusters with star power over independent arthouse films.


Perfectly true, and provides the answer to a conundrum my father always used to pose: "Why isn't the director of the Best Picture automatically the Best Director?" It's emotion and perceived "message" over artistic skill in directing. This also explains folks' artistic preferences in other arts as well.


----------



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

Phil loves classical said:


> Oscars love movies that deal with social / political commentaries/ events (usually American), or celebrate the human spirit. ie. The Post, All the President's Men, 12 Years a Slave, Forrest Gump, Spotlght, Argo, King's Speech, Schindler's List.
> 
> They are more concerned about those themes and messages over artistry, IMO. ie. Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction. And also Blockusters with star power over independent arthouse films.


I think some fantasy/sf deals with stuff like racism.

Like i noticed in most fantasy there being racism against elves by other races.

In Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim

A race of cat people called the Khajiit are not allowed in any cities and have stereotypes applied to them.


----------



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Oh and what about “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s romantic ode to the horror films of his youth This has dominated the Academy Awards nominations picking up a leading 13 nominations.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

The 2006 fantasy movie Pan's Labyrinth won three oscars:

Wins:
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Makeup

Nominations:
Best Original Score
Best Original Screenplay
Best Foreign Language Film


----------



## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Phil loves classical said:


> Oscars love movies that deal with social / political commentaries/ events (usually American), or celebrate the human spirit. . . . They are more concerned about those themes and messages over artistry.


_Crash_.

'Nuff said.


----------



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

amfortas said:


> _Crash_.
> 
> 'Nuff said.


I think that most fantasy deals with social issues as well.

Like in most fantasy both elves,humans,dwarves and whatnot are racist to one another.

Possible spoilers
In Skyrim

There is a race of Elves{the Thalmor} who believe in Elven supremccy over man and want to bring about supremacy over mankind one era at a time


----------



## Capeditiea (Feb 23, 2018)

---edited to take out rambling.

:3
'member the 90s oscars? 
'member when great movies came out every month?
'member Star Trek First Contact? 
yeah, i 'member.


----------



## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

In my opinion, the Oscars are nothing more than commercial hype, and I refuse to voluntarily* watch them, or any other show business awards shows; Emmies, Golden Globes, Obies, Tonys, Grammies, Whammies or Hammies. The whole idea of which work of art is superior to another is outrageous. Mozart or Beethoven; who is this year's winner? Ridiculous! At best, these programs give a little insight as to media trends, but I find no reason to sit through an evening of b******t to discover what those might be.
I am capable of determining for myself which ones I like or have value (not always the same thing). That said, "The Shape of Water" is pretty good.

*Wife likes them. If I am in the room and have nowhere else to hide, I try to tune them out by reading something instead.


----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Capeditiea said:


> ---edited to take out rambling.
> 
> :3
> 'member the 90s oscars?
> ...


First, I'm glad to see someone else sharing a love of First Contact.

I would say that more great movies are coming out each month now than they were in the 1990s because studios are more willing to put decent content in what used to be leaner months of February-April (January and October are still hot messes most of the time). If you mean the Academy is not nominating movies released before November as much, you are probably right about that.


----------



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

One thing i don't get is people who say fantasy doesn't deal with social issues. Most fantasy does. Like fantasy seems to deal with racism. Like elves,dwarves or humans being racist against each other.


----------



## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

I gave up on the Oscars when as a kid I was outraged that "Killers from Space" didn't win for Best Picture of 1954.


----------



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Hmm - Shape of Water got 4 last night - Best Picture, Director, Score and Production Design - out of 13 nominations.


----------



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

Isn't Beowulf considered fantasy?


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Avatar won 3 academy awards in 2010 and was nominated for Best Picture.


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2018)

_Gravity _- Best Director and nominated for Best Film at the Oscars. And Oscar isn't the only accolade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Gravity_(film)

I don't think sci-fi/fantasy is particularly under-represented at awards ceremonies - not any more than any other genre.


----------



## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Wasn't Black Panther a major sci-fi award winner quite recently?

I can think of quite a few others, including some that were not-so-deserving (beside the Ring), such as The Abyss...

And I might say that giving out Oscars to animated characters is a waste of an award, but make an exception for Jessica Rabbit...


----------



## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Most science fiction is [email protected]@cks as far as I'm concerned......:devil:


----------



## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Robert Pickett said:


> Most science fiction is [email protected]@cks as far as I'm concerned......:devil:


But which SF isn't is the question...


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

SciFi has always been something of a bust WRT "speculative" science: "Fear not, Dejah, our graviton beams will get us there far faster than the speed of light!"

It has always been more interesting, from its earliest days, as a vehicle for social satire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_mondo_della_luna


----------



## Oakey (Nov 19, 2017)

Because most women don't like these movies 

To me, Oscar winners are rarely my taste. They are in most cases about someone who is an underdog, struggling the first half of the movie and in the second overcoming these struggles, with a happy ending. And movies with actors like Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson were always overrepresented.


----------



## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

Robert Pickett said:


> Most science fiction is [email protected]@cks as far as I'm concerned......:devil:


Sturgeon's Law - created by a SF writer.......oh, the irony!


----------

