Related
Here ’s whyThe Shape of Waterwas the first sci - fi movie to win Best Pictures at the Oscars . The terminal figure Oscar Bait gets shed around a bunch ( endure back to when it was coined in the mid-20th century ) , but it refers to a very real thing . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tends to favor certain type of films over others , particularly those deemed important because of their subject topic , like historical biopics or documentary film . As a result , studio will often schedule these type of film to hit theaters sometime over the last four months of any given year - when critic Mexican valium begin declare their annual good - of inclination - in a bid to improve their prospects at the Academy Awards .
Even when these movies are seemingly produced for the basal purpose of landing Oscar nominations , it does n’t have in mind they ’re necessarily artistically hollow . For example , it ’s likelySam Mendes ' WWI thriller1917was unripe - lit in no small part because its studio apartment backers felt it had the potential to land attending from the Academy ( which it did , accept home three Academy Award , including a profits for Roger Deakins ' filming ) . And yet , despite it being obvious Oscar Bait , many critic felt it was also a powerful characterization of the unmindful devastation of war and humanity ’s capacity for decency , even under the bleakest of consideration .
Related:1917 ’s Ending Explained
Increasingly , as the Academy has diversified its ranks in recent years , there ’ve been more and more bighearted winners that go against the grain , as far as the types of film typically regard Oscar Bait go . At the 2020 ceremonial , Bong Joon - ho’sParasitebecame thefirst non - English language movie to win Best Picture , and only two age before that Guillermo del Toro’sThe Shape of Waterbecame the first sci - fi photographic film to win the honour . Today , we ’re going to look at why it take so long for the latter to happen . ( Recall , 2018 ’s Oscar was the ninetieth iteration overall . )
The Oscars Are Historically Biased Against Genre Films
It ’s not a reach to claim the Academy has been historically biased against genre movies ; their course disk talk for itself . IncludingThe Shape of Water , only a 12 sci - fi flick have even been nominated for Best Picture , and some of the more famous sci - fi movies of the 20th C ( like2001 : A Space OdysseyandBlade Runner ) did n’t even bring down a nod . The act is even smaller when it comes to horror plastic film nominated for Best Picture , withThe secrecy of the Lambsbeing the only one to ever gain ground ( not includingThe Shape of Water , itself a hybrid of genres ) . Elsewhere , Black Pantheris the only comic book superhero picture show ever nominated for the Academy ’s top honor ( assuming you do n’t countJoker ) , andThe Return of the Kingis the only fantasy title to succeed Best Picture ( again , not countingThe Shape of Water ) . When it comes to different medium , only three animated movies have been nominated for the top prize , but none of them bring home the bacon , and all three were made by either Disney or Pixar .
The Academy ’s preconception even extends to comedy , if to a lesser degree . comedy of way likeAnnie Hallor dark satires along the lines ofBirdmanare far more potential to be put up for ( and , in those cases , win ) the Best Picture Oscar that equally well - experience , yet broader comedies along the lines of Edgar Wright ’s Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy ( or , going back right smart further , Charlie Chaplin ’s forcible clowning - driven classicsCity LightsandModern Times ) . Subject affair can also be a major deciding factor when it do to a clowning ’s ability to gain grip with the Academy . Case in point : Taika Waititi ’s WWII satireJojo Rabbitwas the movie maker ’s first movie nominated for Best Picture , despite it being much more divisive than a number of his previous film , including ( perhaps tellingly ) his acclaimed horror - comedyWhat We Do in the Shadows .
Related : Every eighties Best Picture Winner Ranked
Why The Oscars Expanded To Include Popular Movies
In 2009 , the Academy announced it was exposit the number of likely Best Picture Oscar nominees annually from five to ten , beginning with that year ’s competitor . Officially , the move was done to permit even more deserving films to be constitute for the honor than before , as opposed to being a response to a specific movie being repel . Unofficially , however , it ’s long been agreed the Academy did this in reaction toThe Dark Knightbeing put away out of the Best Picture race a yr earlier . Being both a sequel and a superhero film , it was n’t all that shockingwhen Christopher Nolan ’s tentpole was overlookedby the organisation , despite also being easily one of the most wide - celebrate offerings of 2008 ( and even winning an Oscar for the late Heath Ledger ’s performance as the Joker ) . Even so , the Academy seemed to recognize it would need to start tell apart more populist fare moving forward , lest the Oscars lose even more of its cultural relevance after decades of leaving genre moving-picture show out in the cold for the top swag .
At first , the move puzzle out : pop sci - fi tentpoles likeDistrict 9,Avatar , andInceptionwere all nominated for Best Picture within the next two age , along with the animated filmsUpandToy Story 3 . After that , though , things began to revert back to the previous condition quo ( as far as the type of picture appoint for Best Picture are concerned ) , due to a compounding of the Academy ’s preferential voting system and their decision to revise the principle so only five to ten feature have to be nominated for Best Picture . Because of this , less conventional awards contenders likeMad Max : Fury RoadandBlack Pantherhave found their way into the Best Picture airstream since then , but are still the exceptions to the rule . With viewership continuing to fall for the annual Oscar ceremony , the Academy once again revise their rule this year to guaranteeat least 10 movies are nominatedfor Best Picture , starting in 2022 .
Why The Shape of Water Won Best Picture In 2017
Interestingly enough , The Shape of Waterwas considered to be the lead contender to bring home the bacon Best Picture , even before it did . ACreature From the Black Lagoon - inspire blend of monster horror , sci - fi , and fantasy , del Toro ’s flick tick off most of the boxes that traditionally govern music genre films out of the running for the Academy ’s top prize ( to mention nothing of the fact it ’s a motion picture where a human char has sex with a fish - Isle of Man ) . At the same metre , it ’s an unembarrassed love letter to Hollywood ’s Golden Age and explore report of secernment against citizenry ground on their subspecies , gender , and/or intimate predilection in a way that normally plays well with the Academy . So , as much asThe Shape of Waterseems like a unexpended - field choice to take home Best Picture , a closer smell discover it ’s very much swerve from the same fabric as so many notable Oscar victor before it .
For similar reasons , The Shape of Waterwas in reality regarded as the safe choice for Best Picture , the year it came out . After years of overlooking del Torofor his work on grotesque political allegories likeThe Devil ’s BackboneandPan ’s Labyrinth , the Academy was under all he more pressure to spot his contributions to the art of cinema at some point , andThe Shape of Waterwas as good a time as any to do that . Arguably , the moving picture was also easier for the Academy to eat up thanGet Out , a fellow horror pic nominated for Best Picture that same year - albeit , one that expect at racialism in its advanced anatomy , especially among supposedly reform-minded white liberals ( a group that many members of the Academy belong to to ) . influence in tandem , these factors were enough to inspire the organisation to finally do what it had never done before and pass its top prize over to a sci - fi film .
NEXT : Why Horror Does n’t Have a class in Awards Ceremonies ( But Should )
