Should Superheroes Movies get More Oscar Attention?

Marvel & DC picture Photo credit: Sean Benham (flickr)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTZ2Tp9yXyM

Featuring Chris Pratt (Lego Movie), Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), Vin Diesel(The Fast and The Furious) and WWE’s Batista among others, The Guardian of the Galaxy is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. This year seems to the biggest year for superhero movies. So big that the 2014 Oscars are doing a tribute to this genre. However bar the minor awards and one or two exceptions, the superhero genre gets snubbed from the major awards despite their popularity. This article will look at the two biggest why they should get recognition.

Bane picture. Photo Credit: Pat Loika (flickr) — To quote Bane **“Let the games begin”** Photo Credit: Pat Loika (flickr)

Reasons why

1) They have dominated cinema

Like the films heroes, these movies have had special abilities. That certain skill is dominating our screens since the early 2000s. Nowadays people who never even read a Marvel comic know all the key characters that made Marvel a profitable business. It also reinvented the heroes that people knew like Batman into more serious versions of themselves. Their popularity has become so big that cinema icons of the past have joined the latest cinema trend. Robert Redford plays SHIELD agent Alexander Pierce in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Michael Douglas has joined the cast of Antman. You can see Redford in the trailer for Captain America below.

2) The iconic moments

From the good films (Kickass, Spiderman, X Men etc.) to the bad (Daredevil, The Green Lantern, Superman Returns) , people always left these films remembering something be a performance or scene. It has done historical things to the cinema world. Ironman revived Robert Downey Jr’s career. The Avengers had one of the most memorable marketing schemes in cinema history. And The Dark Knight has been considered one of the greatest films of all time. One of the reasons why is the late Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker who was one of the exceptions to be nominated for a major Academy Award which he won. Below you see that magic that Ledger brought to the character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-5TeTQmuxM

Reasons why not

1) The fear of tarnishing the franchise

spiderman 3 picture Photo credit: Niranjan (flickr) — Like the alien symbiote to Spiderman, a big Oscar could be hazardous to a hero flick. Photo credit: Niranjan (flickr)

Awards are great to get but their is such a thing as too much praise. Some people feel that if say Thor won Best Picture then the film would not feel as special as what it actually was. That they are so good that to shower them with awards may make them like it’s being shoved down our throats which takes out the fun of the film.

2) The panel of Judges

Joker why so serious picture Photo credit: Ludovic Bertron (flickr) — Photo credit: Ludovic Bertron (flickr)

Even if the Academy decides to nominate a superhero film for Best Picture, there is a high chance that the judges would be so serious that they snub it. The quintessential mindset of a judge is that they look at an artsy and/or period piece with a valuable message and ticks every box to make a quality film. While some of the superhero films have valid messages such as “With great power comes great responsibility”, the judges would ignore that and keep thinking “It’s just about lunatics in costume.” Hence it may be defeatist to nominate the film or its actors.