Thomas Roach on whether Meryl Streep’s Oscar nominations are bad for other actresses in the industry…
Tomorrow is the Academy Awards, which is seen as the most prestigious and important award show for the industry. The Oscars also cause some outrage, as many deem it too political. To win an Oscar you really just schmooze at Hollywood parties and get members to vote for you, it seems. The award show has on occasion given the most deserving person the Oscar, but there are many other times when it has not.
One nomination that surprised me this year is Meryl Streep for her role in Into The Woods. Streep currently has three Oscar wins for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady, with a further sixteen nominations on top of this. I wonder if her many nominations have been damaging to other actresses in the industry. Streep seems to get nominated for the sake of it sometimes, rather than for actually delivering a powerful role.
In my interpretation of what the Oscars mean, the actor / actresses category is the best five performances from every film made over the past year. Throwing Meryl Streep in for a role which is a bit childish and which was directed by Rob Marshall of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides fame seems odd. I don’t think she was bad in the film but it is hardly worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Does this mean that the Academy thinks that every other role – however serious, powerful or moving – that was put forward this year was not as good as Meryl Streep in Into the Woods? I don’t think it does, but the Academy would need to convince people they believe it. Frankly I don’t think Meryl stands a chance of winning tomorrow, so why nominate her? Give another actress a chance.
Some actresses could really use a career boost and the attention that an Oscar nomination would provide. Whilst people will say the Oscars is not about giving people a career boost and it doesn’t always work out that way, I would say being recognised with an Oscar nomination shows your range as an actor and what you could bring to other roles. Some people have won Oscars and had great careers, getting roles they would never have got had the Oscars not brought them the extra recognition. There are great actresses out there besides Meryl Streep, and they need attention and praise for their roles – something they don’t get when Streep gets nominated for the sake of it.
It’s a shame that big names get nominated for the sake of it, while many performances that do merit a nomination miss out due to people patting each other on the back. There is great work done in smaller projects and foreign films that would blow audiences away if they were seen. The Academy should jump at the chance to show off diversity and range from actresses rather than giving us the same old thing they do each year.
Meryl Streep has the record for most Oscar nominations and it doesn’t look like she will be overtaken anytime soon. If she had not have been nominated this year it would not have harmed or boosted her career in anyway whatsoever. So I ask, what was the point? The fact that she has been nominated for so many films that I would say were not worthy devalues each nomination. I’d rather see her get nominated for roles where she really deserves to win and shines beyond what we have already seen in her varied career.
I will point out finally that I don’t think Meryl Streep is a bad actress and I don’t blame her for other actresses not getting recognised, but you have to admit these nominations for films below her normal standard and frankly below the Academy’s standard are just insulting. Maybe if Streep wanted to help other women in the industry she should turn down the chance to campaign and schmooze at these parties. That may be unfair of me to say, but if she is the best actress in the world she should show it in her work, rather than receiving all of these nominations just for the sake of it.
Do you think that Meryl Streep deserved her nomination for Into The Woods this year, and who is your pick for Best Actress? Let us know…
Thomas Roach
Originally published February 21, 2015. Updated November 7, 2019.
