Dark Knight Draws Eight Oscar Noms

While most of the coverage you're going to read about The Dark Knight and Oscar nominations takes the negative bead, Rated-B wants to remind everyone that superhero movies are always "snubbed" by the Academy Awards. The Dark Knight's eight nominations are something to be lauded, even if it failed to nab a Best Picture nod!

And yes, Heath Ledger did get a posthumous nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

As usual, the nominations came with few surprises and much outrage as the peanut gallery always explodes over their favorite(s) failing to be nominated. But come on now, did people really expect Wall-E to get a Best Picture notice? Really? Did you? Really? Well, it did get a nomination for Best Animated, which it is sure to win, so take solace.

However, I understand people being upset that The Dark Knight missed-out in both Best Picture and Director -- as well as Writer. After all, it's second only to Titanic as far as returns go and its re-release tonight (technically tomorrow, though I'm pretty sure there are going to be midnight showings across the country) is probably going to change that. Still, when has the popularity of a film ever mattered when it came Oscar time? Ever?

Those people are sheltered, entitled housewives and over-privileged industry insiders who take great pride in digging-up the most obscure Art-house nonsense they can find to parade before the unwashed masses -- their way of showing us what "real" filmmaking is. And while we can lament it and argue about it until we're blue in the face, it certainly isn't new.

I will say this much, though: Best Picture still does not mean Best Drama and I cannot think of a single time in the entire history of the Academy Awards when a comedy has been nominated (though there certainly wasn't one worthy of such accolades this year). If I am wrong, so be it, but I'd love to know when it was, what the film was, and how it fared overall.

And no, I don't have time to "look it up."

© C Harris Lynn, 2009