Academy Award snubs are arguably more notorious and well-remembered than the actual winners each year at the Oscars, as it is typically drama and outrage that are more memorable than simply feeling content with a decision or winner. Now, I understand that not every movie can be nominated, let alone win, as many fabulous films are made every year. However, when a film with such a crucial message and excellent execution is ignored, the motivations for it being snubbed begin to feel more intentional than simple incompetence.
Never was this feeling more pronounced than when it came to Straight Outta Compton, which I am reminded of now that it is free to watch on Tubi. This was a brilliant film depicting the oppression African Americans live through, even when they become famous, as a group of young men from Compton became world-famous rap stars. The film only received one nomination for Best Original Screenplay, but none of the performances were nominated, despite them being what brought that screenplay to life. Not only were the performances thoroughly deserving of nominations, but it was perhaps the greatest symbol of the prejudice, unconscious or otherwise, that exists within the Academy.
‘Straight Outta Compton’ Had Fantastic Performances That Effectively Explored Toxic Masculinity and Racism in America
To say that Straight Outta Compton was ahead of its time would be an understatement. The film didn’t just show the price of fame and fortune but also how toxic masculinity is glamorized in an industry where reputation is more important than morality. Everyone is great in this film, but nowhere else is this theme more tragically explored than through Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), the founder and arguably leader of the music group N.W.A. Mitchell can use his eyes so expressively in this film, wherein in the first scene, he is an intimidating gangster who isn’t scared of anyone, with his eyes cold, and later we see him become more and more exhausted, his eyelids dropping lower and lower as he becomes more isolated.
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By watching the downfall of someone who was larger-than-life portrayed in such a humble way, we see him as a tragic and sympathetic person whose life was tragically cut short. When he is diagnosed with AIDS, his lonely sobs, with his body almost convulsing in anguish, strike such a contrast to the cocky young man we met in the beginning. Through his performance, the tone of the movie completely shifts. When his friends, such as Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), cannot bear to see him in a hospital bed and sob their way through their goodbyes to him, the group’s love for each other makes these characters more relatable than the gangster image they try to push to the world. Without Mitchell’s performance making us fall in love with the character and feel his plight, these moments would not feel as heartbreaking, as it is like we are saying goodbye to one of our own loved ones, and it is why he 100% should have been nominated for Best Leading Actor.
‘Straight Outta Compton’s Snub Exposed a Running Trend in the Academy Awards
While it was not the only snub, with Idris Elba‘s lack of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Beasts of No Nation being considered particularly outlandish, part of what made it so egregious was that the only nomination for Straight Outta Compton was given to the four white writers of the film. Furthermore, those writers were the only part of the crew invited to the ceremony. While they deserved it, this irony led to the #OscarsSoWhiteAndStraight tag, with some even creating fake trailers online that argued the film would have received more nominations if it had been centered on Paul Giamatti‘s character, the white manager of N.W.A. who ended up betraying Eazy-E. When you look at the fact that the acting nominations that year were all white, it’s hard to disagree with the argument.
Perhaps one could argue that this marked the beginning of a shift in how the Academy approached diversity. This year, there were people of color nominated, with Zoe Saldaña becoming only the third Latina to win an Oscar. However, we can’t say there is full equality, as there were still arguably snubs for Zendaya in Challengers, Denzel Washington in Gladiator 2, and Daniel Craig, who played a gay man in Queer. I’m not here to argue whether these were slam-dunks or just a tight year with many great performances. I’m glad times have changed, but it is such a shame they didn’t change sooner, as Straight Outta Compton could have been forgotten as a film only nominated for one award. However, at least you can appreciate it for free on Tubi and show the Academy why they were wrong to snub this film.