While Jordan Peele’s critically-acclaimed film Get Out was seen and revered by many, older Oscar voters reportedly wrote the film off without giving it a chance.
In a new interview with Vulture, several Oscar voters sat down with the piece’s writers and discussed diversity within the Academy. In the past, a majority of the Academy consisted of older white men.
While many of the younger voters respected the overall message of Get Out, it was revealed that the older voters didn’t watch the movie and stated that it wasn’t “an Oscar film.”
“I had multiple conversations with longtime Academy members who were like, ‘That was not an Oscar film,’” one new voter told Vulture. “And I’m like, ‘That’s bullsh*t. Watch it.’ Honestly, a few of them had not even seen it and they were saying it, so dispelling that kind of thing has been super important.”
“I think Get Out is a movie that we wouldn’t have necessarily thought of as an Academy movie two years ago,” another younger voter said of the lauded film. “It doesn’t really fall into any of the boxes that we think these movies do…it actually is provocative. It questions everything. It’s brilliant.”
While this revelation can be seen as a hinderance in terms of potential Oscar wins for Get Out, the younger voters noted that their inclusion in the voting process has helped in the past.
“When Moonlight won, it felt like the new members of the Academy, myself included, really had made a difference,” said a younger voter of last year’s surprise “Best Picture” win.
Get Out has been nominated for four Academy Awards this year, including “Best Picture.”