Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is topping ticket presale charts, generating revenue that will add to the nearly $27 billion that Marvel has already made from the franchise.
The entertainment industry at large may run on these massive superhero projects, but that doesn't mean they get very much critical adoration or awards attention. While the groundbreaking Black Panther was nominated for 7 Academy Awards and won 3, that is an outlier for the MCU, which usually is only represented at the Oscars in technical categories if at all. There is also a recent trend where many respected filmmakers have spoken out against superhero films, including Martin Scorsese's well-publicized remarks saying that they are "not cinema."
While speaking with THR about the success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the second film in Phase 4 of the MCU, Kevin Feige spoke about his frustration with the industry bias around superhero movies. Artistically speaking, he says that they are "always at a deficit because of the Marvel logo," and that Shang-Chi's talented crew, including production designer Sue Chan and cinematographer William Pope, likely won't get the accolades they deserve. He commends the team for putting in the work to make a relatively unknown comic book character such an unmitigated success and says "the audience recognized it and I sure would love the hard work of all of these people who are telling their story to get recognized." Read the full quote below:
I think we are always at a deficit because of the Marvel logo and because of a genre bias that certainly exists. I just loved that for a shining moment there with Black Panther that was put aside and the work was recognized for the achievement that it was.
There are a lot of comic fans that didn’t know who Shang-Chi was. And yet the work that Destin did and Dave did and Sue did and Joel did, created something new that connected with audiences. We recognized it, the audience recognized it and I sure would love the hard work of all of these people who are telling their story to get recognized.
The industry certainly has a bias against genres like the superhero film, which has now dominated the box office for more than a decade. However, that hasn't prevented the MCU from attracting top-shelf talent, both in front of and behind the camera. For example, just in Phase 4 of the MCU, Black Widow had 2 Oscar nominees and 1 winner in the main cast, Shang-Chi featured 2 BAFTA nominees and 1 Oscar winner, and Eternals starred 1 Oscar nominee alongside 1 winner.
Ultimately, the challenge to get recognized by the Oscars and other awards bodies is a long-running struggle for many less highbrow genres, including horror and comedy. Kevin Feige is right that talented people are being ignored because of the genre they work in. However, the massive amount of money and mainstream success that the movie has received is surely some consolation, even if certain parts of the industry still turn their nose up at the work.
Source: THR
