Does Heath Ledger Deserve the Oscar?

Let's put a smile on that Oscar

Last night at the SAG Awards, Heath Ledger was awarded the SAG Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He’s also favored to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well. We all saw this coming. The buzz was circulating online even before The Dark Knight opened in July. But is all the buzz really worthy? The bitter pill to swallow is that if it weren’t for the fact that he died before The Dark Knight was released, Heath Ledger would not be nominated for this award.

Now, before you flame me in the comments understand that I am not saying that Ledger doesn’t deserve the award. On the contrary, I think he definitely at least deserves to be nominated. He turned Nicholson’s Joker and flipped him on his head. His portrayal of the Joker was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Rarely do the talents of an actor stand out as much as they did with Ledger. That being said, The Dark Knight was a comic book action blockbuster. These films, and their actors, are never, ever taken seriously for a major Academy Award nomination, much less a win. There is one reason that Ledger is nominated and one reason alone why he’ll win. He’s dead. As sad as that is to say, that’s the way it is. Were he alive, he wouldn’t be nominated for this role. Again, I’m not saying he wouldn’t deserve to be nominated, just that the Academy wouldn’t be recognizing his great portrayal were it not for his passing.

I, like everyone else, hopes he wins and I’m a little upset at the blatant snub that The Dark Knight received. Sure it was a blockbuster but it was more than that. It was a landmark film. The first feature film to be shot using IMAX technology, some of the best acting I’ve seen in a film from an entire cast (minus that Maggie chick), and a fantastic script that engaged the viewers emotionally and didn’t simply rely on cheap special effects for a thrill.

The fact that The Dark Knight was snubbed in so many categories is simply proof that the Academy doesn’t take these films seriously and that they’re only considering Ledger for the award because of his death. The Academy should be ashamed.