21. Sigourney Weaver in Alien
Continuing the legacy of disdain towards genre films, Ridley Scott’s extraterrestrial Alien was largely snubbed by the Academy. Despite Scott’s precise direction, the Academy only acknowledged the film for Visual Effects, a common practice with genre films. Many contemporary and modern critics have argued that Sigourney Weaver’s incredible portrayal of the almost masculinely strong Ripley was worthy of an Oscar win. Weaver herself has said in the past that the Academy treats science fiction films with no respect, which seems likely given the snubbing of Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Blade Runner.
