Sound glitches aside, The 94th Oscar award show started off like the shows of yesteryear before the pandemic with nominees and celebrities decked in bold fashions and finery being interviewed, maskless, as they strolled down the red carpet leading to the Dolby Theatre, the traditional venue for the film industry’s biggest event of the year.
Notably, a Black producer, Will Packer was at the helm of this year’s Oscars, just the second time in the Academy’s history that a Black producer was hired for this role. The first was East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin…
Notably, a Black producer, Will Packer was at the helm of this year’s Oscars, just the second time in the Academy’s history that a Black producer was hired for this role. The first was East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin, a consummate Hollywood director and producer and Black trailblazer in the industry, largely behind the scenes. Hudlin had the unenviable task of co-directing and producing The Oscars in 2016 when the #OscarSoWhite hashtag and movement surged and cast an unflattering spotlight on the awards program’s lack of racial diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the institution behind the Oscars has historically fallen short in honoring and acknowledging the masterful contribution of Blacks, and other marginalized groups working within the film industry. Interestingly, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith were big proponents and outspoken in support of the #OscarSoWhite movement while Chris Rock hosted the Oscars, under Hudlin’s watch in 2016, the year the movement jumped off when the hashtag was first tweeted after Academy Award nominations were officially announced. Rock was only the second African American to host the show solo, Whoppi Goldberg being the first Black host and also the first woman.
Oscar shows typically have impressive opening acts, and this year was no exception, offering a monochromatic and stunning presentation of Black girls in lime green outfits, dancing in formation with Beyonce, who sang “Be Alive” the Oscar nominated original song from the motion picture King Richard. The production paid homage to the Williams sisters and their meteoric rise as greatest of all time tennis stars and pop culture heroes. An aerial shot of Compton, California, revealed Beyonce and the dancers, including Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy, on the tennis court in Compton which the Williams sisters played and trained on as girls. The girls performing in the opening number wore their hair braided, stacked and densely adorned with white beads reminiscent of the ones the Williams sisters wore when they first emerged as tennis phenoms. The message was clear, any of these Black girls from Compton or in any part of the U.S. with love, support, and nurturance of their determination, drive and playful spirits, can grow up to become fierce, accomplished, successful girls and women in their own right, as modeled by the Williams sisters, and pop Queen Beyonce. With this memorable moment centering Black girlhood and calling attention to their aspirations, the show was off to a strong start.
Things moved along in a seemingly low key fashion, D-Nice, DJ and producer from Boogie Down Productions, spun tracks which provided a soulful musical ambience throughout the show. The ceremony was spiced up by some zingers — astute and satirical, hit or miss broad comedy provided by three women hosts, Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes; two of them, Hall and Sykes, are African American. The most biting remark came at the beginning when Shumer noted that hiring the three female comedians to host the Oscars was still less expensive than hiring one male – a piercing shot at the long history of pay inequity for women in the entertainment industry, which hit the mark.
One of the most riveting moments early on in the broadcast was the acceptance speech of Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Ariana DeBose for her breakout performance of the role of Anita in the remake of the musical classic, West Side Story. Best Supporting Actress Nominees Anjanue Ellis, an African American actress known as an actor’s actor in independent film circles deserves mention for her portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams’ mother, Oracene Price, in King Richard. One of the Williams sisters’ most formidable early coaches, Ellis ably portrays a mother attending to her daughters and family’s holistic health. It was Ellis’ first Oscar nomination, but it’s unlikely to be her last.
Rock might have been unaware that Pinkett had recently come out about the struggle she’s experienced with alopecia, hair loss, a medical condition that impacts 50% or more of African American women, a disproportionately higher number of women than in the general population.
Ariana Debose’s win was unique in that she won and was nominated for the same role, Anita, brought to life by Rita Moreno in the original West Side Story film made sixty years ago. Morena became the first Latina actress to win an Oscar for acting. One of the most triumphant moments of the evening was Debose openly asserting that she was the first “queer” Afro-Latina to win an Oscar for acting on the far reaching international platform that the Oscar provides. There’s a particular poignancy to this proclamation given the intensely divisive culture wars the U.S. is going through right now, with Republicans having drafted and are introducing more than 200 pieces of “Don’t say ‘gay’” legislation, intent on suppressing the rights of teachers to mention the mere existence of LGBTQIA people to elementary students, even those who have LGBTQIA parents.
Most readers and audiences of news media at the time of this writing have already heard about the infamous slap of Oscar presenter Chris Rock by Will Smith, who later that evening won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance of Richard Williams in King Richard and are aware of the fallout which seemingly overloaded and just about broke the internet. For those who don’t know, when comedian and veteran Chris Rock took the stage to read the Oscar nominees for best documentary, he began unscripted comedic riffs on celebrities who sat in front of him, focused in on Jada Pinkett and said, “‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it” referring to her short-cropped hair.
Rock might have been unaware that Pinkett had recently come out about the struggle she’s experienced with alopecia, hair loss, a medical condition that impacts 50% or more of African American women, a disproportionately higher number of women than in the general population. If he understood the pain, ostracism and isolation women and many Black women suffer as a result of this condition, one wonders if Rock would have gone there. Ironically, Rock made a film, entitled Good Hair, about perceptions of Black hair which he observed had great impact and influence on the self-esteem of Black girls and women, his daughters in particular, which personalized this issue for him. It might seem hypocritical for him to shoot so low in mockery of Jada Pinkett and her closer cropped hair. She shaved her hair in response to losing her hair, a medical condition known as alopecia. Many Black women admire Jada Pinkett for taking a valiant path as a celebrity under intense public scrutiny by sharing her personal struggles with alopecia in the video Jada Pinkett Smith Embraces Hair Loss: ‘Me and This Alopecia Are Going to Be Friends’. She wisely took control of her image, shaped it and projected it in the best way she knew how to help transcend the trauma. A choice she found preferable to hiding the issue or isolating herself. She might be regarded as more fortunate than most women, with her movie star good looks, which some think her shortly cropped hair enhances, rather than takes away from; nevertheless, she has to deal with people’s judgment and insensitivity, whether or not it’s intentional. Granted, many people might not be interested in exploring how a wealthy celebrity feels personally, but that doesn’t change the reality that Chris Rock’s joke crossed a line making fun of Jada Pinkett Smith’s look. Will Smith crossed a different line when he seized the Oscar podium and slapped Rock in the face, albeit in defense of his wife. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences released a statement on Monday that it is investigating the incident.
Part of the fallout from the incident was the presentation of the Oscar for best documentary to “Questlove” Thompson and his co-producers got somewhat caught in the crossfire of the melee. QuestLove, who brilliantly won the best documentary Oscar for his directorial debut Summer of Soul, and his mom who was brought to tears after he won, had to be unsettled by what had just transpired. In his speech, Questlove talked about his mom being by his side, his composure visibly shaken by the disturbing course of events. Chris Rock, who pivoted quickly after the slap, called the incident, “The greatest television moment of all time,” but seemed rattled too; however, he professionally kept the proceedings of the live award show moving forward.
Historic wins included a Best Picture Oscar for Coda, a coming of age story, the first streamer to win best picture, about a young woman raised by two deaf parents. Troy Kotsur who co-starred in the film won The Oscar for best supporting actor, which made him the first deaf or hard of hearing man to receive an Oscar. Co-Star Marlee Maitlin was the first deaf or hard of hearing woman to receive an Oscar for acting 1987. Coda also won best adapted screenplay, scoring wins in all three categories where it earned nominations. Jane Campion, the only woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar twice, took home the Best Director Oscar for The Power of the Dog. Virtuoso Samuel Jackson received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his body of work.
“The slap” has already become iconoclastic and a part of Oscar lore and will surely be debated for its social complexity in perpetuity, bringing the intersection of many issues to the foreground, unfortunately played out on Black people’s bodies and psyches. No doubt, the incident will continue to elucidate issues around celebrity, Black superstardom, transgressions of boundaries, verbal and physical violence against those who live in the public eye, alopecia, constructs of beauty, Black beauty, Black womanhood and manhood, and what it means to have a partner’s back, for years to come. Yet, the historic moment of a Black queer woman winning an Oscar will also pave the way and hopefully inspire LGBTQIA people, women and people of color, throughout the world and will be remembered as perhaps the most courageous statement of the evening, particularly given the current political climate. When the dust from the slap settles, Ariana DeBose words will still resonate:
“Imagine this little girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus. Look into her eyes, you see a queer, openly queer women of color, an Afro-Latina, who found her strength through art. That’s what I believe we’re here to celebrate (applause). So to anybody who has ever questioned your identity, ever, ever, ever, or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: there is indeed a place for us.“
