Missing from the Oscars

By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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It's been a long time since three Black folks were nominated for an Academy Award in the same year. In 1972 it was Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson for their stellar performances in "Sounder," and Diana Ross for "Lady Sings the Blues." This year, it's Halle Berry for "Monster's Ball," Denzel Washington for "Training Day" and Will Smith for "Ali."

But who, in the still narrow Academy consideration process, has been possibly left out? Here is an opinionated list of those Black folks and films that also deserve to be nominees:

Best Picture:
"Ali"
Wouldn't it be nice to have a film revolving around the Black experience nominated for Best Picture? As the years and decades drag on for the Oscars, it seems that the "Best Picture" and "Best Director" categories constitute the academy's glass ceiling for African Americans. This story about ten years in the life of Muhammad Ali has depth, humor and a visual and aural dissonance worthy of the decades it depicts.

Directing:
Antoine Fuqua, "Training Day"
Michael Mann, "Ali"
Raoul Peck, "Lumumba"
Fuqua delivers a slick, stylish flick about crime and punishment, Mann doesn't spare a sense of soul or 60's social upheaval and Peck tells a gripping history from the eyes of people in the developing world.

Actor in a Leading Role
Eriq Ebouaney, "Lumumba"
Oh say, did you see him? Here's to Ebouaney getting more opportunities like this one.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Jamie Foxx, "Ali"
What exactly do you call Jamie Foxx's humor? Grits and sausage come to mind, so do collard greens and cornbread.

Actress in Leading Role
Taraji P. Henson, "Baby Boy"
Henson had it all working: the hand on the hip, the PMS behavior, even the thumb in the mouth. Big ups for the around-the-way girl.

Foreign Language Film
"Lumumba"
It is still not popular to tell our history and stories from our own perspective, and with our own voices. Maybe if director Raoul Peck had told the story through the eyes of the Belgians, (who just officially apologized for assassinating Lumumba) and starred, say, Donald Sutherland, maybe this film would have gotten a nod.

Documentary Feature
"Life and Debt"
(See first sentence under "Foreign Language Film) This is a devastating and tight film. Probably too real and too Black for old Oscar.

Esther Iverem's reviews also appear on BET.com.

-- February 21, 2002

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