The Oscar’s has cemented itself as one of the most powerful, taste-making forces of our time. Its key moments – like ‘the slap that was heard around the world’ and Björk’s Marjan Pejoski swan dress – are seared into collective memory, their significance spreading far beyond the boundaries of Hollywood.
Last weekend, 95 years after its first edition, the Academy Awards once again highlighted that the mistreatment of Black women is a mainstream tendency still very much alive. Despite the many incredible Black women present at the Oscars, the criticism of their behaviour was strikingly disproportionate to that experienced by their white counterparts.
An expectation to ‘perform’
Following her 2001 Best Actress win, a gushing Halle Berry told the audience that this was ‘a moment so much bigger’ than her, going on to dedicate the victory to ‘the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox.’ And 22 years after that speech Bassett, one of the Black actresses singled out by Berry, found herself again on the cusp of Oscars glory.
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In an awards season packed with controversy, rule breaking campaigns and headline-making musical performances (courtesy of Arianna DeBose), the significance of Bassett’s nomination may have been lost on some. Few actresses have displayed her level of consistency and longevity in an industry famous for shunning older women. Berry wasn’t the only one to credit her with Oscars worthy acting chops early in her career. Nearly three decades ago, in 1993, she was nominated for her performance as Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It. So to be recognised in the same award category again in 2023, at 64-years-old, is testament to an incredible career.…
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