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Oscar Wars

 Halle Berry was an overachiever in childhood. Also, she was biracial, but her mother observed that America would not take an interest in her multiple identities. Mom said, simply, "America will see you as Black, and that's that."


Berry had a prim and proper image, but a collaboration with Spike Lee showed that she could shed that image. The Spike Lee work became crucial, later, when Berry was lobbying for a role in "Monster's Ball." Additionally, Berry made a shrewd move to focus on Dorothy Dandridge--someone who was once used and misused by the entertainment world. The official story is that Dandridge died of an accidental overdose, but Berry wonders if "accidental" is a false label.

The year of "Monster's Ball," many people expected Sissy Spacek to take home Best Actress--for her work in a Todd Field film, "In the Bedroom." (Curiously, this year, we have another Todd Field situation: Cate Blanchett vs. Michelle Yeoh.) After Berry won, her colleague, Angela Bassett, insisted that she had considered the Berry role (something the studio itself disputes), and had turned it down because it dangerously reproduced/re-enforced certain stereotypes. Others shared Bassett's concern--although America didn't seem to have any anxiousness about Denzel Washington having won for playing a murderous villain.

After Berry's win, there was a sense that an important door had been thrown open. But maybe not. When is something an example of tokenism, and when is it evidence of real change?

I think the Oscars are ridiculous, and just to move beyond myopia, I'll list a few worthy performances that no one recognized this year:

*Jonathan Majors, "Devotion"
*Channing Tatum, "Dog"
*Bill Skarsgard, "Barbarian"
*Miles Teller, "Top Gun"
*Sosie Bacon, "Smile"
*Andrew Scott, "Catherine Called Birdy"
*Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, "She Said"
*Michelle Monaghan, "Nanny"

Despite all that, I will of course have my TV tuned to Rihanna et al. on Sunday night. Happy viewing!
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