#oscarssowhite and just getting whiter

Year after year, #OscarsSoWhite has shown us that the academy and its voters could give a fuck about films and stories by and about Black and people of color. And after BAFTA selected 20 all-white acting nominees last week, we could have guessed the Academy Awards would follow suit. But, we hoped for the best. Instead what we got is a single Black nominee with Cynthia Erivo for best actress in “Harriet,” Antonio Banderas for best actor in “Pain and Glory,” and several big nominations for the Korean film “Parasite.” And that’s it.

Sigh. The usual suspects, of course, were acknowledged for their work, like Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, etc. But where was the love for Lupita Nyong’o who gave us two performances in Jordan Peele’s Us? Or A24’s The Farewell, starring Awkwafina? No nominations of any sort for Dolomite Is My Name, not even costume design by Ruth E. Carter? And even though Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite received nods for Best Director, Best International Film, Best Original Screenplay….where were the nominations for the cast who brought the story to life?

Don’t even get me started on the snubs of Jamie Foxx in Just Mercy, The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Gretta Gerwig who was snubbed for best director, despite the raves her latest, Little Women is receiving. Just an all-around yikes.