Will “Sinners” Make Oscar History? Here’s Why It Matters.

I’ll go ahead and call it–Sinners is going to make history again. Fresh off of Black history month, Pastor and poster child for “not all skinfolk…” Jamal Bryant declared the Target Boycott was over–(spoiler alert, it’s not). His misstep reminded me of the #OscarsSoWhite phase of social media. Although I don’t remember April Reign ending her critique of racism in Hollywood, it’s no longer an everyday topic for the average non-SAG American.

The 98th Academy Awards are happening tonight. Are we going to be sharing the Viola Davis Screen Actors Guild Awards meme or the Viola Davis eyeroll gif from HTGAWM?

First thing is this–I know we have value beyond the awards and beyond what racist critics have to say. Variety and similar publications made it very clear that they will never hold Black creativity in as high esteem as we do. It’s like Olivia Pope’s daddy (and countless generations of Black parents) said:

“You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have.”

I’m sure lots of other Black writers are already drafting up articles and think pieces and slam poetry verses about the Oscars. Twelve years ago in an interview with Eugene Hernandez (Film Society of Lincoln Center) Ryan Coogler was asked about his film Fruitvale Station. One of his goals was to inspire discussion.

The Oscar-Worthy Talent In Sinners

The ambitious yet gentle level of thoughtfulness that Ryan Coogler put into the production of Sinners is indicative of a rare generational talent. And yet, the question remains: how are there no Black actresses who are nominated for the Best Actress award? But that’s a whole other article.

A film doesn’t earn 16 Oscar nominations with a strong director alone, so let’s show some love for the Sinners team with a few highlights that we can savor, whether they get the little gold man or not.

• Autumn Durald Arkapaw (nominated for Best Cinematographer) has a true talent for seeing what the rest of us can barely imagine and Sinners is no exception. In her own words, “The challenge is not in finding something outside yourself, but in being vulnerable enough to explore and express what is already there.”
• Delroy Lindo (nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role) is definitely Black famous as demonstrated by the influencer who disrespected his decades-long career. His most memorable roles for me are Crooklyn, Malcolm X, Da 5 Bloods, and, of course, Sinners. He knows how to hold the viewer in a moment beyond what we’re comfortable with. Delta Slim’s monologue when they passed the chain gang broke me down. I don’t think anyone else would have pulled off that role quite so convincingly.
• Francine Maisler (nominated for Best Casting) has cast hundreds of films since the 90s. She ain’t new to this, she’s true to this. What made Sinners different? If not for Maisler, we might not have that incredibly sensual scene between Smoke (Michael B. Jordan) and Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). It’s not too dramatic to mention that putting a thick, dark-skinned woman in that role was a bold, potentially career-altering choice. Think back to the first Black woman to get an Oscar nomination and win–Hattie McDaniel. She earned Best Supporting Actress in 1939, and one could compare her features to Wumni. Back then, we weren’t allowed to be love interests on screen. Instead, we were relegated to magical negro roles. Seeing Wunmi Mosaku glide so elegantly across all these red carpets reminds the world that Black women are so easy to fall in love with.
• Ludwig Göransson (nominated for Best Original Score) has nailed every single collab with Coogler. I think that’s thanks in large part to how they view their working relationship. Coogler didn’t just hire him like a contractor. They consider themselves longtime creative partners. Göransson once commented, “Who am I to sit down and try to write a blues score?” But that seems to be the magic of Ryan Coogler. He sees a particular set of skills that others tend to overlook.
• Zinzi Coogler (nominated for Best Picture) is a huge part of the reason we even know Ryan Coogler’s talent. He has often remarked his appreciation for her buying the software that made his screenwriting aspirations possible. As a producer for Sinners, she has an innate eye for precision that gave us a globally impactful film. She radiates such inqusitiveness and it’s easy to see how her focus has paid off.
• And I wont say too much on Michael B. Jordan (nominated for Best Actor) because I need a separate article to say everything that I want to say, but he deserves even more flowers than what we’ve given him over the years. Seeing the evolution of his work in real time over the years has been a joy to experience.

I feel like these awards bring honor to John Singleton and Spike Lee and Kasi Lemmons.

When You’re Only Famous to Black People

There was a game show where two contestants were next to a screen, and they had to guess a celebrity’s name. Morris Chestnut was up there, and I remember screaming his name at my laptop, absolutely flabbergasted that he wasn’t an easy answer. But then a friend reminded me that Morris Chestnut (at the time) was “Black Famous”. CHASE ISEGHOHI recently wrote an article about the myriad of Black actors who have been in the game for decades, but still haven’t won an Oscar, including Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, and Laurence Fishburne.

Until recently, voters for many of these awards didn’t even have to watch the films they were voting for.

What is it About Ryan Coogler That We Love?

In honor of the discussions that Ryan Coogler has inspired through his directorial career, I want us to critically examine whether we can be ok with not winning. Like, yes, we should still criticize power structures. We should still boycott. We can do all those things without losing ourselves in whether our oppressor considers our art valuable. Personally, I barely made it through the scene where Michael B. Jordan’s face was pressed against the floor. Coogler was able to take the traumatic compilation of Oscar Grant’s death that flooded the internet and translate it into a film. His vision for the message persists over a decade later. Back before white actors were praising and defending Coogler’s work, he was making art for us. He made it so we could tell our stories. He set out to find a lost narrative, and he succeeded.

For me, the historic lack of value placed on Black life is replaced by his cinematic vision of an infinite Black pantheon that will outlast all the people who refuse to recognize us. In the history of film, there are so many regurgitations of whiteness and copycats and cash grabs, but Coogler is an uncanny talent who has consistently enhanced the talent and ambitions of everyone on his team. I still tense up when Grant is pulled off the train and lined up with other Black men.

So when I watch the Oscars live tonight for what I think will be my first time, I refuse to be discouraged.

“I just hope people will see a little bit of themselves in the characters.” Ryan I want to tell you that we do. I took something from Remmick’s (Jack O’Connell) longing to commune with his fallen family even though I’m not Irish. There is a deep familiarity in Bianca (Tessa Thompson) losing her hearing despite me not being deaf. The cognitive dissonance between T’Challa (RIP Chadwick Boseman) and Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) reflected an internal struggle that I can’t always articulate. Yet somehow, this dude from Oakland was able to perfectly express my internal conflict. Similarly, these awards shows leave me conflicted–do we burn it down or do we attempt to integrate?

Regardless of which option we choose, Coogler has done a brilliant job of reminding us that our decision-making process is valid…even when we are snubbed. If the world treated Black life with the care that Coogler does, we could actually be free. So we see you brother. And we’re grateful that you see us.

So what do I think should happen if we don’t win? We just keep on pushing, keep on making Black art, keep being twice as good. And tonight I want Sinners to get more than half as much.

I’ll end with these words from Malcolm X’s 1964 speech “The Ballot or the Bullet”:

“I am one who doesn’t believe in deluding myself. I’m not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn’t make you a diner, unless you eat some of what’s on that plate. Being here in America doesn’t make you an American. Being born here in America doesn’t make you an American. Why, if birth made you American, you wouldn’t need any legislation; you wouldn’t need any amendments to the Constitution; you wouldn’t be faced with civil-rights filibustering…I’m one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I’m not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver — no, not I. I’m speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.”