This year’s Oscars will always be remembered as the one during which the Best Picture award nearly went to the wrong film. But once we step past the monumental mess up on the Kodak stage, and the attendant conspiracy theories that swirled around all the swish post-event soirees, we can only applaud, because the Academy did the right thing this year.
But this year, it had to be the heart-breaking Moonlight. By awarding it Best Picture, the Academy has placed the Black story at the heart of the nation’s narrative, and turned the spotlight on it in a never-before manner. A handful of Black actors brandishing the Oscar statue (Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor, Viola Davis Best Supporting Actor, and Barry Jenkins received the Best Film trophy, as a retraction) may not change the world. It may not make up for the persecution and violence the Blacks have had to face. But optics in this post-truth world is all: A visual with winning Black faces can be deeply transformative. It can tell the world that black lives matter.
