BLACK EXCELLENCE swept the board at the Screen Actors Guild (Sag) awards on the weekend with the likes of Viola Davis (best female actor) and British actor Daniel Kaluuya (best male supporting actor) picking up yet more honours for their roles in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Judas and the Black Messiah respectively.
The late Chadwick Boseman was awarded (best male actor) a fourth posthumous award for his portrayal of trumpet player Levee Green. It was Boseman’s last role before he passed away.
This year’s SAG Awards was a one-hour celebration that highlighted and expanded on the show’s signature “I Am An Actor” stories through funny and intimate docuseries-inspired interviews, which were woven throughout the telecast.
The SAG Awards unique take on awards season included an upbeat montage recognising this year’s nominees’ outstanding performances, and an “In Memoriam” tribute presented by Davis honouring the union members lost since last year’s gathering.
Acknowledging playwright August Wilson in her acceptance speech Davis said: “Thank you, August, for leaving a legacy for actors of colour that we can relish the rest of our lives.”
Talking to the Voice earlier this year Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Director, George C. Wolfe, hailed Boseman’s performance, dismissing the notion that it was defined in any way by what the actor was going through prior to his death.
He said: “It was a brilliant performance period,” he retorts.
He adds: “(It’s) not qualified by what he was going through, by any standard it is a phenomenal performance.
“The fact he was going through and battling an illness informs it but that’s not the qualifier for how brilliant it is, it is a brilliant performance unto itself.”
THE 27TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® RECIPIENTS
The Motion Picture Recipients are:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
CHADWICK BOSEMAN / Levee – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
VIOLA DAVIS / Ma Rainey – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
DANIEL KALUUYA / Fred Hampton – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
YUH-JUNG YOUN / Soonja – MINARI
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It’s been 75 years since the American Actress of African-heritage, Hattie McDaniel, won an Oscar for ‘Gone With the Wind,’ by acting as the totally devoted House Nanny; whose devotion to her Caucasian Master and all his adult Caucasian children-and their love interests, was her main priority in her life.
In the 75 years since Hattie McDaniel’s was given an Oscar, “clowning” and subservient characters remains the best route for Oscar glory for American people of African heritage.
American people of African-heritage should not worry if they are not recognised by the Academy; indeed, they should worry if they are recognised by the Academy as it indicates they must be doing something terribly wrong.
An Oscar was presented to Mr Chadwick Boseman only after he could no longer challenge or ask questions which Caucasian writers; directors and producers prefer to avoid.