Danielle Deadwyler arrives at the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Danielle Deadwyler believes racism and misogyny towards African-American women played a role in this year’s Oscar nominations, which left her and Viola Davis in the Best Actress category.
Before the Oscar nominations Deadwyler was widely viewed as a possible candidate for her acclaimed portrayal of Mamie Till-Mobley on “Till.” (“Till: Justice for my son”).
“Till” is a dark drama about the 1955 lynching of black teenager Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered after a white woman said the 14-year-old boy had made inappropriate advances to her.
But the category of best actress, perhaps the most competitive of the year, didn’t go as expected: both Deadwyler and Davis were left out. A four-time Academy Award nominee and statuette winner for her performance in Fences (2016), Davis received critical acclaim for the historical epic The Woman King.
Viola Davis, from left, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Sheila Atim arrive at the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Deadwyler was nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards and British Academy Film BAFTAs ahead of the Oscar nominations, and won Best Lead at the Gotham Awards.
That two prominent African American actresses were among the most notable snubs was viewed by some as a Reflection on racial prejudice in the film industry.
The day after the Oscar nominations, Till director Chinonye Chukwu posted on Instagram: “We live in one world and we work in one world. Industries so aggressive in defending whiteness and perpetuating blatant misogyny towards black women“.
When asked about his reaction to that comment on an episode of the Kermode & Mayo’s Take podcast, Deadwyler Chukwu agreed. “We’re talking about people who might have chosen not to see the film, we’re talking about misogyny as it’s presented in a variety of ways, either directly or indirectly,” Deadwyler said. “It affects who we are.”
Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till (left) and Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till-Mobley in Till in this image provided by Orion Pictures. President Joe Biden hosted a screening of the film at the White House on Thursday, February 16, 2023. (Lynsey Weatherspoon/Orion Pictures via AP)
“Misogynoir,” a term coined by author and feminist activist Moya Bailey, refers to misogyny and prejudice against African American women. “I think the question is more about people living in white, about white people’s perceptions of the spaces that privilege them,” Deadwyler added. “We’ve seen it exist in a government environment; It can also exist in a social sphere, be it global or national..
That Deadwyler and Davis were left out of the Oscar nominations is part of what fueled initial opposition from movie stars to actress Andrea Riseborough’s ad campaign.
After a string of celebrity-hosted screenings (a regular feature of Hollywood awards season), Riseborough received an unexpected nomination for her performance on the independent drama To Leslie opposite Michelle Yeoh from Everything Everywhere All at Once”. Everything everywhere at the same time”), Cate Blanchett from “Tár”, Michelle Williams from “The Fabelmans” (“Los Fabelmans”) and the Cuban-Spanish Ana de Armas from “Blonde” (“Rubia”).
After the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced an investigation into Riseborough’s campaign, it found no reason to withdraw his nomination or take other action, although Academy President Bill Kramer said so Some publicity campaigns and social media tactics “raised concern.”
Danielle Deadwyler arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, March 4, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
But the conversation continued about how money, race, status and connections can affect price campaigns.
The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood said she wonders how people in the film industry use their social capital. “People like to say, ‘Well, Viola and Danielle had (film) studios behind them.’ But we’ve seen very clearly that social capital is more valuable than that,” Prince-Bythewood told The Hollywood Reporter.
“This type of power is exercised more informally in social circles, where people are your friends or your acquaintances. There may be diversity in their sets but not in their lives. And black women in this industry, we don’t have that power.”
Deadwyler, who was named one of last year’s top performers by The Associated Press, said on the podcast that ensuring a level playing field is everyone’s responsibility. “Nobody gets acquitted because they don’t engage in racism and are unaware of the possibility of their impact lasting in the spaces and the institution,” he said.
President Joe Biden speaks before a screening of the film “Till” in the East Room of the White House on February 16, 2023 in Washington. The film follows the lynching of black teenager Emmett Till in 1955 and his mother’s quest for justice. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Days after Deadwyler’s comments, President Joe Biden hosted a performance of “Till” at the White House. “History Matters”Biden said in brief remarks before the lights went out in the East Room, where members of Till’s family were among the guests. The president pointed out that despite the fact that some want to forget the country’s history, “only with the truth comes healing and justice.” “Silence is complicity”added the President.
Among Till’s family members was a cousin who sued a Mississippi County sheriff in federal court to enforce a 1955 arrest warrant against the woman who accused Emmett Till, now in his late 90s.
Biden declined to comment on the lawsuit, but thanked family members for “never giving up” in their quest for justice.
Deadwyler attended the performance along with Jalyn Hall, who plays Emmett; Whoopi Goldberg, who plays the supporting role of the young man’s grandmother; as well as Chukwu.
(with information from AP)
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