The nominations for The Golden Globes and SAG (The Screen Actor’s Guild) were announced this week and there were many welcomed surprises such as:
Chiwetel Ejiofor has been nominated for best actor for “12 Years a Slave”
Lupita Nyong’o has been nominated for best supporting actress for “12 Years a Slave”
John Ridley has been nominated for best screenplay for “12 Years a Slave”
Steve McQueen has been nominated for best director for “12 Years a Slave”
Idris Elba has been nominated for best actor for “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Others have been nominated like the cast of “The Butler” for SAG and Kerry Washington for “Scandal” and all of this has gotten me curious about the future of film and television for black people. What does it mean that there’s a very good chance Steve McQueen and his writer John Ridley could each go home with a golden man come Oscar season?
Hopefully that this will open more doors for more black filmmakers, screenwriters and actors. But what would be the greatest achievement would be for black people to make more meaningful films that don’t revolve solely around race. Not that speaking about race in film isn’t important, but not being able to make films where black people stand proudly on their own two feet instead of standing obediently in the positions of: slave, butler and black person from history everyone knows about.
Whatever the outcome, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed come award season.
