Making History in Hollywood
Earlier this month, the world watched the 2020 Oscars play out. Favorites like “Joker,” “Ford v Ferrari” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” took home well-deserved awards. In honor of Black History Month, I want to recognize some of the greatest accomplishments by talented African American Hollywood stars in recent years.
The most notable win in the 2020 Academy Awards was that of Best Animated Short Film, awarded to “Hair Love.” In seven minutes, the short tells the story of Stephen, an African American father, and his daughter, Zuri. Usually, Zuri’s mother would do her hair for a special occasion, but one night, her mother was unavailable, and Stephen took on the task. This proved difficult, but the struggle of crazy, curly hair and the successfully finished hair-do emphasized the beautiful relationship between a young child and her father.
Released in February of 2018, “Black Panther” had great potential at the 2019 Oscars. It was nominated for six awards including Best Picture, and ended up taking home three: Best Original Music Score, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. “Black Panther” is Marvel’s first film to win an Oscar. Two of these awards made history – Ruth Carter became the first African American woman to win in costume design and Hannah Bleacher became the first African American woman to win in production design.
In the 2018 Academy Awards, Kobe Bryant took home the Best Animated Short Film trophy for “Dear Basketball.” Written and narrated by Kobe himself, this short is based on the letter that Kobe Bryant wrote announcing his retirement.
Actress Regina King joined the list of 2018 African American winners when she was awarded a trophy for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Also in 2018, director Jordan Peele was the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, after his thriller “Get Out” received high ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
I don’t know about you, but I now feel inspired to make a list of all the 2020 award-winning films, grab my popcorn and have a night in!
Hannah Dreweick is a sophomore studying business administration.