Why Is It So Hard to Show Black Womenâs Musical Genius Onscreen?
Oscar-nominated performances this season put the emphasis on the trauma, not the artistry, of Billie Holiday and Ma Rainey. The most insightful movie might just be âSoul.â
Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. The Oscar-nominated movie focuses on her anxieties rather than her artistic contributions.Credit.David Lee/Netflix, via Associated Press
April 20, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET
Oscar history has been made, again. For just the second time, two Black women â Viola Davis (âMa Raineyâs Black Bottomâ) and Andra Day (âThe United States vs. Billie Holidayâ) â are nominated for best actress in the same year. This last happened in 1973 when Cicely Tyson (âSounderâ) and Diana Ross (âLady Sings the Bluesâ) were up for the Academy Award, only to lose out to Liza Minnelli for her starring role in âCabaret.â While we do not know who will take home the gold statue on S
In the Oscars 2021 list, films that speak truth to power in ways unimaginable in India today
At least three of the seven frontrunners revolve around people or groups challenging the might of the American state. The United States Vs Billie Holiday (2021) | Lee Daniels Entertainment/New Slate Ventures/Roth/Kirschenbaum Films
To glance over the list of nominations for this year’s Oscar awards is to marvel at the number of movies about Americans speaking to power. At least three of the seven frontrunners revolve around people or groups challenging the might of the American state.
This theme is most explicitly explored in
Andra Day and Viola Davis are the category’s first pair of Black nominees since 1973, when Diana Ross was nominated for “Lady Sings the Blues” and Cicely Tyson was up for “Sounder.”
Andra Day Earns a Best Actress Nomination for âThe United States vs. Billie Holidayâ
âIt shouldnât be an uncomfortable idea that it could be all Black women being represented in this space,â said the star, whoâs also working on a new album.
Andra Day as Billie Holiday. She has already won a Golden Globe for her performance.Credit.Takashi Seida/Paramount Pictures, via Associated Press
March 15, 2021
Not even an Oscar nomination could curtail Andra Dayâs productivity. The Junk Jedis had arrived to clean out her garage, and, well, Monday was as good as any.
âIâm so sorry,â she said, as she hopped on a call to talk about her best actress nomination at the Academy Awards, while offering occasional direction to her garage-cleaning wizards. âIâve still got a house to uphold and a family to take care of!â
Uptown Magazine
Mar 8, 2021
Golden Globe winner Andra Day was awarded the On Her Shoulders Preservation Award during the Black Women Film Network summit.
“This award is more special to me because of our community, because of our family, because of who we are. And to know that I have the support and that Black women were moved by the film and felt they were represented, they were seen . I think that has everything to do with Billie Holiday s legacy.” Andra Day accepts the
Black Women Film Network (
BWFN) virtual summit. The actor/singer made her film debut portraying
Billie Holiday in