Gina Prince-BytheWood, the director of The Woman King speaks out about Oscars snubbed.
The Root reports that the movie did not receive any nominations. “The Academy made a very loud statement, and for me to stay quiet is to accept that statement,” Prince-BytheWood wrote in her op-ed piece.
She continued, “So I agreed to speak up, on behalf of Black women whose work has been dismissed in the past, is dismissed now like Alice Diop and Saint Omer, Chinonye Chukwu and Till- and for those who haven’t even stepped on a set yet.”
“The Woman King wasn’t snubbed. A snub is if it missed out on a category or two. The film was not nominated for one single craft. Not one single extraordinary performance was recognized. And when has that happened for a successful film that hit all the so-called markers?” Prince-BytheWood said.
“It’s not a snub. It’s a reflection of where the Academy stands and the consistent chasm between Black excellence and recognition. And, sadly, this is not just an issue in Hollywood but in every industry. I’m going to use a Dr.King quote because it is so apropos, in that he spoke on the “lie of [our] inferiority accepted as truth in the society dominating us,” she added.
The director also pointed out how some of her peers had to force themselves to see the film. “We, Black women, do not get that same grace. So the question we need to ask is, ‘Why is it so hard to relate to the work of your Black peers?’ What is this inability of Academy voters to see Black women, and their humanity, and their heroism, as relatable to themselves?”
In the aforementioned paragraph about, the movies, Till and Alice Diop’s Saint Omer were not nominated for any awards either. What are your thoughts on these movies being snubbed by the Academy?