This might finally be the year that the Oscars stop being the be-all and end-all of film awards. The NAACP and the Spirit Awards are two massive awards shows that take place before the Oscars. They mean something when they mean something, and usually that means not falling in line with the consensus all of the time. In all of the years I’ve been covering the awards the one thing I’ve learned is that films or people rarely win because they were “the best.” Best is not an accurate measure because it varies so widely from person to person. They win because they achieved something extraordinary – they stepped outside themselves, they took a big risk, they found the sweet spot in a story that moved a great many people at once. Or they defied the odds and made something no one ever could have imagined. The Oscar voters’ taste is a reflection of who they are. That’s what they stand for. They are peer awards designed to please a sixtyish white male. We often lower our expectations accordingly.
Though Selma did not get recognized by THAT group, it’s heartening to see it get recognized elsewhere. People might say, well of course the NAACP WOULD. But when you simplify the argument you see that the Oscars really are representative mostly of white culture, give or take, so if the NAACP are representative of black of African American culture, what is the problem?
When the Oscars start being more inclusive and less focused on the one kind of demographic I think then and only then can they really proclaim they honor the best. That’s just my silly opinion on a rainy Saturday morning.
Or as Spike Lee said:
“It gets dangerous when you start allowing people to validate your work. It becomes dangerous when the outcome becomes not the art but to win a Grammy, Oscar or a Tony whatever it is and you pick the prize ahead of the art. That’s when artists get in trouble. Sometimes you get snubbed by other people so it’s always great to be recognized and validated by us.”
Outstanding Motion Picture
“Selma” (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
David Oyelowo – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Taraji P. Henson – “No Good Deed” (Screen Gems)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Common – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Carmen Ejogo – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical)
Antoine Fuqua – “The Equalizer” (Columbia Pictures)
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
“Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)
Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical)
“Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People” (Chimpanzee Productions, Inc.)
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Loretta Devine – “Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical)
Misan Sagay – “Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)
Outstanding Comedy Series
“black-ish” (ABC)
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – “‘black-ish” (ABC)
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Tracee Ellis Ross – “black-ish” (ABC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Laurence Fishburne – “black-ish” (ABC)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Yara Shahidi – “black-ish” (ABC)
Outstanding Drama Series
“How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Shemar Moore – “Criminal Minds” (CBS)
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Viola Davis – “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Joe Morton – “Scandal” (ABC)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Khandi Alexander – “Scandal” (ABC)
Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
“The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)
Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Blair Underwood – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)
Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Cicely Tyson – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)
Outstanding News/ Information (Series or Special)
“Unsung” (TV One)
Outstanding Talk Series
“Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Reality Series
“Iyanla: Fix My Life” (OWN)
Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)
“Oprah’s Master Class” (OWN)
Outstanding Children’s Program
“Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)
Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program (Series or Special)
Fatima Ptacek – “Dora and Friends: Into The City!” (Nickelodeon)
Outstanding Host
Steve Harvey – “Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Documentary (Television)
“Bad Boys” (ESPN)
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Sara Hess – “Orange is the New Black” – It Was the Change (Netflix)
Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
Erika Green Swafford – “How to Get Away with Murder” – Let’s Get To Scooping (ABC)
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Television)
Shernold Edwards – “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)
Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Ken Whittingham – “Parks and Recreation” – Prom (NBC)
Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
Carl Franklin – “House of Cards” – Chapter 14 (Netflix)
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television)
Reggie Bythewood – “Gun Hill” (BET)
Outstanding New Artist
3 Winans Brothers (BMG)
Outstanding Male Artist
Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records)
Outstanding Female Artist
Beyoncé (Columbia Records)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
“Stay with Me” – Sam Smith feat. Mary J Blige (Capitol)
Outstanding Jazz Album
“My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke” – Al Jarreau (Concord)
Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)
“Where My Heart Belongs” – Gladys Knight (Shadow Mountain Records)
Outstanding Music Video
“You & I (Nobody in the World)” – John Legend (Columbia Records)
Outstanding Song
“We Are Here” – Alicia Keys (RCA Records)
Outstanding Album
“Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics” – Aretha Franklin (RCA Records)
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“A Wanted Woman” – Eric Jerome Dickey (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction
“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” – Bryan Stevenson (Spiegel & Grau)
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
“Forty Acres” – Dwayne Alexander Smith (Atria Books)
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Auto Biography
“Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine” – Louis Sullivan with David Chanoff (University of Georgia Press)
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life” – Joe Brewster, Michele Stephenson, Hilary Beard (Spiegel & Grau)
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“Citizen: An American Lyric” – Claudia Rankine (Graywolf Press)
Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“Dork Diaries 8: Tales From A Note-So-Happily Ever After” – Rachel Renee Russell with Nikki Russell and Erin Russell (Simon & Schuster)
Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Brown Girl Dreaming” – Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books)