Black or White? Black and White? by Desary Welianga

 

Movies- definitely one bucket list to strike off after exams, ranging from ancient to the latest that has gone through a wide array of critical appraisal by critics of the arts and the common people. 

The recently concluded BAFTAs, recognized such incredible creations such as ‘Elvis, Wonder, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Blonde, The Whale, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick’, to name a few of the many more.  

The night must have roared on with a cocktail of emotions and all kinds of metals, feathers, leathers and silks adorning the mortal stars and was ceremonially graced by the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge adorning the stage in solid white and black ensemble that might have erupted fashion statements or a subtle message of inclusivity. 

The BBC soon after, posted a glamorous capture of the distinguished winners of the night which brought to the attention that it was missing colour. Whites were in all hues but black only seemed to be an accessory. 

The obvious connotation was that it is evident that still in the new age, such illustrious victories are only held by the whites. This poured in outroar even from the panelists with one claiming she is “heartbroken” and another tweeting “all of yesterday’s winners are white people, is it correct?”

This is certainly not the first-time lack of diversity was questioned, with Lenny Henry labelling it as “All white on the night” in 2013, followed with the introduction of the 2020 reforms prompting the addition of more voters to focus on under-represented groups.

Nevertheless almost 40% of the acting shortlist nominees were ethnic minorities but all the 49 winners in all categories were white. This compiled hundreds of comments on the issue of skill to be misunderstood with the issue of race which negates the dismay towards the predominantly white picture, with one claiming that “Soon they will need to apologize for being born white!”. 

Whereas the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge adorned the black-white union, that can symbolize strength and aptitude represented by black combined with the heart and endurance represented by white, it questions whether it was real or just a showcase.

One cannot in certainty, relate what took place behind the scenes but we can agree that the world is still troubled by the aspect of race as a relentless compensation to be paid for the guilt of the deliberate mistreatment towards the black from the early years.

If one has watched the phenomenal ‘Men in Black’ starring Will Smith at a time his palm only hurt another hypothetically, it showed the transition in the treatment of black from the 1960’s to the 2000’s which led to a very confused Agent J convincing the right to ownership of a vintage Cadillac Convertible and a nice black suit. This tactical skid may be a comical element to some or a much-awaited blow in the gut to others.