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 “Soul.”
Oscar history has been made, again. For just the second time, two Black women — Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”) — are nominated for best actress in the same year. This last happened in 1973 when Cicely Tyson (“Sounder”) and Diana Ross (“Lady Sings the Blues”) were up for the Academy Award, only to lose out to Liza Minnelli for her starring role in “Cabaret.” While we do not know who will take home the gold statue on Sunday, it is undeniable that Davis and Day gave two of the most mesmerizing performances of the year.Despite the fact that it has taken almost 50 years for Oscar history to repeat itself, I hope these nominations indicate a more substantive change in Hollywood, an increase in the number of multidimensional roles offered to Black actresses as well as wider recognition of their standout performances by the academy. But my optimism is also tempered. As much as Hollywood is changing, the way it tells the story of Black women’s musicality still lags behind. For while Davis and Day should be lauded for their exemplary work, their movies overemphasize the trauma and diminish the artistic genius of the icons they embody, Ma Rainey and Billie Holiday.