“This has been a long time coming.”Ruth E Carter started her first Oscars acceptance speech with these seven words, and to me, they sum up all ofBlack Panther’s historic wins. It’s been a long time coming for black women behind-the-scenes in Hollywood to get their recognition. They’ve been doing the work. They’ve been showing their work. Now, it’s finally time for that work to be lauded. FINALLY.
The technical categories thatBlack Pantherwon are usually overwhelmingly white. Hannah Beachler is the first black person to be nominated for and, of course, win a Production Design Oscar. Ruth E Carter is the first black woman to win an Oscar in Costume Design. They’re both the first black women to win anon-acting category since 1984. It’s been over 30 years. I don’t know why stats like that still shock me. There shouldn’t have been a 30-year gap between this kind of recognition, but we know that a movie likeBlack Pantherhad to get made, with a director like Ryan Coogler who empowered the women who worked with him, in order for their work to shine.
I’m not giving credit to Ryan Coogler here, but there’s something to be said about working with someone who gives you the support to do your best. I’m going to come back to Ruth E Carter, but first, Hannah Beachler’s speech hit me right in my feelings because it showed what that support looks like, especially for black women.
汉娜·比奇勒（Hannah Beachler）站在讲台上，摇晃着泪水，发表了令人惊叹的演讲。
“I stand here stronger than I was yesterday. I stand here with agency and self-worth because of Ryan Coogler—who not only made me a better designer, a better storyteller, a better person. I stand here because of this man who offered me a different perspective of life. Who offered me a safe space. Who is patient and gave me air, humanity, and brotherhood.”
I’m still mad they couldn’t find Coogler in his seat for cutaways during this moment but what struck me about it is that we know how rare a work experience like this is for black women in Hollywood – heck, for black women in any field. Because Hannah Beachler was empowered by Ryan Coogler, she’s an Academy Award winner, and she gets to pass that power on to the next. *That* is how change happens. This next part is when Hannah broke me.
“I give this strength to all of those who come next. To keep going and never give up, and when you think it’s impossible, just remember to say this piece of advice I got from a very wise woman: ‘I did my best, and my best is good enough.’”
您最好的足够好。这似乎不是激进的，但是对于那些一生都被告知他们必须努力工作的两倍的黑人来说，您最好的“足够好”是进步的巨大飞跃。对于承担家人，配偶或朋友负担的女性来说，这也是一个美丽的提醒，让自己更容易。如果不是露丝·卡特（Ruth E Carter），汉娜·比奇勒（Hannah Beachler）的演讲本来是我当晚的最爱。
Ruth E Carter is one of the most prolific and accomplished costume designers of all time. She’s proven herself with every job she’s taken but this job? It was f-cking undeniable. It’s almost exactly a year sinceBlack Panther首次发行，在那一年，露丝·卡特（Ruth E Carter）对她的作品有明确的表现。她深入讨论了自己制作的服装的护理，这些服装专门针对瓦卡达（Wakanda）的各个国家和部落。用她的话来说，她几十年来一直是“文化的守护者”。认真地说，我们仍然有一些趋势，因为露丝·卡特（Ruth E Carter）想象着。她的作品植根于塑造文化的故事中的角色，从School Daze至Seinfeld至Malcolm X. InBlack Panther, she created Wakanda, a world which portrayed African people in a way Hollywood had never seen. Ruth E Carter DID THAT.
“Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king. It’s been my life’s honor to create costumes. Thank you to the Academy. Thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead onscreen.”
This was my favourite part of Ruth E Carter’s speech. She focused on the way women can look onscreen, which I’ve been yelling about since last February. The women of Wakanda looked incredible, but they were also warriors or Queens and were suited up as such. But it’s the next line that got me:
“My career is built with passion to tell stories that allow us to know ourselves better.”
She didn’t say to “get you to know us better.” She is telling us exactly who her work is for, and it’s black women (and men) whose costumes she creates. I stan so hard.
Black Pantherdid not win Best Picture and even though these wins, plus Best Score, got my hopes up (after Hannah’s win I was literally pacing and yelling, “ARE WE GONNA WIN BEST PICTURE!?”), I always knew that last night would mean that thisBlack Panther旅程即将结束。大奖项have been a nice, and well-deserved, win for a movie that has already earned so much but these historic wins show thatBlack Pantherwas always more than just a silly superhero movie or whatever the latest derivative classification is.
The best part ofBlack Panther’s wins? Watching the cast celebrate with their beloved crew. Every cutaway to Danai, Winston or Lupita during every win made my life. All three looked gorgeous, because of course they did. One small complaint: Winston’s white suit piping is a little too much.
