A look at Oscar-nominated movies & race

(Editor’s Note: The following narrative and free verse was submitted to The Point by Point Richmond resident Cornel Barnett, a native of South Africa.)

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By Cornel Barnett

Point Richmond

These snippets in free-verse focus on the Oscar-nominated movies on race as we understand it in the U.S. Jim Crow and Civil Rights context. They are indispensable in understanding our historical and social context in order to help our nation towards its stated principle of liberty and justice for all. 

2017 Oscar-nominated Movies on Race*

The 2017 Oscar collection of movies on race

Is the antithesis of last year’s minimal line-up.

It shows that Black lives matter – enormously!

In “Hidden Figures” numbers emerge

From brilliant brains hitherto hidden

And a race and rocket reach new heights

In “Fences” old wounds of discrimination in baseball

Fester in an old pro who finds solid work in garbage

And fences grow while his gifted family is wasted

In “I Am Not Your Negro” James Baldwin articulates

Along with movie clips and real life past and present –

And race in the United States is decisively dissected

In “O. J.: Made in America” football turns farcical

In a harrowing journey of ambiguity and contradiction

And O. J. and the U.S. are radically exposed and wrung out

In “13^th” the law that abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude

Except as punishment for a crime, becomes a loophole that sends

Civil Rights to jail – and modern-day slavery and servitude spikes

In “Loving” interracial marriage is considered crime

In the State of Virginia and love in its many manifestations

Weaves a magical web through courts of the country

* Best picture: “Hidden Figures”, “Fences”

   Documentary feature: “I Am Not Your Negro”, “O. J.: Made in America”, “13^th”

   Best Actress: Ruth Negga, “Loving”