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BFI Black Star 1940-50: The bittersweet success of the first black Oscar winner
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The first black person to win an Oscar, Hattie McDaniel struggled to escape the maid archetype that was the source of her success. A trailblazer, the Gone with the Wind star nevertheless became went on to perpetuate the black maid stereotype, even after her Oscar win.
In the years since, black Oscar nominees have consistently been rewarded for playing abused, impoverished characters with ties to crime. We ask how much things have improved since Hattie's time.
This is episode two of the BFI's Black Star podcast, a six-part series presented as part of the Black Star season, which celebrates the power and versatility of black actors.
This episode of the Black Star podcast contains a clip of Hattie McDaniel accepting her Oscar in 1939, which is owned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
It also contains short clips from:
- Gone with the Wind. Directed by Victor Fleming, produced by Selznick International Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Released in 1939.
- 12 Years a Slave. Directed by Steve McQueen; produced by Summit Entertainment, Regency Enterprises, River Road Entertainment, Plan B Entertainment, New Regency Productions and Film4 Productions. Released in 2013
- Precious. Directed by Lee Daniels; produced by Lee Daniels Entertainment, Smokewood Entertainment, Harpo Films, 34th Street Films. Released in 2009
- The Help, directed by Tate Taylor; produced by DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Participant Media, Image Nation, 1492 Pictures and Harbinger Pictures. Released in 2011.
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