Chadwick Boseman and His Lasting Impact on the Golden Globe: A Reflection on Audacity, Triumph, and Tragedy

Chadwick Boseman and His Golden Globe Victory

I'm not sure what the question ldquo;expectsrdquo; me to think. I rather enjoyed Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and had just seen the stage version—with some of the same cast—before the theaters in Southern California closed for quarantine. So I certainly have no argument against Mr. Boseman's win. I'm guessing the question is whether a win is wasted on a dead person. But as with Heath Ledger's Oscar a few years ago, ldquo;bestrdquo; is ldquo;bestrdquo; whatever the state of the actor by the time of the awards. I think the win was something of a ldquo;Lifetime Achievement Award.rdquo; So why shouldn't he win?

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: A Metaphor for African American Struggle

Boseman’s character in Ma Rainey is a metaphor for every indignity, every attack on their families, every oppression, and every rip-off that Black men have had to endure for 400 years. He lost his family, his father had been gang-raped, and his mother had been gang-raped. He tried to win at the white man’s game, he was talented, but everyone told him he was too much. In the end, in his frustration, anger, and fury, he killed a band member, stabbing him as he had been stabbed constantly throughout his life. As everyone stands stunned, he holds the man gently in his arms and tells him he will help him, oblivious to the life that is oozing out by the second with the blood now drenching both of them. As he sits sadly, almost mumbling that it's going to be okay, one realizes and cannot forget that Boseman himself was dying at that very moment. That he wasn't just acting; he was crying out one last time that he had spent his entire career being the good guy, being the role model, and his final character was not one of triumph but one of tragedy—America's ultimate tragedy and why no one can ever forget what we as a people did to the Black people who began to come to America as slaves over 400 years ago.

This is why the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was so deeply felt and Boseman the ultimate warrior who played so many memorable positive characters is overcome and breaks down, taking a nice old man with him. This is modern Shakespeare but more than that, it is the condemnation of everything that has happened to Black men and women for 400 years. Should he have won the Golden Globe? I don't think there can be any doubt that this performance was not a performance; it was a reflection of real life. Boseman had dedicated himself to this in his own quiet, unassuming, and brilliant way.

Boseman’s Unyielding Dedication to the Craft

I listened to Spike Lee being interviewed and he said Boseman never let on he was terminally ill with a few months to live when they filmed Da 5 Bloods. As Boseman was sprinting in several war scenes, he was in great shape despite his terminal illness.

Ma Rainey was his last film. As always, he was smiling, loving, never complaining, and acting brilliantly. Apparently, he knew he had terminal cancer several years before his passing yet carried on right to the end. Donating his time, his money, and his prestige to terrific, inspirational roles, including The Black Panther, which was a breakthrough at the time as the first movie starring and built around a Black character. But this was in keeping with his resume of Marshall for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black on the Supreme Court, and civil rights lawyer or my favorite, 42.

Boseman’s Legacy and the Legacy of Representation

When I grew up in the 1950s, Black ball players were still relatively new; Jackie Robinson was playing, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, and the country wasn't even starting to come out of Jim Crow. The way Boseman handled the role was simple and brilliant as were all of his performances. Much will be written about him and this award in his last role, but I would just like to join the millions who perhaps did not recognize his genius as much as they should have in the short yet steep trajectory and accomplishments that he achieved, and the positive empowerment he brought to so many.