Not many Oscar moments can compare to the emotional wave that broke when Halle Berry claimed her Oscar statue last Sunday.

        The audience roared, the actress sobbed, even veteran film critic Roger Ebert confessed he “cheered like a college kid.”

        And all over the country, other African-American artists were overcome with shock and delight.

Halle Berry

        “Just to see the look on Halle's face when they announced her name, it was wonderful. It was like I won it as well,” said Gwen Gordon, a Cincinnati actress, casting director and crew member.

        Unquestionably, it was a historic night. Ms. Berry was the first black actress to win an Oscar for a lead performance. Moments later, Denzel Washington became the first black actor to win twice. Never before had three African-Americans been nominated in the same year. (Will Smith was nominated as Best Actor for his role in Ali.)

        For some, the night signaled a new era of possibility for racial minorities in the movie business.

        Dhana Donaldson of Main Stage Productions, who is preparing I Found The Answer: Songs of Mahalia for next weekend's opening of the Black Theater Festival, expressed the hope Oscar night inspired: “Ultimately what we want is for the doors not only to fly open now but to remain open,” she said, “for others to have the opportunity to have their talent judged fairly and equally. That's what's most important.”

        Yet, as well deserved as the awards were (likewise the lifetime tribute award to Sidney Poitier), skepticism is always in order when assigning meaning to Oscar results.

        Danny Glover, in town for a YMCA benefit Tuesday, said, “I thought it was great” that Ms. Berry and Mr. Washington won. “But it didn't (change) the condition of African-Americans in this country or the condition of people of color around the world.

        “But (despite) the fact that it was a long time coming and that it's historic, what does that really mean? Does it change the situation in Cincinnati? No. So what does it really mean?”
       

Overstates role

        The Academy Awards reflect the tastes, moods and professional interests of a small portion of a single industry. To interpret them as socio-political bellwethers — much less artistic benchmarks — overstates their fundamental role, which is popular entertainment.

        Actor Rocky Carroll, a Cincinnati native who has worked as a TV and movie actor in Hollywood for more than a dozen years, cited the Oscars' arbitrary record of honoring greatness.

        “It's not the finest collection of artistic minds ever assembled sitting a room saying, "This guy should win,' he said. “Al Pacino was nominated eight times before he finally won. ... I don't look at it as something that's due anyone. This strange sense of entitlement that says, "I'm nominated three times, I should have won,' I don't get that. (For winners) it's icing on a really great cake.”

        More than a new breakthrough, this year's Oscars signified breakthroughs already accomplished, as Mr. Carroll noted.

        “When Sidney Poitier won” as best actor for Lilies of the Field in 1963, “there were very solid and definite barriers for a person of color to be in that position,” he said. “To me, the barrier had already been broken down, so that Halle Berry and Denzel Washington were in a position to win Academy Awards, to do the roles, to make the kind of movies that get considered for Oscars. That came from the generation before.”

        Mr. Carroll also expressed the view of many actors that it is inherently unseemly to reduce creative work to a contest.

        “I think the whole award ceremony has become so much bigger than it was intended to be. It's a great night, a great thing, but it's not an athletic event.”

        Comparing performances in disparate movies, he said, “is like having one guy in a wheelchair, one in a rocketship and one on skis and calling it a race. But it's the American spirit; somebody has to finish first.

        “We're artists. Nobody starts out saying "I hope I do a better job in this movie than Tom Wilkinson does in his movie.' But once a year ... actors and people nominated have to do the biggest acting job of all and pretend that we're somehow competing with each other for this prize,” he said.
       

Comes down to talent

        The movie business, like any other, is driven by dollars and cents, supply and demand. Trend-setting enters into the process insofar as it serves the balance sheet. That color-blind fact often conflicts with the creative drive that attracts both performers and audiences. Learning to serve both art and commerce is a challenge that transcends race.

        “I think that Halle Berry said it best when she said what it really comes down to is talent,” said actor-director Lyle Benjamin, now directing rehearsals for 12 Angry Men at Queen City Off Broadway. “They basically won not because they were black actors or actresses, but because they were talented individuals.

        “Some people think there's not enough opportunity for black actors, but at same time, actors ... don't work. Actors are always looking for work no matter what category you're in.”

        “It's really about the dollar anyway. The decision-making roles in Hollywood are the people who run the studios. ... It comes down to are they going to make money or are they not going to make money, that's what it's really all about.”
       @SubHed:Political medium

        Writer Jeff Shelby, whose play Curfew: The Night The Lights Went Out In Cincinnati,is due to open in Madisonville in April, is like many fellow African-American artists, balancing skepticism and faith.

        “I've definitely learned over the years that the Oscars (contest) is a very political medium; it's not really based on talent so much as how hard you campaign,” he said. After the Academy failed to award Mr. Washington for Malcolm X or Angela Bassett for What's Love Got To Do With It, “that's when I said, OK, I didn't really put any stock into it.”

        Still, he said, “I'm hoping ... that it will open the doors a little more throughout the industry, so that other entities will actually take African-American actors more seriously and put them out there in more diverse roles.”

        Said actor John Girton, a member of the Curfew cast, “It does give hope, although after watching the Oscars for years and really feeling like it was a political thing ... I just don't know that that's going to make a big change overall.”

        Said Ms. Gordon: “I just wish that the type of movies that are made would bring everybody together, to give us a view from another person's point of view. We've had this long enough with stereotypes, it's time for a change.”

        Mr. Carroll suggested the Oscar results may have a subtle effect. “What it might do is give a studio head or casting person or a director a moment of pause before casting a role for someone who is not necessarily a black character. ... Studio heads or directors might say, "You know what? Maybe this role doesn't have to be a specific color or a specific type.' ”
       

Inspirational experience

        As an inspirational experience, last Sunday's Oscar wins could have an influence more profound, long-lasting and effective than casting.

        “It's a beginning to another era where minorities can come into the fold as writers, directors and other jobs. ... I hope it helps minorities become more eclectic in the field,” suggested Jennifer Davis, director of Curfew.

        Actor Curtis Shepard, who has worked with Queen City Off Broadway, Theater Four and Heritage Inn at Sharon Woods, is rehearsing for both Curfew and 12 Angry Men.

        “The thing that I walked away with is ... I am motivated to be the one who not only stars in the picture, but who writes the screenplay. Maybe directs it, maybe produces it, maybe be the one who casts a vote to decide who wins the role to be played. It made me want to look beyond being an actor.”

        Mr. Carroll described the Oscar ceremony as “Hollywood's prom night,” a fun time that needs to be kept in perspective.

        He paraphrased Robert Redford, who also collected a lifetime achievement award last Sunday: “We've made these awards so important and in reality they don't really amount to a hill of beans. After today, it's a trivia question.”

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