Source Of The Image: Getty / Bettmann
Hollywood Netflix presents an alternative version of the Old Hollywood, but with a little bit of real life events sprinkled as, for example, how Hattie McDaniel was treated when she was nominated for an Oscar in 1940. In the version of the facts, McDaniel is shown to be kept out of the ceremony in which their white counterparts are seated, despite being a candidate (and winner). So what really happened to McDaniel at the Oscars?
Did Hattie McDaniel to Attend the Oscars?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, McDaniel almost not allowed to attend the Oscars where she was going to pick up your historic triumph, despite the fact that a list of winners had already been leaked, linking to it as a winner. Back in this time, the Oscars will not be held in a large theatre or auditorium; in 1940, were held in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, which was part of the Ambassador Hotel. The Ambassador was a white only hotel that would not be integrated until the year 1959, so that the producer David O. Selznick had to call in favors just for McDaniel even be allowed to attend the ceremony at which she was going to make history.
Despite the fact that she was allowed to have a seat, she was not allowed to sit in the Gone With the Wind table with Selznick and nominated white peers, Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, and Olivia de Havilland. Instead, she was sitting in a small, isolated table at the side of the room, along with her escort, F. P. Yober (a Black man), and her (white) agent, William Meiklejohn. Even so, his victory was received with emotional greetings, and his acceptance speech went down in Oscar history. “I always hold it as a beacon for anything that may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope that I will always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry,” she said memorably as she had her prize.
How Does Hattie McDaniel Drive Of Its Own Oscar Campaign?
Ironically, McDaniel had to be the driving force behind his own nomination to the Oscar. In THR‘s the narrative of her nomination and win, has revealed that the study had not originally planned to present its Oscar consideration. McDaniel, according to reports, took the matter into their own hands. Armed with a stack of reviews that sang its praises — including reviews of the main selling points with the target of the critics — she went to Selznick’s office and place the stack on your desktop. Selznick submitted to its consideration, and ended up getting a nomination in the category of supporting actress, along with the de Havilland.
Did Hattie McDaniel, the Victory Resulted in Major Changes in Hollywood?
In Hollywoodthe pioneering work of McDaniel and other characters, eventually leads to real and lasting change in the film industry. The reality, however, was much less kind to her. She did work at a steady pace throughout a race, but was unable to escape being typecast in “Mammy” roles, with around 75 percent of their proven roles are some kind of servant. He faced criticism from Black activists, including the NAACP, for the perpetuation of the stereotypes, but was unable to get cast as any other character type. Even her historic Oscar in itself was a worthy end: after her death, she was assessed as useless, eventually went to Howard University, and disappeared in the 1970s, never to be seen again.
McDaniel, the victory failed to translate into more and better roles for non-white actors, either, as stereotypes continued to abound, and the actors of colour continued to be excluded from the “Oscar-y” roles. No Black actor or actress would win an Oscar in any category again until 1963, when Sidney Poitier won for best actor. From McDaniel, victory, seven Black women have won the same prize which made for the best supporting actress: Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson, Mo Nique, Octavia Spencer, Lupita Nyong o, Viola Davis, and Regina King. There was a 51-year difference between McDaniel, the victory and the following prize (Goldberg). All that, however, cannot take away from his extraordinary achievement.
