The 2021 Academy Awards broadcast was an unusual affair. Due to the pandemic, the event was held on April 21, two months later than initially planned. Furthermore, a reduced capacity venue housed the ceremonies under a more subdued atmosphere. And for the first time since 1972, when Charlie Chaplin won an Honorary Academy Award, the Best Picture winner did not receive the final statuette. Instead, the evening ended with the presentation of the Best Actor honors.
In an apparent attempt to culminate the broadcast with an emotional, if not uplifting, note, the final moments of the Academy Awards were reserved to memorialize the life and career of Chadwick Boseman, who died prematurely in 2020 at the age of 43 of colon cancer. After receiving numerous other accolades, including the Golden Globes, most film industry experts expected Boseman to garner the Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, his final performance in a motion picture. But the organizer’s hopes for a climactic conclusion ended with a whimper. Instead of Bozeman, Anthony Hopkins received the award for his role in The Father. And the 83-year-old British actor did not even give an acceptance speech because he was sleeping in his bed in Wales.
An Academy Award will not define Chadwick Boseman’s legacy. But his impressive body of work will undoubtedly command respect from the cinematic universe for years to come. For many, Boseman may be best known for his starring role in the critically acclaimed blockbuster film Black Panther. However, historical movie buffs will remember him for playing iconic 20th-century figures in cinema.
In 2010, Boseman starred as Jackie Robinson in the biographical film 42, perhaps the definitive movie about the pioneering African American baseball player. Boseman followed with the portrayal of James Brown in the 2014 film Get on Up, receiving critical acclaim for doing his own singing and dancing while portraying the “Godfather of Soul.” But his most memorable performance may have been reserved for the 2017 biographical film Marshall, which chronicles the early career of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
Chadwick Boseman in Marshall
As the civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall, Boseman states, “the Constitution was not written for us. We know that. But no matter what it takes, we’re going to make it work for us. From now on, we claim it as our own.” Boseman utters these words while defending an innocent African American man wrongly accused of rape in 1941. Eighty years later, these lines of dialogue resonate today as marginalized groups continue to struggle to extract justice from a society whose “Founding Fathers” built a nation with laws that excluded all but white males.
Michael Koskoff, a lawyer who defended the Black Panthers, and his screenwriter son Jacob Koskoff wrote Marshall. It’s uncertain how much of the film is historically accurate, and Boseman’s lines about the Constitution are not directly attributed to Marshall. But the Supreme Court Justice is quoted as stating, “Today’s Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness that I and other Blacks cherish.” Thus, Marshall felt that the essence of the Constitution was sound, as long as the public can excuse its authors for considering Blacks as subhuman. But is Marshall’s argument acceptable?
Thurgood Marshall in 1976 (wikipedia.org)
No one is perfect. So dismissing someone’s accomplishments because of a flaw seems unjust, especially when societal norms have changed over the years. As an endless number of powerful men are exposed for sexual misconduct and assault, some may argue that their actions are excusable because mistreating women was a standard business practice. Who knew “grab ‘em by the p***y” was wrong?
Similarly, embracing slavery during the 18th century was an accepted cultural practice. And so was the abhorrent treatment of Native Americans. And, of course, women were not created equal to men in those days. So do “several corrective Amendments” erase the tarnish of slavery and other misdeeds from the Founding Fathers’ resumes? Do the merits of the Constitution outweigh the flaws of early American society?
Judging individuals from a different era by today’s standards is an arduous task. But laws should be revised with the changing times. Unfortunately, the Constitution has become growingly difficult to change. The most recent Amendment was ratified in 1992, approving a proposal initiated in 1789, which delays Congressional salary laws until after an election. Before then, the 26th Amendment was passed in 1971, which allowed eighteen-year-olds to vote.
The Constitution of the United States
The difficulty in amending the Constitution is multifactorial, but many view the current polarized political environment as an important reason. Anything that requires a two-thirds majority in Congress and three-fourths of the states to approve seems like an impossible task. Furthermore, many view the U.S. Constitution as akin to the Bible, written by men guided by a higher power. As Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said, “our founding fathers believed that rights came from God.” Thus, questioning the validity of the Constitution may be viewed as blasphemy.
Therefore, it is imperative that individuals like Thurgood Marshall make the Constitution “work for us” and “claim it as our own.” It would be great to have Americans come together to rewrite the Constitution and change antiquated laws. For instance, it would be nice to elect a president by a national popular vote. But that’s not possible. For the foreseeable future, the highest elected official in the nation will often earn their position after accruing fewer votes than their competitor. And debating this flaw is a fruitless exercise. But working to find justice in the current structure is still important. And Marshall shows how one person can affect change through the accumulation of small victories.
Marshall is an important film. Not only does it bring to light the work of an iconic American lawyer and civil rights activist, but it also highlights the brilliant career of a talented actor whose life was cut way too short.
Andrew’s Grade: B
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