by Chris Feil
Of all of the great wins of Oscar night, some of the most uplifting belonged to the team from Black Panther. The film ran a gauntlet in the past year - early release, genre bias, institutionalized racism - to defy the odds and rack up three richly deserving wins in Costume Design, Production Design, and Original Score. It was the most popular film of the year and yet these wins still shouldn't be taken for granted, theirs a collective trio representing the world we experienced when we experienced Wakanda.
Adding to the sense of massive victory here are several crucial pieces of contextual trivia...
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter and production designer Hannah Beachler are only the second and third Black women to win non-acting Oscars. Beachler is also the first to even be nominated in her category. Additionally for genre fans, Black Panther's three prizes make it the most Oscared superhero film of all time, and the first ever for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I was lucky enough this year to have seen an exhibit on Ruth E. Carter's work, including the costumes from Black Panther live and in the flesh. As if her work in the film wasn't already imaginitive and intricate on the screen to make this a rightful frontrunner all year, I promise you the in-person experience was jawdropping enough to cement her place for yours truly. But this win feels like a long time coming for the indelible Carter - and she delivered a speech both witty and triumphant - and including Spike Lee in her speech helped create an overall context for the night that few speeches ever achieve.
The most emotional speech of the night surely belonged to Hannah Beachler, winning alongside her partner Jay Hart. This is precisely why you should let winners take their time with their speeches. It was personal, contextual, and beautiful - "I did my best and my best was good enough". And another thing I discovered on Oscar night to make me root even harder: Beachler and I share an alma mater!
That Grammy win around voting time surely helped Ludwig Göransson win over stiff competition, but Black Panther's musical landscape is as ingrained and essential to the experience as his other winning teammates. While it's a bummer to not see Kendrick Lamar's musical contribution to the film entire not listed alongside Göransson graciously honored his team of musicians in his speech. And wouldn't you know he even offered charming dorm room annecdotes about Ryan Coogler!