Fantasies

Still Processing

With the Academy Awards right around the corner, we take a look back at some previous Best Picture winners. When these winning films were about race, they often highlighted a feel-good racial reconciliation fantasy. But about 30 years ago, there was one movie that was snubbed at the Oscars — “Do the Right Thing” — that is anything but a feel-good racial reconciliation fantasy. We revisit how “Do the Right Thing” showcased realities about race in America in ways that none of the current Oscar nominees — including Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” — do, and why it matters.

Discussed this week:

• “Green Book” (directed by Peter Farrelly, 2018)
• “Forrest Gump” (directed by Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
• “Crash” (directed by Paul Haggis, 2004)
• “Driving Miss Daisy” (directed by Bruce Beresford, 1989)
• “BlacKkKlansman” (directed by Spike Lee, 2018)
• Kim Basinger going off-script at the 1990 Academy Awards
• “Do the Right Thing” (directed by Spike Lee, 1989)