Does anyone else think that Halle Berry's acceptance speech was rather contrived?

It was so meldromatic and fake. All that hogwash about the "barrier" in Hollywood against black actors was just sickening. She seems to be emotionally unstable...

 

Let coloured people be happy when they achieve a victory. God knows they've suffered cruelly at the hands of caucasians, and continue to suffer.

 

Get over it. I saw Halle Berry in Monster's Ball and I honestly cannot say that she didn't deserve it.

I think she was just a little shocked.

BTW, there is already a thread related to Denzel and Halle winning. This is probably redundant.

 

If 74 years without winning isn't a "barrier" what is?

Next barrier, a non-white, non-black minority winning, like Asian, East Indian or Native American.

Probably will take another 74 years.

 

No, it wasn't contrived.

 

Far from contrived, it was the most genuine I've seen in a while....

there has been a legitimate barrier in leading/starring roles for people of color in quality projects (I'm not talking about the "NEXT FRIDAY" stuff now). This was huge. Tell me the last time a black woman had a movie she carried as the star (besides Angela Bassett in The Tina Turner story)

 

Well, she didn't deserve to win just because she was a black woman in a lead role.

And the lack of african american female leading roles is what makes this feel so forced. The first one in 20yrs and they hand it to her? It feels like they were just waiting for one to have a large movie role so that she'd be nominated, win, and the academy gets some good press.

 

Next barrier, a non-white, non-black minority winning, like Asian, East Indian or Native American.

What about Anthony Quinn and Benicio del Toro?

 

supporting roles are always easier to come by for people of color, but yeah...


Oh, and it's not that she was black so she won, it's that she is black and had a spectacular performance so she won....

at least that Ice Queen ghost, didn't win.

 

Tell me the last time a black woman had a movie she carried as the star

Waiting to Exhale; How Stella got her Groove Back.

But I guess you were talking about GOOD movies

 

She won an award for starring in a movie. She acted like she's Harriet Tubman or something. She's only half black anyway.

 

Halle deserved it, but there are a few things people forget. She is half white and was raised by her white mother, having almost no contact with her father. I am not saying that this is the reason she won or that the white mother had anything to do with it, as opposed to a black mother, all I am saying is that Halle is not the typical black woman. She isn't excactly Jada Pinkett Smith.

And, when she thanked Oprah and her lawyer, I felt it was a bit much. After all, it's not like Halle has been waiting 74 years for an Oscar. She has been waiting about 6 months. Come on, after X men and Swordfish, who would thought she would ever win?

 

I don';t think it's a big deal. In 74 years apparently the Academy didn't see a black actor or actress that deserved it. I don't ever agree with the Academy, but I hate it when people make big deals of racial issues.

Let the best man or woman win, not a color here and there.

 

and she has skin color that means people have always judged her as black.... Just because you are "half" something doesn't mean you aren't judged by it... I'm half Mexican and have been called everything from a beaner to a chink. I was raised exclusively by my white mother...

Does this mean I'm not Mexican?

 

No. Contrived is certainly not the right word. Saying that her acceptance speech was contrived assumes that she was insincere; I thought her speech was rather genuine and thoughtful, albeit very emotional.

 

There have been those who deserved recognition, but not many and THAT is the point... not that she won, but so few even get the opportunity to contend in the first place.

 

Metalgearrx is right. It was genuine. I felt good for Halle.

Oh, and if it was fake, then she definitely deserved it if she could fake those tears. Just kidding.

I think she deserved it, and it was genuine.

 

I didn't mind it until she starting barking about "74 years! You let me keep talking!" when speaking for the conductor. I don't know why, but THAT part did seem really contrived to me. And I did feel like she thought the entire night was to honor her and her great achievement at being the first black woman, when of course it's to honor EVERYONE.

 

I thought the speech was ok til she started thanking her lawyers...

 

Who was the one that thanked her lawyer?

 

According to good old Websters:
Contrived- too obviouly the result of forethought and planning
... I thought Halle was simply caught off guard thats all.

 

Halle Berry's a t0t4l b4b3.

 

Hell, Denzel's the one who said he was "chasing Sidney Poitier". How lame is that? You have great brooding, one-dimensional characters, Denzy, and you ain't no Sidney Poitier.

 

hello! "Chasing Sidney Poitier" means striving to come close to him.

 

I am half Cuban and half White, raised by a white mother. I consider myself white.