Honoring the genius of Angela Bassett
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 1:00PM 
Angela Bassett did the thing. And yet, that wasn't enough to win her a much-coveted Academy Award. In the moment of losing, her face betrayed a visceral disappointment seldom seen in such a setting nowadays, where fake smiles are de rigueur. Many used that flash of genuine emotion to lambast the actress, while others felt fueled by it in their outrage against AMPAS' choice. I've previously written about Jamie Lee Curtis, defending her work in Everything Everywhere All At Once, but that doesn't mean I didn't mourn Bassett's loss.
As a white Portuguese man, I can't pretend to know what the thespian and her potential victory would have meant for Black audiences, specifically Black women – read Angelica Jade Bastién's Vulture piece for that perspective and a marvelous analysis of the actress' gifts. However, I'm an Angela Bassett fan who thinks she should have an Oscar already, so the potential for a career win for Wakanda Forever felt like justice and her loss like a sting. So, as the month draws to a close and the 95th Academy Awards drift into the past, perhaps into collective closure, let me take you through Angela Bassett's career and my favorite of her big-screen achievements. After all, there's no better way to celebrate an artist than to appreciate their work...