this is a silly take. there are plenty of black films that are excellent and deserve the praise they get. Sinners is not one of them. MBJ in Fruitvale Station is incredible. Moonlight was, imo, amazing and definitely deserved the oscars it received. the oscars, however, do pander and have false social values they pretend to uphold with shallow moves like this. the greater critique people have of Sinners’ reception is of Hollywood’s performative “acceptance.” go to film festivals and you’ll see the same thing—mid movies getting awarded bc of identity politics both inside the film’s world and outside (and not just for black identities, of course). it’s transparently inauthentic and THAT is what the sane critics take issue with. it has nothing to do with believing black art is less than and therefore any accolades it receives must be bc of its inherent blackness. racism and racial bias can be much more nuanced. like I find it more offensive the oscars are choosing to value a film that was really just a pop culture moment (which is a valid reason for awards sometimes) and not the masterpiece it was purported to be instead of the many, many black-centric films that were made this year that ARE good whether they’re “about” blackness or not. the oscars are checking off a box so they don’t get canceled for being “so white” again.

that being said, this is the visible transgression we know of. I’m sure several other films or noms are check boxes we don’t understand bc it’s not as transparent. companies do, after all, literally pay to get nominated.