What About ‘Malcolm X’?

Since I do not have a TV, I got a copy of The Times on my morning walk to see who won Oscars.

That Denzel Washington was not named best actor was an academy decision. But not mentioning “Malcolm X” in The Times must have been a Times decision. If not for a large photo of Washington and his wife, Pauletta Pearson, showing them as among the best dressed , one might not have known he was present at all. At least he was not shown eating watermelon.

The Times carefully noted that the awards ceremony, despite its “Year of the Woman” theme, largely treated women in the usual way. But The Times took part in the usual treatment of a black actor and ignored his director, Spike Lee, and their ambitious, vivid film.

JOHN F. HERTZ

Los Angeles