In the year America gave its first black president a second term, some of Hollywood’s most celebrated films, all by white directors, dealt with black-white race relations or revolved around black characters, which is rare. For the first time in recent memory race is central to several Oscar conversations. But the black characters’ humanity is hit or miss. These films raise the age-old question of whether white filmmakers are ready to grant black characters agency in their own screen lives.

Looking at these Oscar-nominated films, we should ask: Are black characters given a real back story and real-world motivations? Are they agents of their own destiny or just foils for white characters? Are they too noble to be real? Are they too ghetto to be flesh and blood? Do any of these characters point to a way forward?

As a disclaimer, I have not seen any of the above movies. What were your impressions of these films? Should white directors, screenwriters and producers be making films whose central theme revolves around race (in the case of Django and Lincoln), or who feature a black main character who may or may not be viewed in light of his race? Or do they lack the racial awareness necessary to accurately write black characters into movies?