{"id":3955,"date":"2016-03-09T10:28:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T04:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3955"},"modified":"2016-03-09T10:28:18","modified_gmt":"2016-03-09T04:58:18","slug":"golden-globes-green-book-bohemian-rhapsody-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3955","title":{"rendered":"76th Golden Globes: Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, and an Exercise in Token Wokeness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T<\/span><\/p><\/div>

he 76th Golden Globes, hosted by <\/span>Brooklyn Nine-Nine\u2019s<\/span><\/i> Andy Samberg and <\/span>Killing Eve\u2019s<\/span><\/i> Sandra Oh, seemed insistent on playing it safe and speaking in only one language: political correctness.<\/span>\n\nOf course, there were pivotal moments: Oh made history thrice during the night: She became the first person \u2013 and woman \u2013 of Asian descent to host the Golden Globes; the first to win a Best Actress award in 39 years for <\/span>Killing Eve<\/span><\/i><\/a>; and the first to win multiple Globes. And as a bonus, she\u2019s also the second person \u2013 after Amy Poehler \u2013 to win a Golden Globe while hosting. <\/span>\n\nWith wins by <\/span>Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Darren Criss, Regina King, Mahershala Ali, and Sandra Oh, the night also witnessed people of colour taking centre stage, a long-overdue diversion. The Globes didn\u2019t just acknowledge or reward these artistes but also heard them in their language: Oh thanked her parents in Korean during her acceptance speech and Cuar\u00f3n switched to Mexican during his for Best Director.<\/span>\n\nOn the other hand, Christian Bale, awarded Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) for <\/span>Vice<\/span><\/i>, took the most political stand of the night by calling Dick Cheney, former Vice President an \u201casshole\u201d and thanking Satan for giving him inspiration to play the role. Regina King, who won Best Supporting Actress for <\/span>If Beale Street Could Talk<\/span><\/i>, vowed to have 50 per cent women in any film she produces and challenged other stakeholders to do the same. Glenn Close ended the night with an empathetic acceptance speech that shed light on the myriad duties a woman is expected to fulfil before she can dream for herself. <\/span>\n\nAnd even the two hosts didn\u2019t shy away from delivering the night\u2019s strongest barbs: In their opening monologues, Oh called out Hollywood\u2019s affliction with whitewashing Asians when she claimed that \u201c<\/span>Crazy Rich Asians<\/span><\/i> was the first studio film with an Asian lead since <\/span>Ghost In the Shell<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Aloha<\/span><\/i>\u201d prompting an \u201cI am sorry\u201d from Emma Stone, who played the Asian lead in <\/span>Aloha<\/span><\/i>. But most refreshing of all, the <\/span>76th Golden Globes<\/span><\/a>, didn\u2019t pat itself in the back for doing the bare minimum, like nominating or awarding people of colour instead of shutting them out. <\/span>\n\n

Most refreshing of all, the 76th Golden Globes, didn\u2019t pat itself in the back for doing the bare minimum, like nominating or awarding people of colour. <\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nAnd yet, the ceremony undid all of its sensitivity with how it dealt with two of the biggest awards of the night. It\u2019s never a good sign when an awards ceremony warrants discussion because of its snubs rather than its wins: Amy Adams, who was nominated twice for <\/span>Sharp Objects<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Vice<\/span><\/i>, lost out on an award yet again. <\/span>Lady Gaga<\/span><\/a> lost out on Best Actress to Glenn Close. Richard Madden won Best Actor (Drama) for <\/span>The Bodyguard<\/span><\/i> over <\/span>The Americans\u2019 <\/span><\/i>Matthew Rhys. And for a while, it seemed that <\/span>The Kominsky Method<\/span><\/i> winning Best Series (Musical or Comedy) over <\/span>Barry<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Atlanta<\/span><\/i> would be the night\u2019s most bizarre win.<\/span>\n\nAnd then the winners for the Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and Drama were announced: Peter Farrelly’s <\/span>Green Book<\/span><\/i><\/a> and Bryan Singer\u2019s <\/span>Bohemian Rhapsody<\/span><\/i>. On paper, it looks exemplary \u2013 the Hollywood Foreign Press reserving two of the Golden Globes\u2019 biggest awards for a film about racism and a biopic about a dead gay singer. Yet, that couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. By honouring <\/span>Green Book<\/span><\/i>, a middling film that looks at racism in the past tense and <\/span>Bohemian Rhapsody<\/span><\/i>, a film that vilified a singer\u2019s sexuality, the Golden Globes ended up exposing how it concerned itself with doing the right thing \u2013 and perhaps being seen as doing the right thing. <\/span>\n\nIn fact, here\u2019s what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association awarded: In the aftermath of #MeToo, it honoured <\/span>Bohemian Rhapsody<\/span><\/i><\/a>, a film directed by Bryan Singer, a man accused of multiple instances of sexual assault and inappropriate workplace behaviour; a man who was fired from the film mid-shoot, even though his name will forever be intertwined with the Golden Globes. So much for ensuring that predators face the consequences for their blatant abuse of power. It basically acknowledged and awarded a film that sidelined a gay singer\u2019s sexuality and then blamed it for his untimely death. <\/span>\n\nAnd, in the same year as <\/span>If Beale Street Could Talk<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>BlackKklasnman<\/span><\/i>, films that demand introspection on the burdens of race and <\/span>racism<\/span><\/a>, the HFPA chose to award <\/span>Green Book<\/span><\/i>, a trite film that does more damage to its cause than justice. The family of Don Shirley, on whom the film is based, has claimed that <\/span>Green Book<\/span><\/i> was based on lies \u2013 leading to an apology only from Mahershala Ali. Farrelly on his part, proudly displayed his white male entitlement with an acceptance speech that urged people to \u201cstop judging and find common ground,\u201d evidently directed toward the Shirley family\u2019s criticism. If there was ever an award for tasteless acceptance speech of all time, Farrelly would win it in a heartbeat.<\/span>\n\nThe HFPA\u2019s stubborn insistence on not taking the context and the sound criticism against these films into account is a testament to how ill-equipped award shows are at understanding inclusivity and representation. Instead, by harping only on intentions and not executions, the HFPA revealed how it viewed representation: as a fleeting statement, instead of a permanent way of functioning. Last night, the Golden Globes squandered a rare opportunity: To offer award ceremonies a makeover in how they view diversity by reducing inclusivity to token wokeness. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 76th Golden Globes undid all of its sensitivity with how it dealt with two of the biggest awards of the night. It\u2019s never a good sign when an awards ceremony warrants discussion because of its snubs rather than its wins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":3956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[7288,6878,3713,6945],"class_list":["post-3955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-76th-golden-globes","tag-bohemian-rhapsody","tag-golden-globes","tag-green-book"],"yoast_head":"\n76th Golden Globes: Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, and an Exercise in Token Wokeness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 76th Golden Globes undid all of its sensitivity with how it dealt with two of the biggest awards of the night. 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