Once more, the Golden Globe Awards marked the start of the television awards season prior to a Donald Trump presidency. However, this year, things seemed somewhat altered.
During the 2017 awards ceremony, Meryl Streep utilized her Cecil B. DeMille lifetime-achievement award speech to criticize the incoming president. The following year, amidst reports of sexual misconduct within the entertainment industry, particularly involving Harvey Weinstein, the ceremony seemed part rally for devising fresh strategies on power dynamics in Hollywood and part mourning of old practices; it appeared that way from home, with every female nominee wearing black as a symbol.
The issues that Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, and many others discussed onstage in 2018 persist, unfortunately they haven’t vanished. In fact, the president that the #Resistance movement fought for eight years managed to win the popular vote last year. Yet, this year’s Golden Globes hinted at what the upcoming awards seasons might be like, as political statements either disappeared or were toned down.
Primarily, the statements leaned towards the personal. Viola Davis, following in the footsteps of Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey who received the Cecil B. DeMille Award earlier, didn’t deliver her entire speech live, but she presented the award for Best Actress in a Drama category. Davis addressed the nominees, saying, “You are natural powers shaping cinematic history.” This poetic moment was directly connected to the purpose of the occasion and did not touch upon the current political climate, offering viewers a refreshing change from what they might have anticipated. The winner, Fernanda Torres from the movie “I’m Still Here,” acknowledged that “art can persist through tough times.
Torres, a Brazilian actress who portrays a period of turmoil and oppression in her country’s past through her films, appeared to be discussing issues in a broad sense. Her reference to hard times, similar to Adrien Brody mentioning his parents’ immigration experiences after winning Best Actor for “The Brutalist,” connected to the film’s themes but didn’t explicitly link them to current political battles. Instead, neither speaker made direct connections to ongoing contemporary political conflicts.
Speeches that ventured slightly beyond the mark avoided directly mentioning the 45th and future 47th president. After winning the award for Best Musical or Comedy for her film “Emilia Pérez,” trans performer Karla Sofía Gascón made a statement, noting that her mustard-colored dress symbolized allowing light to overcome darkness. She continued, “You may imprison us, harm us, but you’ll never extinguish our spirit, our reality, our identity.” This call for equality and justice resonated as enduring, despite not being tied to a particular tale or trend.
Previously in the evening, Sebastian Stan, while accepting an award for “A Different Man,” expressed that we should not shy away or turn our gaze from either this film about characters with facial disfigurements or his other movie, “The Apprentice.” Stan had earlier stated that the industry as a whole has been overly cautious towards the latter film, a biographical piece about Trump’s rise to prominence. From the Golden Globes stage, he didn’t delve deeper into the matter. However, his message, in line with Stan’s perspective, was clear: we should not avoid or disregard these significant pieces of work.
In a refreshing shift for some, the intermingling of electoral politics with awards show speeches might appear as an unexpected twist. The recent political endorsements by celebrities like Kamala Harris during rallies and the Democratic National Convention didn’t guarantee her victory, and may have even had a negative impact. If viewers weren’t captivated by stars joining the political sphere, it could seem counterintuitive for the political world to intrude on a star-studded event. The host, Nikki Glaser, humorously expressed concern about celebrities’ inability to sway voters during the last election and added, “I’m scared.” She then lightened the mood with a joke about Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s “Wicked” promotional tour.
The incident Glaser humorously referred to – the “holding space for the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity'” video – showcases a novel integration of politics into entertainment. Unlike the blunt and direct language during Trump’s first presidency, current references to our contemporary situation seem to be more subtle (and, as in this case, somewhat puzzling). Discussing difficult times or the immigrant experience has become more of a universal conversation than people have grown accustomed to recently; it also might imply that there are only so many cognitive resources an audience, whether in the Beverly Hilton or at home, can dedicate to grappling with the challenges of the present.
The speeches during the awards ceremony were filled with drama as they touched upon issues that extended beyond the inauguration of Trump. Demi Moore’s speech, which stood out as the highlight of the night, discussed her experiences of feeling marginalized within the industry and the stereotypes it imposes on women (a theme also present in the movie she won for, “The Substance”). On the other hand, director Brady Corbet, while accepting the award for best picture, called upon studios to grant final cut to filmmakers – a topic related to the politics of the industry, though perhaps not what one might expect from the creator of this film. However, given Corbet’s career trajectory, he may have some influence on executives in Hollywood. It seems that the winners recognized their power to make statements at opportune moments, create lasting narratives like Demi Moore did, or even shape public perception – a powerful tool indeed. Yet, their ability to impact current events outside of the stage is limited for now, especially with the upcoming turbulence of the next four years possibly causing more changes. For the time being, political speeches appear to be receding.
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2025-01-07 01:46