Adrianna Cole
Every time award season starts, I get this glimmer of hope that it will be different. Clearly, I’m suffering from insanity because Hollywood never changes.
In case you were fortune enough to miss the Golden Globes, I’ll give a brief recap.
Hollywood stars dressed in all black to protest sexual harassment, and several wore pins stating “times up.” Connie Britton wore a $380 shirt that said “poverty is sexist.” Oprah was celebrated as a potential 2020 president candidate, and no one acknowledged how many people covered up the Harvey Weinstein scandal before so many women came out. Classic Hollywood.
Sexual assault is wrong. Poverty needs to end. Equal opportunity should be available. Hollywood stars are not the ones we should look toward when it comes to activism or social justice.
Look, I already know I’m cynical, and I have no problem telling anyone that Hollywood will not change. The industry proved it when they honored Kirk Douglas, who is rumoured to have raped Natalie Wood when she was 16, with a standing ovation.
However, those are details no one acknowledge since it clearly doesn’t fit their narrative.
The whole theme of the night was “Time’s Up,” but all I got from it was time is up for Hollywood’s identity politics. Just because everyone is part of the same industry does not mean they have to think or react the same way.
Seth Meyers hosted the award show this year, and his opening speech was nothing more than a guilt-ridden monologue defending himself as “not a powerful male in Hollywood,” meaning he can’t be accused of sexual harassment.
Meyers also tried to prove Hollywood wasn’t privileged by passing off certain jobs as “working class, American jobs,” which was just laughable at best
Hair stylists, make-up artists, camera operators and grips’ wages do not compare to the national median income. According to Chron, makeup artists on lm and video sets on average earn $88,200. The national average is $63,710, with the bottom 10 per earning $20,490 or less.
Unfortunately, the rest of the award show continued with stars making little jabs at social issues and attempting to prove Hollywood is changing for the better.
The whole theme of the night was “Time’s Up,” but all I got from it was time is up for Hollywood’s identity politics.
Natalie Portman did not need to take a jab at the “all-male nominees” for best director to prove she’s a feminist, especially since Guiellermo del Toro, a Mexican director, is the one who won.
What topped off the night was stars brought activists to the event for…show? Most of the activists didn’t contribute to the conversations had on stage, and they didn’t seem to serve any purpose other than to be a token activist the stars needed by their side.
The Golden Globes was a missed opportunity for Hollywood to admit there is a problem and to take action rather than cite the same rhetoric. Real issues could have been addressed, instead the award show.