by Lindsey Fitzgerald (Photo by Ahmet Yalçınkaya on Unsplash)
As we are knee deep in what people commonly refer to as “Awards Season,” it’s time to take a look at one of the most different, yet popular, awards show of the season: The Golden Globes. It is always a flashy, exciting, and entertaining show that tries to include a host to set the charming mood for the night. That being said, it can be hard to overlook the glamorous stars and their entertaining movies to search for and find the truly artistic and thought-provoking films that came out in the same year.
The Golden Globes are usually described by people as one big party filled with all of Hollywood’s biggest stars. That has slowly become the objective of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which is the organization that votes to decide who receives a Golden Globe. Examples of their need for a party-like atmosphere include having separate drama and musical/comedy categories in order to bring in more stars through the doors and, most recently, adding The Carol Burnett Award. This prestigious honor recognizes a figure who contributes to television on or off screen. One of the more notable examples is from 2016 when The Martian was nominated in the musical/comedy category. While the movie has comedic moments, it is first and foremost a drama that examines the solitude of a man trapped on Mars, not knowing whether or not he will be rescued. This was commented on heavily that year, with the overall message being that the movie was only there to get its star Matt Damon in the room – especially since it likely would not have been nominated in the drama category against the other contenders.
The HFPA is more of an obscure group of only 90 journalists, compared to the over 8,000 voters of the Academy Awards who vote for the category of their field of work. Most of these journalists, as Adam K. Raymond describes in an article for Vulture, are “junketeers who seem more interested in getting a picture with their subject than asking probing questions.” Over the years there have rarely been any new additions to this group, as the committee continues to vote in the same people. While they are mostly a diverse group, spanning over 55 countries, their qualifications are somewhat lacking. Most members tend to write around 4 or 5 weak articles each year in order to qualify for membership.
Where does this leave people who genuinely love and appreciate the art of films? Most film enthusiasts end up frustrated each year, lodging complaint after complaint about a certain actor, film, composer, director, etc., not being nominated or recognized. The system of The Golden Globes has been trapped in this cycle where the same people nominate the biggest stars and most popular movies of the year, which only tend to speak to a certain demographic. Lack of diversity in the nominations is still a problem to this day. The films that are widely talked about each year receive that recognition because of these glamorous award shows. If more diverse, artistic movies were held to this same level regardless of who is in them or who directed them, it might change the face of cinema and Hollywood for the better.