The Golden Globe Nominations came out on February 3rd, and while they usually have some strange nominations, this year’s were a particularly odd bunch, to say the least. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is only comprised of 90 members so their nominating and voting pool is much smaller than just about every other award deciding body and tend to pick their nominees based on different criteria than, say, just the actual quality of a film. Because of that, the internet (and myself, obviously) had some thoughts. Here’s some of what they got right and where they greatly missed the mark.
- What They Got Right: Female Directors
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Last year I wrote an article about how the Oscars and Golden Globes had a great lack of female nominations in categories not specifically designated for women (Apparently Women Did Nothing in Hollywood This Year) but this year they more than showed out for the women in the Best Director category. Chloe Zhao was nominated for “Nomadland”, Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman”, and Regina King for “One Night in Miami”. Over the 78 years the Golden Globes has been held there have only been five women nominated for this award, the last time being Ava DuVernay for “Selma” in 2014, and only one has ever actually won (Barbara Streisand for “Yentl” in 1984), and the three that were nominated this year weren’t just nominated for being women but because they made excellent films and are more than worthy of this award. The HFPA has made progress here, but even with this, there are still some major problems.
- What They Missed: “One Night in Miami”
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I am of the opinion that if you nominate someone for Best Director then that means you think they are one of the best directors of the year and that their film is one of the best. What I don’t understand is nominating someone, namely Regina King, for Best Director yet not nominating her film for Best Picture Drama, especially when it’s a stronger film than some of the others in the category instead of it? If you think she’s one of the best directors and that her film gave one of the best supporting actor performances and best songs of the year then why didn’t you put it in the top category? Someone, please explain that to me because I simply don’t understand that logic.
- What They Got Right: “Schitt’s Creek”
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It’s not surprising that they racked up five nominations for the final season of the show. They absolutely deserve this swan song and I’m pretty sure they’ll win most of them.
- What They Got Wrong: “Emily in Paris”
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I was hoping that after attempting to watch the first episode of this so-cheesy-it’s-bad show I could simply put it out of my mind and never think about it again. However, the HFPA decided that wouldn’t be the case and gave it TWO NOMINATIONS. Yes, you read that right. TWO. NOMINATIONS. Which is two too many for that show when you have other much better shows such as “Insecure”, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”, “Never Have I Ever”, “Ramy”, and more that were not even just worthy of a spot but are actually GOOD television.
- What They Got Right: Film Drama Lead Actress
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This was the only other category after Best Director that I thought the HFPA got correct. While I would have considered Viola Davis more of a supporting actress, she truly became Ma Rainey and stole every scene she was in. “Nomadland” hasn’t come out yet but Frances McDormand is always great so I have no doubt that she’s good in that like the rest of her filmography. Vanessa Kirby is always electric and “Pieces of a Woman” is no different. “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” isn’t out yet either but she’s an embodiment of Billie Holiday in the clips that are out. And then of course there’s Carey Mulligan who commands your attention in “Promising Young Woman.” These women really are some of the best dramatic performances of the past year and are worthy of being nominated unlike some in other categories.
- What They Got Wrong: Film Musical/Comedy Lead Actor
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I’m sorry but on what planet was James Corden in “The Prom” one of the best comedy performances of the past year?! Pete Davidson in “King of Staten Island”, Will Ferrell in “Eurovision”, even Kumail Najiani in “Lovebirds” were better than Corden. And while I love Lin Manuel Miranda I think we all know he’s not even the best lead actor in “Hamilton” (there’s a reason Leslie Odom Jr. beat him for the Tony). Just because they have a buzzy name doesn’t mean they should actually be nominated.
- What They Got Right: Individual Acting Nominations
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The HFPA is known for rewarding new shows and up and coming actors with their awards and this year is no different. “Ted Lasso” got two nods for being the newest feel-good show gifted by 2020. Jane Levy got an acting nomination for acting, singing, and dancing her way through other people’s emotions on “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”. “Unorthodox” got nominations for Best Limited Series and Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie. John Boyega got a Supporting Actor Television nod for “Small Axe”. There were a lot of great shows, movies, and actors who deserve the recognition and got it.
- What They Got Wrong: “Music”
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There is endless controversy surrounding this film, from Sia’s casting process, the portrayal and treatment of autism in the film, to Sia’s offensive comments surrounding the controversy of the movie. This film hasn’t even come out yet but it’s one many don’t ever plan to see because of all of this which is part of why it’s so shocking to not just see the film even get acknowledged (no one even knew it was eligible) but its nominations act as praise to her behavior and that shouldn’t be acceptable.
- What They Got Wrong: “Minari”
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“Minari” is an American-made film about immigrants living in America. The United States does not have a national language. So why is “Minari” being labeled as a foreign film? Just because it’s partially in a language that isn’t English shouldn’t qualify it as a foreign film and is something the Globes needed to reevaluate a while ago. There’s also the fact that non-English language films aren’t allowed to compete in the Drama and Musical/Comedy categories which is wrong and another problem they need to fix.
- What They Got Wrong: Diversity Among the Nominees
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One thing noticeably missing from the majority of the categories this year at the Globes is diversity. Of all the television categories none of the shows in Best Musical/Comedy Series featured people of color as primary or prominent characters, one of the Best Television Motion Picture nominees starred people of color, and two of the Best Drama Series star people of color. Of the television acting nominees, there are only three people of color nominated: Don Cheadle, Ramy Youssef, and John Boyega. On the movie side, only one of the Best Dramas has a prominent character of color and they’re only on screen for a short period of time despite there being many excellent dramas starring people of color such as “One Night in Miami”, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, “Judas and the Black Messiah”, and “Da 5 Bloods”. For television there were many great shows that deserved nominations over ones that were nominated, namely “I May Destroy You”, “Insecure”, and “Lovecraft Country”. When there’s such high-quality work being put out there by people of color it’s quite frankly offensive to look past it and simply nominate work by white people that’s mediocre at best.
The Golden Globes have a lot of problems with their nominating system and what they actually nominate, something that will require the 90-member group to make some big changes to their structure. However, they have also made some progress this year in categories where they have had significant problems in the past. They’ve made some steps forward while also taking some steps backward and hopefully with the way the movie industry and Hollywood keep evolving maybe the Globes and HFPA will evolve alongside it.