If critics could stop eye-rolling about Bohemian Rhapsody’s win for a second, they’d notice the real Golden Globes travesty

The representation of female directors is declining. Women made up just 8 per cent of directors of the top 250 highest-grossing films of 2018, a three-point reduction from the preceding year. Things aren't just bad: they're getting worse

Harriet Hall
Monday 07 January 2019 12:15 GMT
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Golden Globes 2019: Regina King pledges gender equality in her future projects

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This year’s Golden Globes heralded many surprises. Industry insiders balked and rolled their eyes as the lukewarm-reviewed Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody walked away with the top prize of Best Motion Picture and Rami Malek picked up the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture statuette for his role as Freddie Mercury.

Elsewhere it was business as usual for the pale, male and stale film industry.

No, there are no surprises there. Men walked away with the top motion picture gongs including Best Drama, Best Musical or Comedy (Peter Farrelly’s Green Book), Best Director (Alfonso Cuaron for Roma), Best Screenplay (Green Book) and Best Foreign Language film (Roma). The nominations suggested so. Critics might be feigning shock at the wins, but in actuality, this year’s Golden Globes were as grimly predictable as ever.

After all, we can pretend that the other awards mean as much, but the truth is there are only three awards anyone really cares about – and this year those were all won by men.

But while the powers that be continued to tacitly malewash women’s contributions for another year, and men’s acceptance speeches proved the industry to be as self-congratulatory and navel-gazing as ever (likely paving the way for another disheartening Oscars), women didn’t wait around to be noticed. It was the women of the industry who, this year, gave the Golden Globes their raison d’être. It was they who gave award ceremonies what they need to do in order to be relevant again, and the Oscars should pay close attention.

Protesting via their clothes, with Time’s Up bracelets and through staggering speeches, women ensured that the eyes of the media were fully on them, proving that however the establishment attempted to steer the news of the day, they weren’t going down without a fight.

Last year’s black dress protest saw actresses eschew the peacockery of the red carpet shortly after countless revelations of sexual assault and harassment permeated the industry’s perfect veneer. And although this year saw a return to milles-feuilles in all shades, several stars continued to show their allegiance to the Time’s Up movement by wearing monochrome rubber bracelets bearing the slogan “TIMES UP X 2”, in reference to the campaign’s determination to double the number of women in leadership positions in the industry.

And The Good Place star Jameela Jamil lifted up the coral tulle of her Monique Lhuillier gown in a behind-the-scenes Instagram story as she was en route to the awards, writing: “An experienced woman wears jeans under her Golden Globes gown because it’s forking COLD ... I refuse to be cold for fashion.”

Elsewhere, women used their acceptance speeches to put the spotlight on practical change, rather than merely paying lip service. While accepting the motion picture award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for If Beale Street Could Talk, Regina King spoke over the passive aggressive end music that interrupted her soapbox moment to say, “I’m making a vow ... to make sure that everything that I produce is 50 per cent women. And I just challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power – not just in our industry but in all industries – I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same.”

Similarly, Rachel Brosnahan referenced the female-dominated crew it took to make hit show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, saying while accepting the Best Actress award for a Television Series, Musical or Comedy: “Thank you to the incredible village it takes to make this show ... and our village is a matriarchy.”

Canadian actor Sandra Oh made history by becoming the first actor of Asian descent to win the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series in 38 years. Accepting the accolade, the Killing Eve star made reference to the racial diversity she saw in front of her. “I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out into this audience and witness this moment of change. Next year could be different,” she said, “but right now, this moment is real.”

Glenn Close used her speech to address women’s perceived marital roles while accepting Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her role in The Wife. “What I’ve learned through this whole experience is that women, you know, we’re nurturers, that’s what’s expected of us. We have our children, we have our husbands if we’re lucky enough and our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfilment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, I can do that and I should be allowed to do that.” Close’s words were followed by a standing ovation.

What the Globes made clear was that the film industry has a long way to go before women receive equal standing. The representation of female directors is declining. Women made up just 8 per cent of directors of the top 250 highest-grossing films of 2018, a three-point reduction from the preceding year (despite bringing in clear numbers at the box office) and the 2019 Globes was a sorry night for gender diversity. Perhaps critics should take a break from eye-rolling about the Bohemian Rhapsody win and turn their attention to that sorry lack of representation. For what purpose do award ceremonies serve if they aren’t pushing boundaries?

It’s no surprise awards viewing figures continue to dwindle. How about fussing less about changing format and instead focusing on changing the established order to champion women?

Thank goodness women were there to stand up for themselves – because it’s clear no one else will.

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