The Golden Globes are meant to be a celebration of all the good that has gone on in the film industry over the last year, rewarding and shining light on the best television and films that have alighted our screens, dishing out accolades to everyone who deserves it in the film industry. For the most part, the Golden Globes achieve this, despite the obvious difficulty of clashing opinions. Awards ceremonies are essentially just a jumbled up assessment of peoples' attitudes- good or bad- towards everything in film over the last year with the final nominations, winners and losers decided by a select few. Inevitably, there will always be some disagreement regarding decisions made by the Golden Globes because opinions are subjective, and what makes a show/film good or bad relies on personal preference. Just because a certain film received a certain award, it does not guarantee that everyone will like it. Some controversy will always ensue over which show/film was or wasn't nominated and which show/film should have won. It is perhaps understandable given the dubious nature of past decisions that the Golden Globes have made, such as the 2020 scandal where no female directors were acknowledged despite it being a year where many female-directed films met major critical and commercial success. There's also the fact that some of today's most classic films, that have stood the test of time, lost out at the Golden Globes when they were first released. It proves that these award ceremonies should not be treated as shiny highlight reels detailing what to watch or not to watch from the past year. Many of the winners, it would appear, only win based on shallow merits of fashion or politics, a clear example of which is this year's omission of Micheala Coel's fantastic television show I May Destroy You in favour of Emily In Paris.
It has proved a sizeable mistake, evidenced by the outrage and backlash the Golden Globes has consequently found itself the recipient of. Even one of the Emily In Paris writers has come forward to say that it seemed wrong that I May Destroy You didn't feature in Golden Globes nominations whereas Emily In Paris did. Perhaps the Golden Globe's strange decision to exclude Micheala Coel's amazing television drama 'I may destroy you' in favour of the light-hearted, heavily ridiculed Netflix series 'Emily in Paris' is a reflection of the intensely strange last year we've had, a testament to the tumultuous experience the world has faced. But frankly, it just seems wrong that the groundbreaking I may destroy you has not been nominated at all, whilst Emily In Paris has. It's not that Emily in Paris is a bad show. In fact, it provided many some light-hearted relief in these dark times and it should be recognised for that. But I May Destroy You is a serious masterpiece that undoubtedly deserves recognition and that shines a light on important topics. Not being nominated for a Golden Globe doesn't lessen the show's impact or Coel's brilliance at all, it just showcases the ludicrous absurdity of the Golden Globes.
In more positive news, this year the Golden Globes nominated three female directors- a substantial improvement on last year. Out of the 78 years the Golden Globes has only ever nominated 5 female directors, so at least the awards are improving in respects of diversity which suggests hope for the future.
By Frances Hudson
