The 74th annual Golden Globes came out Monday, and though people of color have a lot to celebrate, when it comes to diversity in film and television there is still a lot of work to be done. Damien Chazelle’s modern day musical La La Land led the film nominations with seven including; Best Picture, Best Director, and acting nods for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Fresh off multiple wins at the Critic’s Choice Awards, La La Land is clearly the award season front-runner.
The other award season favorites, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, Hacksaw Ridge, Manchester by the Sea and indie surprise Hell or High Water round out the Best Drama category. Overall we could complain about the snubs but if you’ve been paying attention to the critical landscape, today’s announcements were very predictable. The biggest surprise of the morning was the two nominations for Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds’ turn as the ‘merc with a mouth’ has made him a two-time Golden Globe nominee; as executive producer and as Lead Actor in a Comedy or Musical. This awards season is a momentous moment for comic-book adaptations; Deadpool marks the first time a live-action Superhero film nominated for Best Picture. Reynold’s also joins the likes of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, who were nominated for their acting work in the genre, as well.
The more traditional award season films Loving and Fences both garnered acting nominations for their lead actors in the Drama category. La La Land and Florence Foster Jenkins achieved the same feat for their points in the Comedy category. Though it will likely to be overshadowed by the loveable La La Land come Oscar nominations, Moonlight has still got a fighter’s chance of walking away with the top prize in the drama category. The biggest hurdle standing in its way is the Casey Affleck led Manchester by the Sea. Some might wonder why Affleck’s past transgressions have not hindered his ability to rack up wins and nominations – as it did with Nate Parker’s (all but forgotten in the awards season) The Birth of a Nation.
I have my theories – number one is two words, 14 letters, and the reason why things never change.
With fourteen total Golden Globe nominations for African American filmmakers, those who would like to make a single race qualification will say that #oscarssowhite is over. The recent dragging of Mashable’s tone deaf article along those lines, however, is a clear indication of what folks online know: Diversity is not about a single race – that is not how diversity works. With nominations from Dev Patel (Lion), Rami Malek (Mr. Robot), and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Riz Ahmed (The Night Of), the diversity within Golden Globe’s ‘diversity’ is stepping in the right direction. It is fantastic to see repeat nominations for Gael Garcia Bernal and Gina Rodriguez, but when the Best Director, Best Screenplay categories are filled with only male filmmakers you have to be a bit disappointed.
The television side was full of bright spots among the nominees, both Tracy Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson received repeat nominations for their roles on Blackish and cast for The People vs. OJ Simpson continued their dominance with four nominations; including Best Series; Limited Run or Miniseries. Broadcast programming made a slight bounce back with NBC drama This is Us, but last year’s second nominee Empire (FOX) was notably absent from the list the year. It does seem criminal that Issa Rae’s Insecure is not a candidate for Best Comedy Series, but Issa herself is a nominee for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy. With her nomination and Donald Glover’s for Atlanta, three nominees in both lead comedy acting categories are Black actors. When reading the full nominee list, it is impossible to overlook the continued excellence in streaming television and film distribution. Amazon Studios, a one-time small extension of Amazon Prime, now boasts eleven total nominations compared with only six for the streaming pioneer Netflix. Despite this, HBO remains the undisputed champion of the Globes with fourteen overall nominations for shows like Westworld, The Night Of, and the solo repeat nominee in the Best Drama category Game of Thrones. Be sure to check out BGNTV on our YouTube channel for continuing coverage of the awards season.
The Golden Globes air on January 8th with Jimmy Fallon as host.
The complete list of nominees is here.
