The Golden Globes: Moment-Makers of the year
It's a picture I'll never be able to wipe from my memory. The sea of black. The visceral sentiment of support. The tangible quality of mass participation. How much more enjoyable it was to hear the response to "why are you wearing black?" versus the fatuous "who are you wearing?" we've become accustom to. How, for perhaps the first time, women of every colour, creed and status, stood out for more than their (stylist's) fashion sense, or even, their career achievements.
You know me well enough by now to know that I've been tuning in to every Award Show (from Peoples' Choice to Critics' Choice) for decades. Plural. When questioned or discounted for my programming predilection, I fall back on my mantra, "Years from now, our generation will be judged, even studied, for the people that made "moments" and how we reacted to them." Award Shows, even after hours of vacuous red carpet chatter, hours of recapping "the best of", hours of ass-kissing and chips being played by the golden chip holders, are moment-makers. Now, after THIS Golden Globes, can you look me in the eye, and tell me that I'm wrong?
Here were just some of the moments we need to remember, and react to (in no specific order, because that would go against the point we're all trying to make this year...):
1. Activ-dates
When you’re invited to a Halloween party, you have two options…don’t you? Find a quick prop at the last minute, or spend 80 goddamn hours hand making a costume that will be the resentful envy of everyone who chose option 1. This initiative is like that choice for me. If we're doing this, let's DO it. Emma Stone, Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Emma Watson, Shailene Woodley, and Amy Poehler turned a concept into something with serious weight and dimension by bringing activists as their dates.
You should know them by name:
2. Addressing the elephant on the carpet
This was perhaps the first "moment-maker", brought to you by Debra (ain't) Messing (around) and at the expense of a flabbergasted Giuliana Rancic. Listen, I'm not in the business of being mean, especially with this rainbow of amplified emotions I have as a woman post-Globes, but Giuliana wasn't ready. She asked a question she wasn't ready to hear the answer to. Debra Messing, Live on E! called out the pay disparity of the network...to a female reporter. Here's where I ask you to think about how YOU would've reacted? The truth is, if you weren't prepared, you would've done the same thing G did. Nodded and threw to Ryan Seacrest. If you had developed a matrix of potential scenarios you might encounter, and this response was one of them...you might have turned to the camera, and been another moment-maker.
3. Big Little Lies
I often ask myself, was the production and release of Big Little Lies serendipitous, or totally on the mark because the people behind it were remarkably in touch with time and place? I don't know, but this story needed to be told, and it came at the exactly the right time. Childhood bullying, the strong facade that women wear along with their outfit for the day, marital rape, inter-gender power struggles, therapy? I tip my hat and my heart to all those responsible for translating these issues with such crushingly beautiful precision onto the small screen. The faces of this brave storytelling, was the ensemble cast, all of whom were nominated. I'm not starry-eyed enough to believe that their speeches weren't rehearsed to the nines, or perhaps even professionally written but I don't care. Remember, with me, a few of the powerful statements the winners made:
"This character that I played represents something that is the center of our conversation right now: abuse. I do believe and I hope that we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them.” - Nicole Kidman
"Many of us were taught not to tattle, it was a culture of silencing and that was normalized. I urge all of us to not only support survivors and bystanders who are brave enough to tell their truth, but to promote restorative justice. May we also please protect and employ them," - Laura Dern
4. The Opening Monologue
As host, Seth Myers was faced with walking the thinnest tightrope conceivable over a gaping pit of burning embers. Imagine, for a second, if we were living in the years of Ricky Gervais and his particular brand of...taste. Maybe there IS an all-knowing God. How many re-writes do you think Seth and his team had to make at the eleventh hour - you know, after the most recent of hourly allegations had poured in...? How many people were involved to make sure the monologue was the right blend of malevolent and benevolent? I'm gonna say...a butt-load, and 99% of them were women. The 1% of course being, Seth himself, who pulled that tightrope walk off the best anyone could have. With a knowing look, and a furtive smile, he delivered "Good evening ladies and remaining gentlemen," as the opening line of the night. It was brilliant. He didn't tiptoe, he trounced all over the famous fuck-ups like Spacey and Weinstein...for 15 minutes. Imagine, being in that position, and not making a chauvinist ass out of yourself for 15 full minutes? It shouldn't be that hard to do, but for some reason, I'm chuffed AF about the uncommon achievement.
5. Amen for Oprah
There may not be an order to this list, but there is a reason why I left Oprah 'til last. I watched, and re-watched, then read, and re-read her speech in entirety all week. I work with a group of highly-competent, diverse women on the daily, and all week any time we felt like we had had enough of criticism, or derision, or hostility...we said, "hell, we live in Oprah's America now." Because she made us feel. She made us think. She made us want (and ask for) more.
I lived, even for just a few days, with that voice in my head - not the one that reminded me how much I hate my thighs, or how much more respect my male counterparts get when they walk into a room, or how much "ugly" happens every day around the world that I can't control. "A new day is on the horizon". That was the battle cry heard 'round the world the next day. But the entire speech had goosebump moments:
"...it's not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It's one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace. So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They're the women whose names we'll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they're in academia, engineering, medicine, and science. They're part of the world of tech and politics and business. They're our athletes in the Olympics and they're our soldiers in the military."
People ask why, in the face of abuse or harassment, people don't "speak up". I've tried to articulate this myself, but leave it to Oprah to just say it. This is the role we need people like Oprah, and Oprah herself, to play in our contemporary climate. We need Oprah, more than ever before, to be the reminder that people without a name are laying the stones that are paving the way to equality. We need to know the stories of Recy Taylor. We need to hear about people who were strong, even though they seemed like the "weak ones" or the "prey". We need to get mad, then we need to get better. Oprah for President? No. She needs to stay in this non partisan role. A leader, a patron of the people, and a bright spot in an otherwise glib cultural zeitgeist.
She needs to continue making moments that people talk about and then rally around. This particularly memorable moment in time happened to be captured at an event often discounted for being tone deaf, high brow and grossly superficial. But that's exactly the point, isn't it? Think about the "kid" (or 30 year old) sitting on their "linoleum floor" (or 700 sq/ft apartment) watching this movement become celebrated - a force for unity and change, not a dirty secret rich people keep. All you can do is "...quote Sidney's performance in Lilies of the Field: "Amen, amen, amen, amen."