The Golden Globe Awards Ceremony aired on Jan. 7, and was a very significant event for a variety of different reasons. Almost every actor who attended the event wore a Time’s Up badge to support and commemorate their appearance at the awards to those who were victims of sexual harassment. This movement was prompted by the large number of Hollywood actors that have been coming out with stories of being sexually harassed and abused by people in positions of power in the industry.
The most notable accused is Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused by more than eighty women with charges ranging from requests for massages to intimate sexual advances. This Golden Globe Awards ceremonies signified a united front from all of these famous actors to end this issue that Hollywood has regarding sexual predators in positions of power. The Time’s Up movement is meant to show victims of sexual harassment that they are not alone and that even immensely successful and famous people have gone through similar experiences.
As a result of this movement and the recent situation in Hollywood, there were many differences in this year’s Golden Globes. All of the female actors who attended this year’s Golden Globes wore black rather than the extravagant dresses usually seen at these type of events. In addition, many of the speeches by the female actors who won their respective Globes spoke of this sexual harassment issue in Hollywood and the need to band together and take a joint stand against these problems. These serious issues, combined with the black dresses every woman wore, created a somber tone in these Golden Globes, which shows the effect that the outing of many sexual predators in high positions of power has had on Hollywood.
Many people were upset by the fact that other than Seth Meyers, who gave the opening speech, none of the men that won awards or went up onstage even mentioned the sexual harassment issue in their speeches. Many of the men wore the Time’s Up pin, but this simply was not enough for the people who watched the Golden Globes. They expected a direct confrontation of the issue from more than just the women who had speeches. The people watching the Golden Globes wanted to see more of a united front in both the female and the male actors in Hollywood, but to many viewers, there was no united front to speak of and although many actors support the Time’s Up movement, they will not take direct action to combat the issues associated with the movement.
Perhaps the most riveting part of the 2018 Golden Globes was Oprah Winfrey’s speech. After winning the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Winfrey’s powerful speech about women, sexual harassment and equality brought many in the audience to tears and earned her a standing ovation due to the poignancy of her speech. Winfrey’s message about the need for change in society resonated with many people watching. This year’s Golden Globe Awards will most definitely go down as being one of the most memorable and meaningful in the award show’s history.
