What the Golden Globes can teach the Oscars about feminism
Feminism was the guest of honor at the Golden Globes this year, and we’re hoping gender equality shows up in full force at the Globes for many years to come. We’re also hoping the Oscars gets more women-friends (it doesn’t have the GREATEST track record), so Oscar, if you want to hang out with the rest of us over here in the 21st century, here’s some free advice we learned from last night’s awesomely pro-woman telecast:
The Power of The Co-Female Hosts
This was Tina Fey/Amy Poehler’s 3rd and final year hosting the Golden Globes and it feels like the perfect time for this duo to segue over to an Oscars-hosting dig. Or any female duo. The Oscar has, from time to time, has ladies cohost with men (Anne Hathaway, 2011), or host solo (Whoopi Goldberg, 2002, Ellen DeGeneres, 2007 and 2014), but there’s really something about having two ladies up there to back each other up that really enables hosts to call shenanigans on gender inequality in Hollywood
See exhibit A, Amy Poehler’s quip “Boyhood proves there are still great roles for women over 40, as long as you get hired when you’re under 40,” exhibit B, Tina Fey’s crack “Steve Carell’s Foxcatcher look took two hours to put on, including hairstyling and makeup,” Fey said. “Just for comparison, it took me three hours today just to prepare for the role of Human Woman.”
Also, Lily Tomlin and and Jane Fonda were SO FUNNY joking about the time-honored tradition of “not believing men can be funny.” Female co-presenters can be as subversive, hilarious, and awesome as female co-hosts, we want ALL OF THIS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65x96UwBMss
Honor Women Behind The Camera
Transparent won best television comedy and it was created by Jill Soloway, The Affair won best drama and it was created by Sarah Treem. We’re 2 for 2 in 2015 people, television has CLEARLY pulled ahead as a friendlier space for women behind the camera. It should also be noted that in TV comedy category, 4 out of the 5 shows were created/co-created by women, so we’re REALLY doing well in the comedy sphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD-Ra43XsVQ
Nominate More Women Of Color Because There Are SO Many BRILLIANT Women Whose Work is Overlooked
After winning Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical for her breakout turn in “Jane The Virgin,” Rodriguez concluded her speech with the following tribute to the Latino community:
“This award is so much more than myself. It represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes. My father used to tell me to say every morning that today is going to be a great day. I can and I will. Well, Dad, today’s a great day. I can and I did.”
Ladies, Honor The Lady-Giants Upon Whose Shoulders You Stand
After winning a “Best Actress” Globe for her leading turn in Big Eyes, Amy sings hallelujah for the amaze women in the room:
“I have so many wonderful female role models here tonight. It’s just so wonderful that women today have such a strong voice and I have a 4-and-a-half-year-old and I’m so grateful to have all the women in this room. You speak to her so loudly. She watches everything, and she sees everything and I’m just so, so grateful for all of you women in this room who have such a lovely, beautiful voice.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma5jmZqGLrs
Honor The Community You’re Making Art About, Even/Especially If You Don’t Belong To That Community
Neither Jill Soloway or Jeffrey Tambor, both who won for Transparent, are themselves members of the trans community, (though Soloway’s trans parent was the inspiration behind the show), that said, both beautifully honored the community in their speeches:
“I want to thank the trans community,” Soloway said. “They are our family and they make this possible. This is dedicated to too many trans people that died too young. It’s dedicated to you, my trans parent, if you’re watching at home right now. I want to thank you for coming out because in doing so you made a break for freedom and you told your truth. You taught me how to tell my truth and make this show, and maybe we’ll be able to teach the world something about authenticity and truth and love. To love.”
When Tambor won Best Actor in a Television Comedy, he gave big ups to Jenny Boylan (the first openly trans co-chair of GLAAD’s board of directors) and trans employees of “Transparent Rhys Ernst and Zachary Drucker. “Thank you,” he said. “You led me through the steps to find more of Jeffrey than I’ve ever known in my entire life.”
Pay More Attention To Those Complicated Roles Women Are Playing
When Maggie Gyllenhaal won Best Actress for her turn in the The Honorable Woman, she made an incredibly insightful speech about the change that’s happening in TV when it comes to women’s roles. Movie industry, take note.
“I’ve noticed a lot of people talking about the wealth of roles for powerful women in television lately. And when I look around the room at the women who are here and I think about the performances that I’ve watched this year what I see actually are women who are sometimes powerful and sometimes not, sometimes sexy, sometimes not, sometimes honorable, sometimes not, and what I think is new is the wealth of roles for actual women in television and in film. That’s what I think is revolutionary and evolutionary and it’s what’s turning me on.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVE2KrHuECA
We Can’t Get Enough Jokes About George Clooney Being Amal Alamuddin’s “Trophy Husband”
“George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year,” Fey announced in the opening remarks. “Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an adviser to Kofi Annan regarding Syria, and was selected for a three-person U.N. commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”
In short, Oscars, don’t ignore gender iniquities, acknowledge them and then combat them by honoring the women who made extraordinary contributions to the film industry this year.
