Major online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon have decided to boycott the Golden Globes. They made the decision to boycott the historic ceremony due to the lack of black journalists among their voting members. This article will tell you why the golden globes are being boycott. And what this means for the future of the awards ceremony.
Netflix and Amazon decided to boycott Golden Globes awards
What are the golden globes:
The Golden Globes is a historic awards ceremony, attended by major Hollywood actors. It has earned massive industry clout and media attention throughout the years. They are known for organizing fancy parties, exclusively for the rich and famous. The awards ceremony honors movies and television shows that came out that year. Their voting membership, known as the HFPA or Hollywood Foreign Press Association consists of 90 foreign film journalists from 55 countries all over the globe. They have been bestowing awards to recognize excellence in film since 1944. Both international and American films, as well as American television shows, are consider for nominations.
The ceremony is held annually, in January. It has been a major part of the film industry’s award season. It considers films from January 1 to December 31 through the calendar year. In 2021, the first virtual Golden Globes were held and were hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and is telecasted in 167 countries worldwide. They usually rank as the 3rd most-watched awards ceremony behind Oscars and The Grammy Awards. However, they have got some resistance due to the lack of diversity among its voting members. Many popular streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix have decided to boycott the Golden Globes. Due to this lack of fair representation.
The controversy:
The relevance of the Golden Globes in the film and TV industry is falling rapidly, owning to multiple controversies. Firstly, the format used by the awards regarding films and TV shows based on genre, either Drama or Comedy/Musical. This has caused certain problems as viewers believe that certain films were wrongly classified. For example, the blockbuster film, Get Out was nominated under Best comedy/musical. But the film was instead thriller film and was wrongly classified. Many people disagreed with the nomination, which brought the relevance of the Golden Globes in question. Recent controversies include their choice of nominating Emily in Paris. And, most recently, their lack of black voters among their voter base.
The HFPA also received widespread criticism due to the nomination of Asian and Asian- American films in the Best Foreign Language Film. Films such as Parasite, Minari, and The Farewell were barred from being nominated under the Best Motion Picture categories. They categorized Minari as a foreign film even though the entire production of the film and the setting was exclusively done in America. This decision was condemned by actors and filmmakers of Asian descent and other supporters. The HFPA claims that for a film to be nominated under the Best Drama or Comedy/Musical category it should meet the threshold of at least 50% English dialogues. However, many reporters have since proven that other films such as Inglorious Basterds and Babel did not meet this criterion. This has attracted accusations of anti-Asian racism towards the Golden Globes.
The stand against the golden globes:
In an effort to enact change, to improve racial and cultural representation and the Golden Globes awards format, Hollywood is taking a stand. At this point, as many as one hundred Hollywood publicists have decided to boycott the Golden Globes. One of the largest streaming services has also joined the list of studios, actors, and producers that will be boycotting the golden globes. They demand that the voter base should be diversified by the inclusion of more women and black journalists. The HFPA has stated that they are currently working to correct the issue and expanding and diversifying their current voters’ association.
The stand of streaming platforms against the Golden Globes is a major issue. Not just for the current position of the ceremony, but for its future, too. These streaming platforms have amassed a large degree of viewership, production capacity and produce great films with A-list actors. This takes away from the globe the ability to add relevant films made by streaming platforms. Thus, making the awards obsolete.
What will happen to the ceremony?
If Hollywood actors, filmmakers, and studios decide to reject the HFPA, this could mean the end of the Golden Globes. If the Globes can not remain relevant during the awards season, they will become irrelevant and will soon disappear.
The awards have had a hard time keeping up with modern audiences and sustaining viewership. The Oscars, the largest film awards ceremony, saw a dip of 60% in their ratings. And the same has taken place for the Globes, that have witnessed a huge drop in viewership. If the Golden Globes can not retain the respect of the industry and the viewers, the show may not last much longer.
