By Devon White
Every January the Hollywood elite gathers in their finery for a night of glitz, canned jokes, and proverbial pats on the back to honor the finest in TV and domestic and foreign films. The Hollywood Foreign Press Agency’s (HFPA) Golden Globes awards, Oscar’s little brother, has been a tradition for nearly 68 years. Its mission is “To establish favorable relations and cultural ties between foreign countries and America by the dissemination of information concerning the American culture and traditions as depicted in motion pictures and television through news media in various foreign countries.”
What this tells me is that the HFPA judges American culture and traditions based on what we put on our television and silver screen. So what does it say about American culture that few women are nominated for Golden Globes each year?
A simple Google search for “women and golden globes” returns websites with more emphasis on women’s fashion on the big night than the recognition of their achievements in front of and behind the camera. Shouldn’t more emphasis be placed on women’s contribution to TV and film rather than on if their Valentino dress was a Success or a Mess? According to Women and Hollywood, an analysis of the 2010 nominees shows that “no women are nominated for best director of a motion picture (and) only one film about a woman was nominated for best picture drama.”
In a traditionally male-centered award ceremony, which builds on previous years, it’s difficult for women to break in. Women of color are even less represented. Only two women of color were nominated, Halle Berry for Best Actress in a motion picture, drama for Frankie and Alice, and Sofia Vergara, for Best Supporting Actress in a series, mini-series or TV movie for Modern Family. Many of the same individuals continue to be nominated from year to year, even though there have been films like “For Colored Girls”, “Death at a Funeral”, “Why Did I Get Married Too”, and “Just Wright” in the past year alone which received no attention from the Golden Globes.
The need for more women behind the camera and the necessity of events like the Citizen Jane Festival are unfortunately still necessary in order to give women the film recognition that they deserve. Projects like Citizen Jane fill a gap that award ceremonies like the Golden Globes leave in their wake.
For a list of all women nominees, visit Women and Hollywood’s Golden Globe Nominees – The Women.
For further reading on gender representation in movies, check out Sociological Images’: “The Gender Imbalance in Family Movies.”