WHOSE funeral was it anyway? Given the amount of black clothing on display at the Golden Globes one could be forgiven for thinking Hollywood was saying goodbye and good riddance to something, rather than hello to just another awards season.
For all the emotion on show in LA, few seriously think this is the end of abuses of power highlighted by the claims against Harvey Weinstein and others. One would truly have to believe an elephant could fly, that every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings, or other screen myths, to trust in that.
Where Oprah Winfrey struck a chord was in saying that this could be, with careful nurturing, the beginning of the end. An industry that has not just stood on the shoulders of some giant female talents, but trampled a fair few of them into the ground along the way, has to start somewhere. If not now, when?
What has been notable about the bulk of the allegations of sexual harassment hitting Hollywood is that many of the incidents happened before the industry began to change ever so slightly. The business is making progress in having more women in positions of power, but slowly. Today, with only 13 per cent of directors female, and 27 per cent of producers, there is a very long way to go.
Also notable at the Globes was the recognition for such female led material as Big Little Lies (dealing with domestic abuse) and Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. The question will inevitably be asked, albeit behind cupped hands, if these artists are winning because they merit awards or if the times and the odds have simply swung in their favour.
The real answer to that will come at the Oscars, the Golden Globes being about as reliable a guide to the Academy Awards as January’s weather is to July’s. It was all of seven years ago, remember, that Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first woman to win best director was meant to have been a corner turned.
Can the Academy, often dismissed as a bunch of old, rich, white guys, turn things around quickly? It remains to be seen, too, how those who donned funeral garb at the Globes can top that protest at the Oscars. For an industry all about show, only on March 4 will Hollywood have a chance to show it truly means business.
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