The 2024 film and television awards season kicked off on Jan. 7 with the 81st Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California. Following the four-month-long SAG-AFTRA strike, many stars were excited to return to promotion and publicity. A momentous year for both film and television, including Oppenheimer, Barbie, Poor Things, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro, Succession and The Bear, led to watch numbers rising by 50%, reaching more than nine million viewers (CBC). A week later, the BAFTA Tea Party and Critics Choice Awards occurred, followed by the 75th Emmy Awards.
Since La La Land’s release in 2016, I have been an avid follower of the film and television industry, watching every awards show and studying the various patterns and politics of them. I have my own Letterboxd account, allowing me to rate and list different movies and shows. While it is exciting to watch who wins each award, a large part of the reason I do so is because it gives each winner a perfect encapsulation of who they are. Cillian Murphy, when giving his Golden Globes speech for his role as Robert Oppenheimer, had his wife’s lipstick covering his nose. Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, when presenting male actor in a motion picture, gave a short dance. Jonathan Bailey, who won a Critics Choice Award for his role as Tim Laughlin, remembered his 94-year-old grandma for her support throughout his career.
Twenty-twenty-three additionally proved to be a breakthrough year for diversity in cinema. Representation for LGBTQIA+ people was extremely present, with hits such as Rustin, All of Us Strangers and Fellow Travelers. This is a groundbreaking win for the queer community, as even 10 years ago, queer media was extremely limited. The Asian community was also portrayed strongly in Beef, May December and Past Lives. Beef’s Steven Yeun and Ali Wong made history as the first Asian people to win Golden Globes, Critics Choice and Emmys in a singular week. Killers of the Flower Moon, which explores the murders committed against the Osage Nation in the early 1900s, provides a serious and important depiction of the atrocities that indigenous people have faced for centuries. Despite this representation, many films and television shows I found to be award-worthy lost to straight, heterosexual, heteronormative white stories. It is interesting how many award shows choose the same winners. Shouldn’t all of these different voting academies have different definitions of what makes a show award-winning?
With certain wins and losses, there have been many conversations online regarding the “snubs” of the season. Several fans wonder if Hollywood’s true biases come from the popular wins, nominating diverse films only for show.
Freshman Charlie Insley is on the Steering Committee for VU Pride. They do not think the LGBTQIA+ community is well-represented, but that is not a reflection on the strength and validation of the community.
“Queer cinema is being made and recognized, but not by the Hollywood bigwigs,” Insley said. “Frankly, I don’t think we need that to feel validated for our identities. Even if queer cinema doesn’t win, those films still touched a lot of people, which is the most important part.”
However, Insley believes the accuracy of the LGBTQIA+ story is what is missing.
“Hollywood has limited scope about what being LGBTQ looks like,” Insley said. “There’s so many perspectives in the queer community that aren’t being represented in mainstream cinema either because of ignorance or they don’t fit into their idea of who LGBTQ people are, what we look like and who and how we love.”
Representation for minorities in mainstream media has increased over the years. The growth of diverse Hollywood portrayals has solidified the human experience of many actresses, actors, producers, screenwriters and directors. With proper media focus, hopefully, this is only the start of more wins for people whose stories have stayed unrecognized for centuries. Representing the “white, heteronormative, straight experience” to be the main experience is extremely detrimental to Hollywood’s industry. After all, the goal of film and television is to connect people and share stories and art that recognizes the journey of life, is it not?
