FILM & TV

Lady Bird wins big at the Golden Globes - but it still deserved "Best Director"

Despite its two wins, Greta Gerwig is still missing one important title.

Lady Bird | Official Trailer HD | A24

It's been quite a year for female-empowering movements, and at the Golden Globes it was no different, with the touching story of "Lady Bird" sweeping up awards for Best Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

The Greta Gerwig-directed film (her first, in fact) has been making rounds for it's vulnerabilities and heartbreaking sincerity when it comes to a mother's love for her daughter - and the very real fact that she, as all daughters do, must leave home to find her own. It's been so widely critically-acclaimed, in fact, that it became the first film to achieve (and maintain) a perfect 100 score on the film critic website, Rotten Tomatoes. It stars Saoirse Ronan, who longs to break free from the confines of her hometown of Sacramento, California (the same place Gerwig calls home). "I think that it's inevitable that those stories won't get told if you don't have female creators," Gerwig told CNN earlier this year. "But I do think that it's important to tell these stories because on a very basic level, as Virginia Woolf said, 'Men don't know what women do when they're not there.' So we need to tell the stories of what we're doing when they're not there. Otherwise, they will go completely undocumented."

Gerwig was notably shut out of the Best Director category - and everybody knew it. Actress and presenter Natalie Portman was quick to note, "here are the all-male nominees." In a world where Film Critics Society named "Lady Bird" best picture, and the National Society of Film Critics dubbed it the best film of 2017, it seems almost impossible that Gerwig did not at least receive a nomination for her first big-time director role. In a world where the majority of the Golden Globes room praised the Times Up movement, it's abundantly clear that the same energy of supporting women does not, in fact, apply to the nominations themselves.

The Sacramento-born director was not the only woman who was snubbed for the category. "Mudbound", the film that's been as widely-praised as the rest of the Best Picture nominees, was directed by Dee Rees, who was also snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Barry Jenkins, before directing "Moonlight", stated this to IndieWire a while back: "I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying this, but I've always felt like I can tell the difference when I'm watching a film directed by a woman," said Jenkins. "I just feel like the metaphors are more eloquent, by which I mean they don't shout as much. Even for myself, when I try to make a movie with a message, it's clear I'm trying to make a movie with a message, whereas when I watch a Lynne Ramsay film or a Claire Denis film, it's the metaphors you can feel — Lucrecia Martel, especially."

While I don't necessarily agree that there are differences in directing based on gender, Jenkins statement highlights the work of women who manage to put something more than personal on the big screen. Gerwig's work deserves to be recognized, and when it comes to those who are not taking women seriously into the conversation - like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association - it's time to say, time's up.

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Oprah's powerful #MeToo speech lights up the Golden Globes

The speech by the philanthropist has us asking - do we even deserve her as a potential president?

Oprah Winfrey's Cecil B. DeMille Award Acceptance Speech - 2018 Golden Globe Awards

Last Sunday night, the one and only Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille award at this year's Golden Globes - making her the first Black woman to be honored with the same prestige, ever.

That's not the only thing that's been making the speech so historically groundbreaking. The philanthropist has been rumored to be thinking of a 2020 Presidential campaign. According to CNN, "Two friends, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, talked in the wake of Winfrey's extraordinary speech at the Golden Globes Sunday night, which spurred chatter about a 2020 run. Some of Winfrey's confidants have been privately urging her to run, the sources said." The question is - do we even deserve to ask Oprah to save us as our next president?

Everyone who has social media seems to have an opinion on the matter. "Oprah Winfrey's speech embodied the best traditions of American oratory," tweeted Dan Rather. "It rang with moral clarity rooted in a march towards justice. Not blind to the distance we have traveled and the distance yet to go. It inspired — but cautioned progress will take work. This is what unites us." There are think-pieces circulating that have been eloquently reminding us why we don't, and will never, deserve to ask Oprah to fix the mess we've made ourselves. "Asking Oprah to run for president is a recognition of her intelligence, her kindness, her resilience. There is no denying that she is the exact kind of person we'd all want to see more of in politics. But in calling her in post-Trump, as some form restorative justice is a copout, a shirking of responsibility, and a disservice to her legacy," writes Chaia Mascall. "It's not that Oprah couldn't be president but that she shouldn't have to be."

Representatives for Winfrey have not responded to comment on whether or not this is a potential future for her. The same CNN source stated that conversations were had months back, and she has not yet made up her mind on the matter. As recently as October, Winfrey told CBS This Morning host Gayle King, "There will be no running for office of any kind."

Nothing changes the fact that the speech was so moving it brought the entire room of actors to their feet - it is worth reading in full, but in a memorable moment, Oprah addressed the crowd before her: "I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know the press is under siege these days. We also know it's the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To -- to tyrants and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I'm especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story."

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