Why must you watch the Golden Globe Awards?
The bottles of champagne were the first things I noticed when I saw the Golden Globe Awards. The stars could let their guards down, joking (at another star's expense) before presenting the next award. And how the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) chose the winners.
The 74th Golden Globe Awards, which will be held on January 8, 2017, could be another showcase of travesty in showbiz. Then again, this would be the fun part that the public has been waiting for some time. (And Jamie Foxx didn't disappoint the audience after wrongly announcing the winner of the Best Original Score category.) The members of the HFPA might be thinking that the Academy voters were too serious about the awards season, so they don't mind a drunk, if not corrupt, a counterpart to the Oscars. Those who have been watching the Golden Globe Awards for years would know after watching Madonna getting up the stage (to receive the Golden Globe for her performance in "Evita"). This is rather yin and yang.
Let's focus on the upside. The HFPA sets the course for the remainder of the awards season, as most of the Golden Globe nominees will likely earn an Oscar nomination. Most viewers would likely forget the winners after the end of the telecast, but those who look at the list again will notice something. The Golden Globe can also make or break a career. It can be the small tube, where Jennifer Garner is honored for "Alias". It will be better to stick to the big screen for now. Here are a few good reasons:
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizes the best comedies. It the Golden Globe Awards would be nonexistent, then most comedies could be overlooked for an Academy Award nomination. The drama would move the audience, but only a genius could pull off a comedy. A sense of humor might be a trait, but a perspective should be the key to a funny script. Charlie Chaplin couldn't attest to it, and it seemed pointless to raise the argument (on drama vs. comedy).
The Best Foreign Film category is anything but complicated. Politics won't influence the HFPA. Moreover, there won't be any strict requirements on the date of release and the nationalities of the production crew. It must be really good (or else). Ingmar Bergman would know, as six of his films were adjudged Best Foreign Film.
The Golden Globe nominees would reflect an edgy, if not diverse, selection by the press. The Academy Awards would be about the red carpet, the staged production numbers, and the thank-you speeches. The Golden Globe Awards could be all of it, but public attention would be tugged after the announcement of the nominees. Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp may not appear on the big screen again, but the HFPA made sure that the press (and the public) would have a field day on the two (by recognizing "The Tourist"). Perhaps the HFPA foresaw it. If making a difference would be the ulterior motive, then the HFPA did it right.
Agree or disagree, let's look forward to the next edition of the Golden Globe Awards.
