By Luis Mila
“It’s 2018. Marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t.” says Seth Meyers, host of the Golden Globe awards this year. It comes to no surprise the war on drugs and social justice movements have been brought to light at yet another awards show. Similarly, political scandals were scrutinized and mocked at the VMAs back in August.
The #MeToo movement overshadowed the Golden Globe awards, causing the attendees to wear specialized pins that said ‘Time’s Up’ –a reference to a movement which aims to combat sexual misconduct in the workplace across the nation– and a completely black wardrobe. This movement focuses on injustices that occurred throughout the year of 2017, more specifically, women who have survived or experienced sexual assault.
Reese Witherspoon is one of the main forces behind the ‘Time’s Up’ approach, she took the initiative to contact designer Arianne Phillips to develop the pin’s final look in a private meeting which was to discuss the problem at hand.
“Reese asked me to come to the actors’ group, and told me they were going to be wearing black and would I consider creating a pin for the nominees and male presenters,” said Phillips. Despite being caught up in the holiday season, she still agreed to the scheme and contacted fellow designer Michael Schmidt – a Los Angeles jewelry designer.
Together, Phillips and Schmidt were able to produce 500 pins in a span of two weeks – this further contributes to the urgency of these pins and the powerful message they had carried.
“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up.” says Oprah Winfrey, winner of the lifetime achievement award presented at the golden globe awards. Winfrey’s speech praised the #MeToo movement, the message it aimed to spread, and change it hoped to bring.
Other celebrities –such as Natalie Portman and America Ferrera– also took a stand and gave their input on the movement’s success.
“The time is now for us to do the work that will make women and all people more safe and more equal in their workplaces and in their lives.” said Ferrera, recognizing the time has come to take action.
Portman also provides a statement, which recognizes how much popularity #MeToo has accumulated saying, “I think we’ve realized the scope of what we’ve lost, the creative contributions of people who’ve been pushed out of the industry.”
Others who participated in speaking up were Debra Messing, who plays Grace from Will & Grace, Nicole Kidman, Uzo Aduba, Emma Watson, and Kathy Griffin. All these women have realized that overwhelming statistics – violence against women and girls affects 1 of 3 in their lifetime, 71% of women who have experienced assault do not report it, and only in the last 10 years, and 4% of top-grossing directors have been women– cannot be invented, or faked.
However, the fact that no male at the event seemed to speak up, or even acquire an interview on the topic, was uncanny and struck a nerve for some people. Not one award-winning male mentioned the ‘Time’s Up’ and #MeToo movements during the night, even though most donned the black attire and namesake pins.
“In response to everything going on in today’s world, we’ve decided to remove all the men from this category,” chimed Chris Hemsworth when bantering with Jessica Chastain while presenting the best actress in a comedy trophy.
This was the most that a man has provided when regarding social injustices at the Golden Globe Awards.
When compared to their female counterparts, the men in the entertainment industry are lacking when it comes to presenting these sexual misconduct issues, and haven’t been too vocal about the real problem at hand. However, Winfrey’s powerful speech, online personalities, and celebrities who have tweeted about the nation’s current status, have been able to make up for those who remain quiet. The time’s up, it’s now when victims come forth.
