Remote Control: The Golden Globes Consistently Do the Right Thing
By Ronda Racha Penrice, AOL BlackVoices columnist
Is it me or were all those music awards shows becoming a bit much? I've been watching award shows forever but I was on overload -- World Music Awards, Radio Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and who knows what else. I was beginning to think Usher, to quote P. Diddy, "lived on TV." After the 47th Grammy Awards airs on Feb. 13, it will all be over. For music, at least.
Awards for film and television do not have this overload problem. For the most part, they keep a tight rein on their award shows. There are still only a handful of them, and that's probably why they still mean so much. First up are The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, better known as the Golden Globes, which airs this Sunday on NBC.
Although the Academy Awards -- the Oscars, if you will -- have obviously been a big deal with us, mainly because we've been robbed so often, getting them to do right has made us neglect the very awards show that has needed no protest. I know you didn't miss the unprecedented three nominations in three distinct categories that Jamie Foxx received for his roles in 'Ray' (Best Actor, Musical or Comedy), 'Collateral' (Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture) and 'Redemption' (Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie).
Now, to be fair, the Golden Globes cast a wider net than the Oscars, which only deals with motion pictures. The Golden Globes are more like the Oscars and the Emmys in one, plus they divide film into two categories -- Drama and Musical or Comedy. Even with that caveat, their track record cannot be denied. Remember when Denzel lost the Oscar for his tremendous leading role in 'The Hurricane' at the 1999 ceremony to Kevin Spacey ('American Beauty') but won in 2000 at the Golden Globes? Now, Kevin Spacey is certainly a spectacular actor but Denzel's portrayal was just excellent, even against his many other superior performances. He deserved an Oscar for his solitary confinement scenes alone.
In case you are wondering, although Denzel was nominated for 'Malcolm X,' he lost to Al Pacino who was in 'Scent of a Woman.' Even though it was Al Pacino, forever ingrained in African-American culture as Scarface, it was still a misstep. But the Golden Globes have done so much good. While we never know what's going on with the Oscars or sometimes even the Emmys, the Golden Globes almost never disappoint us. Is it because their voting body is culled from the foreign press? Is it possible that outside of this country our talent and not our skin complexion is the focal point?
I've met a few people from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organization behind the Golden Globes, and they didn't strike me as less white than those who must make up the majority of the Oscars voting body. I say majority because I personally know a black member of the Oscar voting body, so I can assure you that there are some black people voting. But, obviously, there are just not enough of them. Well, correction, the HFPA, as aforementioned, disproves that theory. It doesn't take a whole lot of us to be fair. Fairness should not be a black or white thing, it should be a universal thing. It should happen whether any of us are present or not.
And, for the most part, the Golden Globes have done that. In 1969, Diahann Carroll won the Golden Globe for Actress in a Television Series. That same year she was also nominated for an Emmy and did not win. Even though the Oscars shut Whoopi Goldberg out for 'The Color Purple,' the Golden Globes stepped up to the plate. No, I can't tell you the first black Golden Globe winner. But again, that's the beauty of this awards show.
Because the Golden Globes, at least in my lifetime, have consistently demonstrated a commitment to fairness and have recognized black talent long before it became an embarrassment not to, I am watching Sunday with eager eyes. If Jamie or Don Cheadle, who is nominated for 'Hotel Rwanda' against Leonardo DiCaprio and others, don't win, I won't question it as much as I would an Oscar loss. I have confidence that this jury is sincerely doing the best that it can and it's about time that we started lifting up those who do and stop making those who don't so famous.
Jan. 11, 2005