With the start of a new year comes cold weather, new classes and, inevitably, awards season. The major awards ceremonies started off with the Golden Globes on Jan. 7, which notoriously received major backlash for host Jo Koy’s unimaginative and sexist monologue. The Emmys followed afterwards, celebrating 75 years of iconic television—and also hitting a record low viewership. To top it all off, the crown jewel of award season—the Academy Awards—prompted severe backlash and criticism for failing to nominate Barbie director Greta Gerwig and Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, for Best Director and Best Actress. It’s either backlash or boring this awards season, it seems.
There were high hopes for awards season. After years of facing backlash due to issues of racism, the Golden Globes were expected to have a good comeback. That changed the moment Jo Koy walked onstage and delivered a poor (and sexist) monologue that left a bad taste in the mouths of the audience watching. Even Taylor Swift didn’t laugh at Koy’s mockery of her highly-watched relationship with Travis Kelce. The rest of the night was filled with an unamused crowd and jokes that continuously didn’t land.
The moment that’s received the most attention, however, is Koy’s sexism towards Barbie. Barely ten minutes into the ceremony, Koy said that the critically-acclaimed film Oppenheimer was “based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is based on a plastic doll with big boobies.” The comment garnered a disheartened gaze from Gerwig, while the audience bowed their heads in shame. Social media has been abuzz since, proving that, once again, the Golden Globes failed the audience.
Then came the Emmy Awards, which was thought to be an exciting event dedicated to honoring 75 years of television. And to be quite honest, the event was quite enjoyable. Host Antyony Anderson avoided any sexist monologues and bored crowds. The evening honored classic shows like I Love Lucy, Cheers, Martin, and Grey’s Anatomy. An emotional In Memoriam tribute honored lost stars such as Matthew Perry, Andre Braugher, Kirstie Alley, and Len Goodman, among others. Despite a classy evening, the ceremony still garnered a historically low viewership across the nation.
There’s some excitement in the air for the Grammy Awards, where the musical ceremony will be honoring nominees Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Ice Spice, Billie Eilish, SZA, and countless others. The ceremony features nominations across the board, but the buzz still isn’t enough to pique the interest of audiences. Once the nominations were released, no one talked about it. The ceremony will air on Sunday, Feb. 4, and will hopefully feature no sexist monologues or low viewership.
Social media was once again enraged on Jan. 23 when the Oscar nominations were announced, the Hollywood ceremony that many admire and look forward to. It’s now being dubbed “the Great Oscar Snub,” as Gerwig and Robbie were both snubbed for nominations of Best Director and Best Actress, respectively. What prompted even further rage was Ryan Gosling’s Best Supporting Actor nomination, who played Ken in the film fittingly about the power and corruption of the patriarchy. Gosling even released a statement criticizing the Academy for their decision, stating that there was “no Ken without Barbie.”
Yet in the midst of all this backlash, the people failed to notice that Lily Gladstone became the first Native American woman to be nominated in an actor’s category. While people were angered over two snubs, they failed to recognize a great achievement that’s been a long time coming. Audiences are paying attention, but not really when it matters.
Either way, the Oscars are still going to air as usual on Sunday, March 10, in the Dolby Theatre. Much like the Grammys, let’s hope for no sexist or boring hosts. And we can always tune into the red carpet coverage (which can sometimes be much more entertaining anyway).
