This year’s Golden Globes nominations don’t include any women writers or directors — again. And there were plenty to choose from this year.
When Golden Globes nominations are announced each year, there are always snubs — and they’re always accompanied by complaints that the awards ceremony does nothing to promote diversity amongst its nominees or winners. This is clearest, perhaps, when it comes to female writers and directors.
In a move that’s not out of left field for the Golden Globes, no female directors were nominated for best director this year. In addition to that, no women were nominated for best screenplay or best motion picture. And this is during 2019, a year when female-directed films like Booksmart, Hustlers, and Little Women have dominated conversations surrounding film.
Of course, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Back in January 2018, Natalie Portman bravely got on stage and addressed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s tendency to choose “all male nominees” while presenting the award for best director. And even on social media, women have repeatedly expressed their frustration and simultaneous lack of surprise when it comes this year’s choices — and the picks from just about every other year as well.
The Golden Globes are like "Women directors and writers? Don't know any"
— Rachel Leishman (@RachelLeishman) December 9, 2019
The fact that Little Women wasn’t absolutely inundated with Golden Globes noms is inconceivable & at once completely predictable. One of the most beloved & brilliant directors of our time, the most prolific actors of their generations, a universal & timeless story. We hate women.
— Tina Wargo (@tinawargz) December 9, 2019
It’s not that the films and directors nominated haven’t seen a great amount of success and praise from critics. There’s no doubt movies like Joker, The Irishman, and Marriage Story have seen reactions worthy of nominations. But there are films made by women that are on par with all of these, and it’s likely no coincidence that none of those were even acknowledged by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
If anything, this year’s nominations show that we need to do better when it comes to speaking out about films written and directed by women. We need to raise our voices until they’re forced to give women a seat at the table — and hey, if they still won’t, we’ll build our own table.