By Claire.
Awards
season has arrived, and with it, the most exciting time of the year for me. It is
my Super Bowl. I get heavily invested in all the nominees and constantly debate
with friends while trying to guess who and which films will win. While some
would argue awards are arbitrary and do not mean anything, the season is a
celebration of film, and gosh darn, I love film so much. However,
with celebration comes the equal frustration and exhaustive anger
over lack of diversity and representation in the industry.
The 75th Golden
Globes was last week, the first major awards show since Harvey Weinstein’s
sexual abuse allegations, and the many others which followed, came out. Actors
are getting fired or replaced and projects are being cancelled. But awards
ceremonies have disregarded known abusers and people who have committed assault
in the past, as they continued to award them with no consequence for their
actions. Due to the fervour that is sweeping Hollywood to act against assault
and inequality, eyes are on organisations like the Hollywood Foreign Press
(Golden Globes) and The Academy (The Oscars), to see how they respond.
The
Golden Globes this year were electrifying, but this is largely due to the large
group of female solidarity. The unofficial dress code for the Globes was to
wear black, in support of sexual abuse survivors and all the brave men and
women who have spoken up about their experience. Seeing the sea of black
dresses on the Red Carpet was beautiful to see. During the broadcast, my
friends and I sat in complete awe while Oprah made her acceptance speech for
the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. When Natalie Portman uttered
the words “and here are the all-male nominees” we screamed in equal part shock
and delight. Saoirse Ronan’s win of Best Leading Actress (Comedy or Musical)
for Lady Bird, and the film’s win of Best Feature (Comedy or Musical)
had me literally sobbing. Seeing women speak up passionately, and being awarded
for female-led work, means honestly so much to me. Especially as I am someone
who wants to enter the film industry. This gives me hope.
 |
| Oprah Winfrey accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award. |
While the spotlight has been on Hollywood these past few months, the women of Times Up spent that time meeting, planning, learning and creating an organisation which highlights the universality of sexual assault in the workplace. The organisation raises money for a legal defence fund, to help aid legal resources.
The most vocal of these women is a diverse group of female filmmakers: Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Rashida Jones, Reese Witherspoon, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shailene Woodley, Kerry Washington, Laura Dern, Eva Longoria, Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Michelle Williams, and more.
At the
Golden Globes, these women brought each other as their dates and used their
platforms across social media and in red carpet interviews to raise awareness
for Times Up and the issue of sexual assault across all workplaces.
Additionally,
nine actresses brought women activists as their dates:
·
Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement
·
Monica Ramirez, who organises against sexual violence in rural
areas and for Latina empowerment
·
Saru Jayaraman, a workplace justice advocate
·
Rosa Clemente, a community organiser with a focus on Puerto Rican
independence
·
Billie Jean King, whom Emma stone portrayed in her recent film Battle
of the Sexes, who founded the Women’s Tennis Association
·
Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
·
Marai Larasi, executive director of Imkaan, a British organisation
which works to end violence against women
·
and Calina Lawrence, a Suquamish Tribe member who fights for
Native Americans’ water rights.
Seeing
these amazing women on the red carpet, along with the sea of black and Times Up
lapel pins was breathtaking to witness on screen. As each actress introduced
their dates and let these activists talk about their work during interviews
(when they weren’t being cut off or minimised on screen—the work of the media
on the red-carpet left a lot to be desired) was a bold act of solidarity. In
addition, Debra
Messing calling out E!’s gender pay gap while on air to E!, and Connie
Britton’s shirt embroidered with “poverty is sexist” contributed to the
fierce, no-holds-barred attitude of the evening.
 |
| Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd on the red carpet. |
This is not to say the movement was not flawed: actors who were expected to dress up for the black-tie event in the first place were able to just slap on a Times Up pin and be counted towards the movement. By wearing black, wearing a pin, and posting on Instagram with the hashtag #WhyWeWearBlack and #TIMESUPNOW, it was too easy to make it seem like you were a supporter of the movement, by doing the bare minimum. This is especially relevant for actors and actresses who have worked with Woody Allen in the past (or in Justin Timberlake’s case, currently stars in his film Wonder Wheel). Allen, who allegedly sexually molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow as a child, has yet to be held accountable for his own actions, as his films continue to be made, with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and was awarded a Life-Time Achievement Award at the Golden Globes in 2014.
 |
| A Times Up pin worn at the Globes |
As we
move forward towards a future of accountability and consequences for those who
do wrong, we need to allow those who have worked with Allen in the past to
learn and grow, yet also acknowledge the consequences of their actions.
In
a statement made to Buzzfeed News, Dylan Farrow applauded the signs of
female solidarity, but pointed out these loopholes.
“I fully
support women taking a stand, linking arms with other women (and men),
advocating on behalf of one another to effect change not only in the entertainment
industry but in the world at large. That is an admirable and worthwhile
objective, I hope these women change the world. That said, the people who join
this movement without taking any kind of personal accountability for the ways
in which their own words and decisions have helped to perpetuate the culture
they are fighting against, that’s hard for me to reconcile.”
As staff
writer for Grown-ish Kara Brown pointed out in inaugural episode of culture
critic Ira Madison III’s podcast Keep It, no one’s career has suffered
for working with Woody Allen, so it has been confusing as to why no one will
just admit they regret working with him. As the question continues to be asked,
Why Are We Sparing Allen? people need to prepare a response and be held
accountable.
 |
| Greta Gerwig accepts the Golden Globe for Best Feature (Comedy or Musical) for Lady Bird. |
In the
press conference after her debut feature film, Lady Bird, which she
wrote and directed, won Best Feature (Musical or Comedy) on Sunday, Greta
Gerwig was asked to address her previous work with Woody Allen in 2012’s To
Rome With Love. At the time, her response left a lot to be desired,
claiming she was still thinking about how to respond. It was only a couple of
days later in an article written for the New York Times did
she make an official statement:
“I can
only speak for myself and what I’ve come to is this: If I had known then what I
know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again,
and I will not work for him again. Dylan Farrow’s
two different pieces made me realize that I increased another
woman’s pain, and I was heartbroken by that realization. I grew up on his
movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact
now, but I can make different decisions moving forward.”
Gerwig
has since received a wave of support in response, calling for others to follow
her lead and for the eloquence of the apology. She not only states she regrets
working with Allen and will never do it again, but acknowledges the pain her
actions had caused. Hopefully, this allows more actors and actresses to follow
suit, especially in order for this movement against sexual assault is to
continue.
--
Aside
from Seth Myers, who did an excellent job as host, not one male actor mentioned
the cause or spoke up for it in any acceptance speech, nor on the red carpet.
While the women of Big Little Lies, a show about sexual abuse, used all
three of their acceptance speeches to emotionally speak up against assault, and
the importance of Times Up, when Alexander Skarsgard accepted his award for
portraying a sexual abuser on the show, he made no such connection, nor uttered
a word about the brevity of the themes. Essentially, he did not read the room.
While
female solidarity is breathtaking, the onus needs to be placed more on men. So
far, no men are being held accountable to actually know anything, nor say
anything, about their complicit role in the perpetuation of sexual assault, and
the effects of their silence. On the red carpet, while the actresses tried
their best to talk about Times Up and activism during their interviews, actors
were asked about their work, not the pins on their lapels.
As a
result, James Franco wins a Golden Globe (for his portrayal of Tommy Wisseau in The Disaster Artist), while wearing a
Times Up pin, but the only woman he mentions is his mother (for giving birth to
his brother). Meanwhile, he is simultaneously called out for sexual misconduct
he has perpetuated against young women and teenage girls, on Twitter. In the
days following the award show, as these allegations resurface, Franco’s
Time Talks event has been cancelled, and he was grilled by both Stephen
Colbert and Seth Meyers while he was a guest on their talk shows. While I
appreciate the men holding him accountable, this needs to happen more often,
especially in a space such as a live interview, where they are forced to answer
for their actions. However, Colbert was vague about what this “misconduct” was
and thus it made it too easy for Franco to deny the allegations.
-
With the
next major awards ceremony, the Screen Actors Guild awards next week,
it will be interesting to see if this fervor sticks, and as Awards Season and
the year progresses, if the Times Up movement will fizzle away.
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Cause a Cine do not own any of the images used in this post.
