By: Stephen Hladik

Last night’s 75th annual Golden Globes was a historic evening, and not just for it’s 75th birthday. The awards dually served to honor the best of film and television in 2017 and as a protest for sexual harassment and assault, discrimination, and imbalance of power. In the months since the Weinstein scandal broke and over a hundred more men have been taken down for sexual harassment and assault, no more so in the entertainment industry, many Hollywood women have been standing up and speaking not only about their own stories, but how they can bring about change for women worldwide.

 A few weeks ago, it was announced that actresses would be wearing black in protest, and on January 1st, the Times Up initiative and legal defense fund was announced, created by over 300 Hollywood women and activists. TimesUp pins were donned by man throughout the ceremony, a #why wewearblack was created for people at the ceremony and at home to discuss why they are choosing to wear black in solidarity with survivors. Going in, the tone for the evening was pretty charged. For the most part, it made for a moving and special evening. Women dominated the night, with all of the major series and movie awards going to female-led projects. 

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" won four prizes, including Best Film Drama and Best Actress Drama for Frances McDormand, who delivered a rousing speech. "Lady Bird" won those same two awards on the comedy side with Saoirse Ronan picking up Best Actress Comedy and Greta Gerwig one of the few female directors to direct a Best Film winner (despite being snubbed in the Best Director category.) Natalie Portman delivered a brilliant zinger regarding the all-male Best Director categories, while many women throughout the night brought up issues of inequality and injustice. "Big Little Lies", "The Handmaids Tale," and "The Marvelous Ms. Maisel" took home multiple prizes, including Best Miniseries/TV Movie, Best TV Drama, Best TV Comedy, with it’s actors Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Alexander Skarsgard for BLL, Elisabeth Moss for Handmaid’s, and Rachel Brosnahan for Maisel all winning acting prizes.

But perhaps no moment was more talked about or lauded then Oprah Winfrey’s beautiful Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award speech. Oprah’s speech covered everything from Sidney Poitier being the first black man to win an Oscar, to the protection of journalists, to the harrowing story of Recy Taylor, and she delivered each moment with precision, clarity, and emotion. It was the highlight of the night, and has some people already talking (and wishing) for an Oprah 2020 presidential run.

A highlight of the night outside of the ceremony was a red carpet moment where eight actresses brought real life activists as their guests and many others called out issues and spoke about the MeToo movement during their interview time. An article from the LA Times listed the actresses and their corresponding guests:

These women did a fantastic job on the red carpet, using their platform to help center these women and their causes and focusing the questions back to the MeToo movement and the Time's Up initiative. Debra Messing also received praise for calling out E! not paying former correspondent Catt Sadler as much as her male counterparts, while being interviewed on the E! Network.

Not surprisingly, not one male winner or interview used their time to discuss MeToo, and some of them seemed almost confused as to why they were being asked questions about it in the first place. Regardless of this expected male stupidity, last night’s Golden Globes offered a glimpse of what the future can look like, not just for Hollywood, but around the country.