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During the Sunday Night’s broadcast, the hosts of the Golden Globes, HFPA addressed their concern about the lack of black members in HFPA. As there are zero black members among the 87 representatives of the HFPA.
There has been a number of questions being raised, on why does the group of international journalists, who tend to vote for one of the most important awards has been working without a single black member on board, for the last 20 years?
Former president of HFPA Meher Tatna said: “Everyone from all underrepresented communities (should) get a seat at our table, and we are going to make that happen.”
Jenny Cooper, an HFPA member, in an interview with an Australian morning show, that was conducted right after the Golden Globes awards, said: “The lack of Black members was not really anything we focused on.”
She continued with an explanation saying, that the group includes people of color from different countries, like Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines, and “we didn’t really consider (the lack of Black member) a problem”.
A joke was made about HFPA by the hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, who said, “made up of 90 international, non-Black members”. Moreover, they said that the movie “Soul” was resonated with HFPA because the storyline was about a black man who is stuck in a cat’s body and “the HFPA has five cat members.”
The discussion got on fire in a matter of hours and everyone needed answers. It was time for HFPA to answer.
Vice president of HFPA Helen Hoehne, during a live presentation, said, “We celebrate the work of artists from around the globe. We recognize we have our own work to do. Black representation is vital. We must have black journalists in our organization.”
In a social media post, the presenter of Golden Globes, Ava DuVernay gave a statement and said, “Many artists who’ve made strong work this year are being amplified on tonight’s show. I’m proudly introducing Hamilton to applaud the artistry of Lin-Manuel (Miranda) and the whole cast and crew. To be clear, pressure applied to the Globes and its partners from now on isn’t about validation or shiny things from this particular group.
The truth that’s not often discussed is that awards play a part in the economic reality of Black filmmakers, artists of color, and women creators in this business. Unfortunately, these shiny things matter to those who finance, greenlight, produce, distribute and market our projects. Therefore, everyone must have balanced access and consideration so that the playing field can be more equitable for artists of all kinds, colors, and cultures.”
This statement was posted right after the backlash from several organizations, which were giving statements about the lack of Black people in HFPA. Everyone is realizing how films like “The Butler” have been completely ignored in the Golden Globes awards.
It’s time for HFPA to make some effort and bring some changes. Black people have the same rights as anyone else, so appropriate changes are a must.
Maryamm Moor
Sources: LA Times, Ew, NBC News
