When there are awards, let there be cameras and lights. Families from across the U.S. gathered around the television, as the 78th Golden Globe awards commenced. 

Winners 

• Best Picture Drama 

• ‘Nomadland’ 

• Best Picture – Musical/Comedy 

•  Sacha Baron Cohen [‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’] 

• Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama 

• Andra Day [‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’] 

• Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama 

• Chadwick Boseman [‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’] 

• Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy 

• Rosamund Pike [‘I Care A Lot’] 

• Best Actor – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy 

• Sacha Baron Cohen [‘Borat Subsequent Film’] 

• Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture 

• Jodie Foster [‘The Mauritanian’] 

• Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture 

• Daniel Kaluuya [‘Judas and the Black Messiah’] 

• Best Director Motion Picture 

• Chloe Zhao [‘Nomadland’] 

• Best Picture – Animated 

• ‘Soul’ 

• Best Picture – Foreign Language 

• ‘Minari’ 

• Best Drama Series 

• ‘The Crown’ 

• Best Musical/Comedy Series 

• ‘Schitt’s Creek’ 

• Best Television Motion Picture 

• ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ 

• Best Actress – Television Motion Picture 

• Anya Taylor-Joy [‘The Queen’s Gambit’] 

• Best Actor – Television Motion Picture 

• Mark Ruffalo [‘I Know This Much is True’] 

• Best Television Actress – Drama Series 

• Emma Corrin [‘The Crown’] 

• Best Television Actor – Drama Series 

• Josh O’Connor [‘The Crown’] 

• Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series 

• Catherine O’Hara [‘Schitt’s Creek’] 

• Best Television Actor – Musical/Comedy Series 

• Jason Sudeikis [‘Ted Lasso’] 

• Best Supporting Actress – Television 

• Gillian Anderson [‘The Crown’] 

• Best Supporting Actor – Television 

• John Boyega [‘Small Axe’] 

The 78th Golden Globe Awards honors the best in American television of 2020, as well as film in 2020 and early 2021, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The ceremony took place on February 28, 2021, nearly two months later than normal, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema and on television. Produced by Dick Clark Productions and the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association), and aired live on NBC in the United States, this was the first bi-coastal ceremony, with Tina Fey co-hosting from The Rainbow Room in New York City, and Amy Poehler co-hosting from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. 

With four wins, ‘The Crown’ won the most awards at the ceremony, including Best Television Series – Drama. ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ won two awards each, with ‘Schitt’s Creek’ winning Best Television Series – Musical/Comedy and ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ winning Best Miniseries or Television Film.  

On the flip side of the film industry, ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’, ‘Nomadland’ and ‘Soul’ won two awards each, with ‘Nomadland’ winning Best Motion Picture – Drama and ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ winning Best Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE HEARTBREAK 

Now, it is fair to say that the Globes operated on a standard level of chaos. The first acceptance speech of the night, in which Daniel Kaluuya found himself unable to unmute his microphone and then repeatedly yelled, “You’re doing me dirty!” was a harbinger of things to come. Poehler and Fey were at times on a delay with each other, leading to awkward moments like “Ladies and gentlemen, the absolutely—NORMAN LEAR!” Microphones clipped, cameras flickered, and there were blips, echoes and freezes. Award winners were unsure of when to start speaking and when to end. The disorder was partially charming but mostly just cringe-inducing, to the point that maybe the show’s producers should have just fully embraced the chaos and hired John Wilson to mumble through the festivities. 

The trauma of this year has underscored the fundamental ridiculousness and superfluousness of awards shows. Over the past year, awards ceremonies have tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to provide escapism while simultaneously confronting the pandemic’s devastating impacts. Many statements about loss and perseverance have been delivered by celebrities in their lavish homes. However, there was nothing contrived about Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman’s speech as she accepted the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for her late husband, Chadwick Boseman. Earlier in the show, the Black Panther star had received a touching micro-tribute from a group of enthusiastic and adoring school children. And Ledward, through tears, delivered a beautiful speech that served both to honor him and to speak to the unimaginable grief hanging over many.  

“I don’t have his words,” Ledward said. “But we have to take all the moments to celebrate those we love…Hon, you keep ’em coming.” 

The great Jane Fonda won the Cecil B. DeMille Award, delivering a speech afterward that would have brought the house down, had there been a house to bring down. Her speech centered on diversity and representation in storytelling and was especially pointed in the midst of a ceremony whose awards are decided upon by a voting body (the HFPA) with no Black members (with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler also acknowledging the recent revelation that the HFPA has not had a single black member for over twenty years). 

“There’s a story we’ve been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry; a story about which voices we respect and elevate and which we tune out. A story about who’s offered a seat at the table and who is kept out of the rooms where decisions are made,” Fonda stated. “Let’s all of us make an effort to expand that tent so that everyone rises, and everyone’s story has a chance to be seen and heard… Let’s be leaders.” 

CONTROVERSIES 

The ceremony received criticism regarding certain nominations. James Corden’s nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, for his performance in ‘The Prom’ and the two nominations for ‘Emily in Paris’ have faced controversy.  

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also drew criticism for the placement of ‘Minari’ in the Best Foreign Language Film category, despite being an American film about a Korean American family, which ultimately won.  The determination that the film would be eligible for this category rather than Best Motion Picture – Drama, based on the Globes’ rule that any film with over 50% of its dialogue not in English would be considered a Foreign Language Film, invited debate.

Lulu Wang, whose film ‘The Farewell’ was subject to the same rule the previous year, wrote that “I have not seen a more American film than #Minari this year. It’s a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterize Americans as only English-speaking”.  

Author Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote that the “decision speaks powerfully to the issue of what makes something, a language or a person or a culture — foreign”. Many other filmmakers, actors, and authors, including Nia DaCosta, Daniel Dae Kim, Min Jin Lee, Franklin Leonard, Simu Liu, Phil Lord, Celeste Ng, Harry Shum Jr., and Phillipa Soo criticized the decision on similar grounds. 

Hosts Fey and Amy Poehler also acknowledged the recent revelation that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has not had a single black member for over twenty years.