vendredi 3 février 2017
The Trump Administration Is Causing an Unstoppable Ripple Through Hollywood
Image Source: Getty / Toby Canham
By now, it's no secret that Hollywood has given award season a political tint. We're got some of the biggest ceremonies of the industry under our belt (with the Oscars still on the horizon, of course), and it seems like every show is more political than the last. It should also come as no surprise that the primary impetus for the movement comes from the election of President Donald Trump and the avalanche of worrying executive orders that accompanied his first couple of weeks in office.
The real question is, what triggered this swell of political commentary in the first place? It might just have been the very moment that Trump became president-elect that guaranteed this kind of Hollywood blowback. After all, celebrities began opposing Donald Trump directly after the election and well ahead of award season. It is possible, though, that award season offered the perfect platform to speak out at the perfect time. You could argue that Meryl Streep's Donald Trump call-out at the Golden Globes marked the moment award season irrevocably became politically charged. Or maybe it was the burst of energy that came from the Women's March on Washington that had an all-bets-off effect, thus making the SAG Awards the season's most political show yet. Regardless of how we arrived here, it's worth looking into some of the different ways this unrest has manifested in award season so far and the true irony of the fact that the Hollywood "circus" has shined a spotlight on a very real and present issue.
The Critics' Choice Awards were technically the first award show of the season, but they happened in December. They fell shortly after the election, and the lack of explicit commentary might be blamed on the fact that everyone was still numb from the results. At the beginning of January, the Golden Globes marked a more official kickoff. The night was certainly sprinkled with plenty of political jokes from host Jimmy Fallon and a few select winners. Then, of course, there was Streep's speech, which not only inspired a collective hush in the room but also elicited an obviously bitter tweet from Trump himself. Once we got to the Screen Actors Guild Awards at the end of January, though, Hollywood stopped holding back.
The SAG Awards swept through LA on Jan. 29, and there was no shortage of moments that directly or indirectly took on Donald Trump. On the red carpet, Simon Helberg and his wife made a statement about refugees. During the show, Ashton Kutcher called Trump out on his immigration ban, Julia Louis-Dreyfus filled her acceptance speech with Trump burns, and actor David Hopper seized Stranger Things' win as an opportunity to give an inspiring speech about acceptance and unity. Even in the press room backstage, stars gave a political twist to their Q&A sessions. Sarah Paulson in particular spoke about how crucial it is for actors to speak out.
Image Source: Getty / Ralf Hirschberger
Now that February has arrived, we've still got two of the biggest award shows ahead. The Grammys are sure to be ripe with political commentary; music is historically used to enact change, to protest, and to make a statement, political or otherwise. In the realm of the Oscars, what started as last year's #OscarsSoWhite controversy has grown into something else. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has already vowed not to go because of the president's recent immigration ban. Furthermore, while this year's diverse list of nominees may or may not have been a byproduct of last year's complaints, the remarkable amount of inclusion will only serve to strengthen sentiments that undermine Donald Trump. This powder keg will only get closer to exploding as the days roll on.
Here's where the irony comes in: if anything, Hollywood and popular culture have always been seen as a distraction from the tragic events of the real world. Over time, the general population has collectively created a divide between "hard" news and celebrity news. Now, it seems like this award season in particular has become a large vessel for opposing Trump. Consider the subversion of the Golden Globe Awards: the first ceremony was held in 1944 in an effort to distract Americans from World War II. In 2017, the Globes were part of the incendiary force that mobilized Hollywood and set the trend for actors to take sides, speak out, and stand up for what they believe in. This very "distraction" has put our attention right where it needs to be: back on President Donald Trump.
Articles
0 comments:
Enregistrer un commentaire