CGTN America
This image released by NBC shows Meryl Streep accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC via AP)
The sunny musical “La La Land” may have danced its way to a Golden Globes record Sunday night, but the film’s seven accolades were a mere sideshow to honoree Meryl Streep, whose speech encapsulated the evening’s prevailing themes of hope, inclusivity and action over anger about the imminent presidency of Donald Trump.
CGTN’s May Lee reports on the nights winner’s and losers.
“You and all of us in this room really belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now,” Streep said. “Think about it, Hollywood, foreigners, and the press.”
Without even mentioning Trump by name, Streep, in accepting the year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, eviscerated the President-elect’s use of his power and rank in the mocking of a disabled New York Times reporter on the campaign trail this year.
“When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose,” Streep said, imploring those in the room to remember “the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy” and also the vital role of the press in holding “power to account.”
On Twitter early Monday, Trump again denied mocking the reporter and took shots of his own at Streep, calling her “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood” and “a Hillary flunky who lost big.”
Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn’t know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never “mocked” a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
“groveling” when he totally changed a 16 year old story that he had written in order to make me look bad. Just more very dishonest media!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
As expected the joyous Los Angeles-set musical “La La Land” swept the awards, winning all of its leading seven nominations including
Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle all spoke of the film’s hopeful message of pursuing dreams despite obstacles. The escapism of “La La Land” was contrasted with the realism of Barry Jenkins’ coming-of-age drama “Moonlight,” which won its only award of the night for best motion picture drama, possibly foreshadowing an ideological showdown between the two very different films at the Oscars, whose nominations are announced on Jan. 24.
While “Moonlight” didn’t shine as brightly as expected at the Globes, just one year after a second-straight season of “OscarsSoWhite” protests, the night was notable for the widespread diversity of its winners, in film and TV. Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” won best comedy series over heavyweights like “Veep” and “Transparent” and later added best actor in a comedy.
“I really want to thank Atlanta and all the black folks in Atlanta,” said a stunned-looking Glover.
Tracee Ellis Ross, accepting the award for best actress in a TV comedy for “Black-ish,” dedicated her award to “all of the women of color and colorful people whose stories, ideas, thoughts are not always considered worthy and valid and important.”
“I want you to know that I see you, we see you,” said Ross, who was the first black woman to win in the category since Debbie Allen in 1982.
Viola Davis, who won the best supporting actress award for Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences,” said that Wilson’s words and subjects were so important to her because “very seldom does the average person get their due, especially people of color.”
Davis continued what appears to be a certain path to the Oscar. Another favorite, Casey Affleck, also padded his favorite status. The “Manchester by the Sea” star took best actor.
Backstage, however was a different story. Davis, wondered what Trump’s Presidency says about Americans.
“There is no way that we can have anyone in office who is not an extension of our own belief system,” Davis said. “What does that say about us? I think if you can answer that question, it says it all.”
Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, whose controversial “Elle” won best foreign language film and a best actress in a drama award for star Isabelle Huppert, said that he’s very scared for the presidency.
In television, as expected, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” took best miniseries, as well as an award for Sarah Paulson. And Netflix’s Elizabeth II series “The Crown” won both best drama series and best actress in a drama series for Claire Foy.
The ceremony included a memorial reel, which was added following the recent deaths of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, who were laid to rest Friday in Los Angeles. Streep quoted the latter to end her speech.
Quoting Fisher, Streep said: “Take your broken heart, make it into art.”
Story by The Associated Press
