The Golden Globes looked a little different this year compared to previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 78th Golden Globe Award Ceremony was held on Sunday, February 28. The ceremony awards American and international film creators and actors for their performances. This year’s hosts were actresses Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The ceremony was fully remote with Fey and Poehler taking the stage, socially distanced, of course. Fey hosted from the Rainbow Room located in New York City, and Poehler hosted from the Beverly Hilton Hotel located in Beverly Hills, California.

To make the best of the two hosts hosting from opposite sides of the country, the Golden Globes production created a split-screen between the different locations so it would appear that they were in the same location. The production crew also tried to make the decor of the two locations very similar to portray that the hosts were sharing the same stage. Viewers did not hold back with their criticism, with critics saying that the split-screen between the two hosts and mismatched decor made it distracting. 

Celebrities made quite the impression on the audience, as many had comical backgrounds because they were all in various locations. Celebrities dealt with another big issue: not everyone had the same memo surrounding the attire. Some were in full glam while others looked as if they were at any typical social event. 

 However, the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were not the major thing that made headlines surrounding the ceremony. The Golden Globes this year had an important call-to-action, encouraging filmmakers to continue to diversify the television and film industry. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is an organization that reports on the entertainment industry, and there is an absence of Black people on the team. This has been a topic for years, and this year celebrities took a stand and called the HFPA out for their lack of diversity. 

The HFPA addressed the issue during the ceremony. According to Variety, President Ali Sar, Vice President Helen Hoehne, and former President Meher Tatna all spoke about the issue during a brief speech. 

“On behalf of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate the work of artists from around the globe, we recognize we have our own work to do. Just like in film and television, Black representation is vital. We must have Black journalists in our organization” Hoehne said.

Tatna and Sar added comments explaining that everyone needs to be included in the organization, and they are going to work towards improvement. The HFPA wants to make diversity a common norm in the industry. These statements left many celebrities and other viewers eager to see the change that may come throughout the following years. Many say this is long overdue and it has been time. 

The evening was surrounded by the idea of making improvements and becoming better. One major breakthrough for Asian-Americans took place when film director Chloé Zhao was awarded best drama for the movie “Nomadland.” Zhao became the first Asian-American to receive this award, and the first woman in 37 years to receive it. There were also multiple Black nominees and award winners, one being the late Chadwick Boseman who won his first Golden Globe award. 

He was awarded for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” released before his passing due to cancer. Boseman was the first Black person to receive this award in close to 15 years, and he was the first Black Posthumus person to win in an acting category. His wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the award on his behalf and gave an emotional speech to viewers and audience members. 

According to CNN, Simone Ledward began the speech by thanking everyone for Boseman and said, “He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside all of us that tells you you can. That tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing at this moment in history.” The speech made many fellow nominees and other audience members emotional. 

Similar to every other award show that has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Golden Globes will be one in the books. People were able to come together despite the many challenges to appreciate the art of film and television. There is now more pressure than ever on the industry to improve, and hopefully, there will be a noticeable change next year and we will see a variety of people take the stage and working behind the scenes.