Meryl Streep delivered a now iconic speech during the acceptance of the Cecil B. Demille award at the Golden Globes. The speech addressed several aspects of the United States’ current political climate, with a particular focus on the importance of defending journalism. The Golden Globes this year seemed to be dominated by more political tension than usual, as is to be expected at this point of time. But the combination of politics and award shows is a long-established tradition in Hollywood. Last year, there was additional political tension at the Oscars, due to the lack of diversity among the nominees. Overall, there is a pattern of combining Hollywood’s biggest nights with the current political climate.
This pattern tends to annoy some viewers of these highly anticipated award shows. However, award shows are an excellent opportunity for Hollywood’s elite to have the uninterrupted attention of millions of viewers. The opportunity is simply too good to pass up when you have too good a cause to speak for. Once Leonardo DiCaprio finally took home his Oscar last year, even his speech skewed attention toward the pressing urgency of climate change. In DiCaprio’s case, the issue of climate change is in direct relation to the thematic material of The Revenant, the film for which DiCaprio won the Oscar for best actor in a leading role. However, politically minded speeches at award shows are often not related to the winner’s creative work.
This seems to be the issue that causes viewers’ annoyance with political commentary during award shows. Viewers tune into award shows to see performers and creators get acknowledgment for their excellent work. The film industry is meant to entertain us, to delight our fancies, to provide some escapism from the mundane drudgery of real life. This entertainment can be dark and thought-provoking, but the entertainment business’ ultimate goal is to entertain. The problem with political speeches during award shows is that it distracts from the winner’s accomplishments. And the distraction that these political speeches provides is not always a positive one. People who would rather put the horrors of their nation’s political climate out of their mind by watching hours of television dedicated to the entertainment business are often disappointed by award shows.
Jimmy Kimmel’s performance as host of the 2017 Oscars, despite the debacle that was the announcement of best picture, demonstrates an excellent way to balance politics’ presence at award shows. Kimmel frequently mentioned President Trump throughout the show, but he kept the focus of his political comments on humor. Every political joke or comment he made was simply entertaining. Kimmel went so far as to send a tweet to President Trump’s infamously inflammatory twitter account. This kind of light-hearted connection to the nation’s political climate is much more palatable to a broader range of viewers. This seems to be the best way to approach combining politics and award shows, as the two clearly cannot be separated. And it is not necessarily important that they be separated. The voices of celebrities can be incredibly influential towards evoking real, positive change. Ashton Kutcher’s latest testimony against the horrors of human trafficking is an excellent example of the ways that Hollywood elite can use their public attention to do great things. But during award season, Jimmy Kimmel’s example of laughing through the political pain is a preferable method for the sake of viewers nationwide.
