Awards Night

Apparently tonight is when the Golden Globe Awards are given away. Even if I had access the right  television station - I would not watch the show. I have never found either the Golden Globe Awards or their slightly larger counterpart - the Academy awards to be that interesting. I do appreciate that hundreds of thousands of people around the English speaking world find the shows interesting entertainment and that for the performers that are being recognized - it is important if for no other reason than award can validate an increased pay check on their next project. But what I do find interesting is the comments from the performers as to the validity of the awards given the lack of diversity within the field and the amount of sexual abuse that has tainted the profession.

Both issues are valid and both should be addressed by everyone associated with those industries - including those who watch the movies or shows. However, it seems to me that the people who are complaining about the limitations of the environments they work in are the very ones who have the power to change how the movie/television industry  functions. For example the individuals who have come forward in the past few months alleging sexual assault from co-workers and directors all have said that they did not report it when it was occurring because they were afraid of what would happen to their careers if they did so. I suspect those professional were absolutely correct in making that assumption. It would appear that actors are as self-centred and as aggressive about their careers as any other profession and many would have no difficulty in replacing another person regardless of why they were deemed to not be suitable. If however, no actor applied for that newly opened position - the movie/show would not go on.  Entire productions would stop until the issue was addressed. I think part of the solution is for members of the actors union to start acting like union members first. If a member alleges assault and then loses their job - then a grievance gets filed and no member of that union applies for that job. That may sound incredibly harsh for everyone to put their jobs on the line to support a fellow union member but it has happened before with great success. Not quickly but changes did occur when union members have place the collective good above their own.

The fact that Canadians only work a 40 hour week, that there are rules as to how employers treat their employees, that there are paid vacations and that the employer must protect employee safety are all the result of workers refusing to work until their place of work became safer etc. Workers and their families went through incredible hardships to get what we now call rights. While no individual actor should have to feel afraid, the collective power of all of their peers could not only support them, but could also ensure that no one else was exposed to those types of action until the issue was addressed. I have no doubt that the corporations behind the productions would move quickly to resolve issues if they were about to lose money. It is great when actors say that they believe their peers who are now more forth coming about the abuse they have faced, but those actors need to be prepared to put their money and their careers on the line much earlier.

I am sure that numerous presenters of the awards tonight (and those who are receiving them) will rant about the abusive system they work in. I wonder how many of them will put their careers on hold to fight that abuse in the future? They may not be responsible for the abuse - but up to now,  they also have not been part of the solution.