WENN
Last night was the first major awards show of the season, the Golden Globes.
While the night included winners and losers, snubs and surprises and the best and worst in fashion, the real stars of the night were cohosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Walking the red carpet before the Golden Globes began, Seth Myers, who helped the cohosts with some of their jokes, said:
Every time we pointed out [a joke might be] over the line, they say, ‘What are they gonna do, fire us?’ They’re dangerous ladies when it comes to comedy.
After the opening 10-minute monologue during their last outing as Golden Globes hosts, it was clear Myers was right: Fey and Poehler were dangerous, but for all the right reasons.
Their jokes were never cruel or mean-spirited toward anyone in the room, unlike previous hosts. Instead, the dynamic duo offered brilliant, sly commentary on what exactly is wrong in the world today.
Dealing with controversial topics like North Korea, race issues within the US and, of course, Bill Cosby, Fey and Poehler brought thoughtful criticism to issues that seem to be continually swept under the rug by Hollywood and certain news outlets.
So, here are all the times Tina and Amy gloriously owned the Golden Globes:
1. “Tonight, we celebrate all the movies that North Korea was okay with.”
By now, everyone has heard North Korea threatened attacks if Sony Pictures decided to release “The Interview,” a comedy about two journalists trying to assassinate Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un. Sony Pictures, after days of deliberation, decided to pull the movie from theaters days before it was supposed to premiere.
“The Interview” was an issue of national security, and it became an even bigger issue regarding free speech. Sony set in place a dangerous precedent that allowed a dictator to impose censorship within our own country.
While Sony eventually relented and released the film to select theaters and on-demand options, the studio and the industry did their best, “nothing to see here, move along” impressions they could.
They wanted this whole scandal to blow over as quickly and quietly as possible, and it seemed like it was starting to go away, until Tina and Amy brought it up again.
Last night, the Golden Globes did celebrate all the movies that did not get censored by North Korea. More importantly, though, the two used their right to free speech to lampoon North Korea and its dictator, everything they were afraid “The Interview” would do.
The joke is on North Korea because, although the movie was panned by critics and audiences alike, Tina and Amy’s hosting of the Globes has received nothing by raves.
2. “’Boyhood’ proves that there are still great roles for women over 40 as long as you get hired when you’re under 40.”
A week ago, Russell Crowe spoke to the media about women aging in Hollywood saying,
To be honest, I think you’ll find that the woman who is saying that [the roles have dried up] is the woman who at 40, 45, 48, still wants to play the ingénue, and can’t understand why she’s not being cast as the 21-year-old.
Meryl Streep will give you 10,000 examples and arguments as to why that’s bull, so will Helen Mirren, or whoever it happens to be.
Aging in Hollywood is an issue that has been debated by many for years now. While women hail it as a major issue, certain men don’t take the issue seriously.
Why else would Crowe feel the need to even bring up the issue at all? His notions regarding women are completely insulting to actresses and all females alike.
His comments, however, didn’t receive too much backlash. Only one actress, Jessica Chastain, publicly declared his comments wrong. That’s it — one actress in all of Hollywood.
She responded by saying,
There are some incredible actresses in their 50s and 60s that are not getting opportunities in films, and for someone to say there are plenty of roles for women that age … [that] is not someone who’s going to the movie theater.
By Tina and Amy bringing this issue up, they not only acknowledge the double standard within the industry, but also show support and solidarity with Chastain in telling Crowe he was wrong.
3. “George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an adviser to Kofi Annan regarding Syria, and was selected for a three-person UN commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award… Hollywood.”
Amal Alamuddin is quite frankly one of the most important, intelligent, hard-working, beautiful women in the world right now. She has fought for children’s and women’s rights all across the globe, and I probably would never have heard of her had she not married George Clooney.
As Tina and Amy rightfully acknowledge all of Alamuddin’s accomplishments, they then gleefully announce that it is her husband who will be honored tonight for his lifetime of achievement.
As the audience roared with laughter, Tina and Amy just shrugged, as if to say, “It’s Hollywood, what can you do?”
Though it was a funny joke and Clooney and Alamuddin probably found it the funniest, it does shine light on a major problem: Our wold is becoming increasingly more obsessed with pop culture and celebrities and less entranced with real people who are making a difference.
That is, of course, the very idea of Hollywood, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
The only way things can change, and we can learn to honor Amal Alamuddin for her accomplishments and not for the person to whom she is married, is for us to talk about this subject and acknowledge it as a problem. That’s exactly what Tina and Amy did.
4. “But the movie ‘Selma’ is about the American Civil Rights Movement, that totally worked and now everything is fine.”
With the recent events stemming and culminating from a long and sordid history, racial tension in the United States has never been more topical for our generation.
The deaths of black men Eric Garner and Michael Brown by white police officers was horrific, especially when a white jury decided both times that there was not enough evidence to bring those officers to trial.
People like to believe that since we, as a society, have advanced since MLK’s time, race isn’t an issue. Surely, since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, everything is okay. But, race is still 100 percent an issue in America today.
When Amy and Tina delivered their sarcastic joke about how everything is fine since the Civil Rights Movement, the camera cut to the “Selma” table for the stars’ reactions. David Oyelowo and Oprah were howling with laughter and applauding.
Hollywood itself is still having issues with race and representation on film and television, so it’s about time someone stood up and acknowledged it.
5. “In ‘Into the Woods,’ Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from a tower for her prince and Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby.”
By now, everyone has heard of the Bill Cosby rape allegations scandal. Dozens upon dozens of women have come forward claiming Cosby drugged and raped them. While he has yet to be tried in a court of law (and won’t be because of the statue of limitations), it’s become increasingly more difficult to believe Cosby is innocent.
However, the entertainment industry has remained cautious when dealing with this scandal. While episodes of his famed television show have been pulled and plans for a new television show have been nixed, it has been few and far between in the entertainment industry who have come to reprimand Cosby.
Several celebrities have come forward and showed support for Cosby, but only one man, Judd Apatow, has been slamming Cosby and supporting the women that came forward.
Last night, though, the industry was forced to acknowledge the big Bill Cosby scandal when Tina and Amy dropped this joke about the comedian. They then went on to impersonate Cosby in the best/worst impressions imaginable. In that moment they gave credence to all those women who came foward.
All hail Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the queens of free speech.
Read more: http://elitedaily.com/entertainment/film/5-times-tina-amy-perfectly-nailed-whats-wrong-world/874935/
Click here for reuse options!Copyright 2018 Social Zazz