The Golden Globes are one of the major movie and TV awards on the international scene, right behind the Oscars. Almost every year, the awards surprise us with their innovative sustainability initiatives. In 2020, the ceremony’s menu became fully vegan and gave space to environmental activists.
Sustainability at the 2024 Golden Globes flew under the radar, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. Let’s look at all the ways sustainability won at this year’s Awards.
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ gets 7 nominations, 1 award
Martin Scorsese’s 2023 feature film “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a difficult and tragic story of greed, racism, and environmental injustice. Set in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, the movie centers on the conspiracy to steal the legal rights to the region’s oil-rich land from the native population.
The movie was nominated for seven awards, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Motion Picture Drama. It won one: Best Drama Actress, awarded to Lily Gladstone. Of course, even one Golden Globe is an incredible achievement.
In her award acceptance speech, Gladstone made it clear why this award and movie are so important.
Lily Gladstone’s speech at the Golden Globes
In what has been called a historic speech, Gladstone, the star of “Killer of the Flower Moon,” gave her acceptance speech for Best Actress in Blackfoot language. Gladstone, a Native American who grew up on the reservation of the Blackfeet Nation, dedicated her award to “every little rez kid [and] every little urban kid.”
The star touched on some of the issues that have plagued the film industry until recently. In her speech, she mentions a particularly heinous practice:
“[In] this business native actors used to speak their lines in English, then the sound mixers would run them backwards to accomplish native language on camera.”
Criticism of ‘Killer of the Flower Moon’
Not everyone was a fan of Scorsese’s latest movie. Most importantly, some Colorado Osages, the group at the receiving end of the movie’s action, weren’t very positive about it.
For one, they argue that the movie should have considered the native perspective more. Some say, perhaps correctly, that focusing the story on DiCaprio’s character was a marketing decision. But this means that, as long as there are no ultra-famous native actors, there will be no native protagonists in cinema.
This creates a vicious cycle. Minorities are never at the center of their own stories but rather maintain a marginal role even in those films. This keeps them in the shadows, ensuring they will never be famous enough to take on a leading role in a major picture.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a scathing criticism of colonialist violence caused by oil greed. It follows its consequences in the decades to come and does this while referencing real events. Most appreciate the movie for this, but some are let down by its unwillingness to focus on an Indigenous protagonist and break the cycle.
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Natalie Portman talks about sustainable clothes
Natalie Portman is a bonified sustainability icon. Many know about her vegan diet and frugal lifestyle, but her work in sustainable fashion isn’t as well-known. She wore a handmade Dior dress at the awards, taking the opportunity to talk about her investments in fashion:
“I actually invest in a company called MycoWorks that produces mushroom leather, which a lot of luxury brands are now using.”
MycoWorks has recently opened its first factory, scaling up production of its plastic-free leather alternative.
The other Natalie Portman Golden Globe speech
Of course, it’s hard to talk about Portman at the Golden Globes without mentioning her famous “speech” from 2018. Chances are, you’ve heard about this one already, but let’s go over it again.
In 2018, fresh off her role in Annihilation, Portman was offered to present the Best Director award. And so she did, introducing the “all-male” lineup of nominees.
On the one hand, this short speech highlights why those events are important. They can be a powerful tool to kickstart a discussion among the broader public. On the other hand, it’s just really satisfying to hear her say it.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: Martin Scorsese in stage talks to members of the Osage people. Featured Photo Credit: Ralph_PH.
