At the Golden Globes, Calls to End a Culture and History of Silence
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For many during this marquee stop in the film awards season, both the red carpet outside and the winner’s stage inside were public venues to make clear their vital support of those risking careers and livelihoods to end harassment and abuse in the workplace.
Of note were words shared by Laura Dern on efforts against normalizing silence, Guillermo Del Toro on the ability of film to save lives, and Oprah Winfrey on the dawning of a new day.
“To David E Kelley, our superhero, who took Liane’s words and gave me particularly the most outrageous complicated woman, and a terrified mother. Terrified because her little girl was being abused and bullied and she was too afraid to speak up. Many of us were taught not to tattle. It was a culture of silencing and that was normalized.
“I urge all of us to not only support survivors and bystanders who are brave enough to tell their truth, but to promote restorative justice. May we also please protect and employ them. May we teach our children that speaking out without fear of retribution is our culture's new North Star.”
“Since childhood I’ve been faithful to monsters — I have been saved and absolved by them. Because monsters, I believe, are patron saints of our blissful imperfection.
“For 25 years I have handcrafted very strange little tales, made of motion, color, life, and shadow. And in many of these instances — in three precise instances — these strange stories, these fables have saved my life.”
“In 1982, Sidney [Poitier] received the Cecil B DeMille award right here at the Golden Globes, and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award.
“In my career, what I’ve always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how .... we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere, and how we overcome. I’ve interviewed and portrayed people who’ve withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning, even during our darkest nights.
“So I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.”
