Golden Globes: Oprah’s Night — Alas
Yes, I admire the success Oprah has achieved, enormously, and she has touched the lives of millions. But her brand of materialist uplift posing as spiritual uplift has always struck me as seriously phony. And her messianic complex also fails to convince me of her fitness to be President — a thought that was very much in the air last night after her Golden Globes speech was roundly acclaimed in the media as “stirring” or “rousing” or “inspiring.” (Not surprising that Trump’s name was largely uninvoked during the show: he’s not funny anymore and our movements for social change have to press on without him.) Oprah is at heart a preacher, and, deeply suspicious of all things religious, I cannot add my voice to the chorus of huzzahs this morning. As for the rest of the Globes: “Big Little Lies” deservedly took home many prizes. I’m not a fan of “Three Billboards”: once again, a white character’s racism — the cop played by Sam Rockwell, who
won a Globe — is used as part of a redemption narrative, at the expense of the badly treated black characters. I was thrilled to see “Lady Bird” have a good night: will the Oscars dare not to nominate its director, Greta Gerwig? As for the acceptance speeches, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern, both of “Big Little Lies,” were inspiring. And Seth Myers’s opening monologue was amusing and well-pitched to our #metoo moment.
