Africa to the world! That’s one statement that keeps proving relevant, as the continent gets more international exposure and recognition. The Golden Globes, after taking a year off due to controversies about inclusion and diversity by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, returned to screens in the early hours of this morning, January 11, for the 80th edition of the prestigious awards.
The awards show was hosted by 35-year-old comedian Jerrod Carmichael, who started his monologue with “I’m here because I’m black”, and then went on to address reasons why the awards show didn’t show last year, and also joked about how he got called to host the awards show, saying “One minute you’re making mint tea at home, the next, you’re invited to be the black face of an embattled white organisation”.
He further congratulated the 6 new black members that had been added to the HFPA voting committee.
There were 27 award categories this year, and among the list of winners were:
1. Best Motion Picture
Winner – The Fabelmans
2. Best Director
Winner – Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
3. Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner – Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
4. Best Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
Winner: Abbott Elementary
5. Best Television Series – Drama
Winner: House Of The Dragon
6.Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Winner: Kevin Costner, Yellowstone
7. Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Winner: Zendaya, Euphoria
8. Best Performance By An Actor In A Limited Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Winner: Evan Peters, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
As you might imagine, the win that really stood out for us was Angela Bassett’s, “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role”, for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This is not just because she’s African-American, but because of the joint effort that it took for the black community, in America and in Africa as well, to bring the film to life.
As we know, the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever said they drew inspiration from Africa when it came to playing their characters in the sequel. Winston Duke particularly was inspired by the Igbo community in Nigeria, on which he modelled M’baku’s character.
Black Panther didn’t leave Africa’s involvement as just a source of inspiration but also premiered the movie in Africa’s most populous city – Lagos, Nigeria.
The soundtrack album – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music from and Inspired By, which is available for streaming across major digital platforms, has predominantly African artists like Nigeria’s Burna Boy, Rema, Tems, Ckay and Fireboy; and South Africa’s DBN Gogo, Sino Msolo, Kamo Mphela, Young Stunna and Busiswa. Other acts on the project with African heritage include British-Ghanaian rapper Stormzy and Nigerian-American hiphop artist Tobe Nwigwe.
All of this inclusion of the African continent by Director Ryan Coogler mainly goes to show that the Golden Globes win might have been handed to Angela Bassett for her role, but indeed is a win for the entire African continent.
