The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has made a controversial decision about which categories A24’s new family drama Minari will be allowed to compete in for the 2021 Golden Globes. Though studios are allowed to choose which categories that their films are submitted for, the 89 journalists from around the world are the ones who choose whether or not to accept them. Unfortunately, they’ve decided that since Minari is primarily in Korean, it will not be allowed to compete in either of the regular Best Picture categories and will only be accepted in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Variety confirmed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided to keep Minari from competing for either Best Motion Picture – Drama or Best Motion Picture – Comedy. Instead, the film will only be competing in Best Foreign Language Film, though stars Steven Yeun and Yeri Han will still be allowed to compete in both of the lead acting categories. It’s not clear whether director Lee Isaac Chung still qualifies for Best Director or not.
Needless to say, many are upset about this decision, especially since Minari is about a Korean family trying to achieve their version of the American dream in in rural Arkansas in the 1980s, and the majority of the film being in the Korean language shouldn’t make a difference. Filmmaker Lulu Wang had to deal with the same outcome for her film The Farewell because it was mostly in Chinese, and she expressed her disappointment in this decision online:
I have not seen a more American film than #Minari this year. It's a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterizes American as only English-speaking. https://t.co/1NZbkJFE9v
— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) December 23, 2020
Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) also lashed out at the decision by the HFPA:
The film equivalent of being told to go back to your country when that country is actually America. https://t.co/kwEf8eO9v8
— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) December 23, 2020
Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu, star of Marvel’s upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, also spoke out against this decision made for the 2021 Golden Globes:
…and without spoiling anything it is a BEAUTIFUL story of an immigrant family trying to build a life from the ground up.
What could be more American than that?
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) December 23, 2020
On top of the outrage about the decision in general, it also appears to be a bit hypocritical. Many have pointed out that movies like Inglourious Basterds and Babel, which are mostly in foreign languages, were still allowed to compete in the regular Best Picture categories in their respective qualifying years at the Golden Globes. Is it because Brad Pitt appeared in both movies and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is notorious for simply wanting to glad-hand with A-list celebrities at their awards show?
This really is an outrage, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association needs to reassess how it considers films for the Golden Globes. Even without a huge star attached, you would think the foreign press would want to champion a film like Minari as much as they can. Regardless, the Golden Globes don’t mean nearly as much as the Academy Awards, and the voting body is so small that it’s not even an accurate reflection of how the industry at large feels about the movies being nominated. It’s just unfortunate that a movie like Minari will get less attention during awards season due to antiquated regulations for awards nominations.
Minari has a limited theatrical release right now, but will be given a wide release on February 12, 2021.
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