HBO’s fiery and fearless I May Destroy You (created by and starring Michaela Coel) got snubbed by the Golden Globes nominations list, and while a few good things happened elsewhere on the list, there’s a lot of reasons to shake one’s head over that glaring omission. Another very good exploration of sexual consent, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman starring Carey Mulligan, did not get snubbed, and to add further insult to injury, Emily In Paris got nominated for Best Comedy. Whether or not I May Destroy You belonged in any particular category (Limited Series, Comedy, Drama) isn’t really the issue at hand, it’s more about how Emily, at best, lacked substance and how the French were not thrilled about it being an “insulting” depiction of the country.
There’s also the added aspect of Emily In Paris title character feeling like an unintended personification of white privilege, which gives the Hollywood Foreign Press Association another bad look by snubbing not only I May Destroy You but also Da 5 Bloods. What a mess, and guess what? An Emily In Paris writer, Deborah Copaken, agrees and explained why in an op-ed for The Guardian. In the first place, she’s rather stunned that Emily got nominated:
“I tried to avoid reading its criticism, but I don’t live under a rock. It never occurred to me that our show would be nominated [since it’s about] a white American selling luxury whiteness, in a pre-pandemic Paris scrubbed free of its vibrant African and Muslim communities.”
Copaken is not upset that Emily was nominated since she’ll be able to attend the ceremony, but she’s admittedly feeling “rage” over the snub issue:
“I May Destroy You was not only my favorite show of 2020. It’s my favorite show ever. It takes the complicated issue of a rape — I’m a sexual assault survivor myself — and infuses it with heart, humor, pathos and a story constructed so well, I had to watch it twice, just to understand how Coel did it… [my] excitement is now unfortunately tempered by my rage over Coel’s snub. That I May Destroy You did not get one Golden Globe nod is not only wrong, it’s what is wrong with everything.”
Those are harsh words for the HFPA, which has of course remained silent on the subject, although social media is obviously feeling much differently about the lack of recognition for Michaela Coel’s stunning and layered creation, which was one of the Best TV Shows of 2020.
(Via The Guardian)