I have a bone to pick with the Hollywood Foreign Press, the folks behind the Golden Globes. Their 69th Annual Golden Globes show was held this past Sunday and once again two incredibly deserving comedians and actresses were shutout, left without a trophy. When Tina Fey and Amy Poehler go up against each other in a category, the results lately have been that both go home empty handed, which seems to be a major miscarriage of justice.
“30 Rock” and “Parks and Recreation” are two of the funniest shows on television. What makes them even more noteworthy is that both shows are headed up by strong female characters, oh and they’re hilarious too! The shows star Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) and Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”) as the central characters, exposing their strengths and weaknesses while consistently delivering smart, funny laughs week after week.
Critics like me have lauded both shows as proof that when the writing and acting is solid, of course women can keep up in the traditionally male-dominated field of comedy. Both shows are also of a high-enough caliber to have been nominated for several awards from Emmys to People Choice to The Golden Globes. Undoubtedly both shows deserve all the praise they garner. The problem lies in the fact that there’s only one award to give, and so voters are forced to choose between Fey and Poehler, and that’s just not fair to either of them, or to the voters.
What has ended up happening is that both stars have been cheated out of taking home very prestigious awards because they end up splitting the vote, and another actress takes home the prize. This is not to take anything away from the women who are actually winning the awards. Yet the result is still that both Tina and Amy have been left in the dark ever since “Parks and Recreation” hit the air.
A new system is needed, and I have one to propose. Every year, the people who put together the nominations for the major award shows need to pick either Amy or Tina to nominate. They can keep trading off until one show leaves the air, or one star leaves her show. Time is finite, let’s make a change for good, shall we, Hollywood Foreign Press?