Like many years, the 2024 Golden Globes had high expectations. With a comeback from a financial scandal and controversy over lack of diversity, the Golden Globes was aiming for its best year yet. Although many left the night with smiling, happy faces, others left with frowns and disappointment. And not because they didn’t win their category.

The 2024 Golden Globes took place on Jan. 7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Starting the night off with a red carpet, fans saw some of the biggest stars in the world at the event: Taylor Swift, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Meryl Streep, Florence Pugh, Cillian Murphy, and more. There were 1,400 guests in attendance, drawing 9.4 million fans watching.

Oprah Winfrey strutted the carpet with a purple Louis Vuitton dress, a nod at her role as the producer in The Color Purple. Barbie’s Margot Robbie expectedly wore hot pink, with co-star Ryan Gosling wearing a simple black Gucci suit. Meryl Streep, with over 33 nominations over her career, wore a shimmering Valentino skirt-suit.

“I loved seeing all of the outfits on social media! My favorites were Margot Robbie wearing Barbie pink, and Saltburn’s Barry Koeghan wearing a full red suit,” said Arcadia High School (AHS) sophomore Dolliah Bedjakian.

Once the awards commenced, nominees anxiously waited for their category to be announced. Lily Gladstone won Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, making history as the first Indigenous person to win in the category. Receiving a standing ovation, she spoke a few lines in the Blackfeet language and dedicated her award to every “reservation kid” with a dream, in hopes of encouraging a new generation of aspiring Indigenous actors.

The “Barbenheimer” face-off reemerged during the event, with Oppenheimer winning five awards: Best Drama, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Score. Barbie was the most nominated film of the night, only winning two awards: Best Blockbuster and Best Song.

Bedjakian recalled watching the awards show on TV, stating “I was expecting Barbie to win a lot more. I was really surprised to see they won only one for the movie itself, and not in one of the main categories of the night.”

Another large category was Best Television Series, with drama Succession winning the category over The Crown and The Last of Us. Best Female Performance in a Musical or Comedy went to Poor Thing’s Emma Stone, beating out actresses such as Natalie Portman in May December and Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings.

Part of the reason why the 2024 Golden Globes were held to such a high standard was due to their new host: Jo Koy, Filipino-American comedian. As only the second Asian American to host the Golden Globes (after Sandra Oh in 2019), high hopes were crushed from his opening monologue. His jokes fell short with the crowd, with cameras panning into stoic faces from the audience. One bit in particular was about Taylor Swift. Koy joked about how there were fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes than at the N.F.L., where Swift is seen cheering on Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs. The camera then panned to an unamused Swift, seen sipping a drink with pursed lips. Upon seeing her reaction, Koy proceeded to say, “Sorry about that.”

The most controversial joke of the night was at Barbie’s expense, with social media criticizing his remarks as “sexist” and “disgusting”. Koy objectified the Barbie doll, saying she is just a plastic doll and emphasized her body parts. The camera panned to Barbie director Greta Gerwig, seen with a confused look. In Koy’s defense, Gerwig later came out to say that he is right after all, with a laugh.

Junior Kyra Chang looks back on the show, stating that, “The joke was insensitive. Koy clearly didn’t get the meaning of the movie Barbie, which was about fighting the patriarchy and objectifying women. There were a lot of better jokes he could have made.”

There is no doubt that this year’s Golden Globes was filled with controversy and disappointment, but also with joy and hope. We can only wish for a successful awards season for the remainder of the year!

Photo courtesy of WIKIMEDIA COMMONS