The 2020 Golden Globes were held this past Sunday, January 5th, hosted for the 5th time by comedian Ricky Gervais. It was a night where the political and cultural discussions currently running rampant through Hollywood, and the world as a whole, were placed in the forefront of the various acceptance speeches, nominations, and monologues. 

Patricia Arquette, accepting best supporting actress in a series for “The Act” relayed in her speech, “While I love my kids so much, I beg of us all to give them a better world.” Ellen Degeneres, accepting the Carol Burnett Award recognizing a lifetime achievement in television, expressed concern for the Australian wildfires currently devastating the continent. 

Ellen was the second person to be recognized by the Carol Burnett Award, while Tom Hanks was also recognized at the Golden Globes, receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award. 

Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” was well praised, being awarded best musical or comedy, screenplay, and Brad Pitt winning best supporting actor. 

Best TV series, drama, went to HBO’s “Succession” and best TV series, musical or comedy, went to Amazon Prime’s “Fleabag.”

The award for best motion picture, drama went to “1917.” In his acceptance speech, Sam Mendes, “1917” director, seemed to touch upon the most monumental change to the film industry as of late: the introduction of streaming platforms and the praise their productions have been receiving.This sentiment seemed to be reflected in the awards distributed on Sunday; Netflix had 35 nominations, but left with only 2 wins. As Mendes accepted the award, he announced to the audience a wish for the future: “I hope this means that people will turn up and see this on the big screen, the way it was intended.”