Golden Globe category of ‘Minari’ causes protests

Golden Globe category of ‘Minari’ causes protests

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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association category guidelines sparked protests on Tuesday, when it was announced that “Minari” would be classified as a foreign language film for Golden Globe voters.

Directors, writers and actors, including Lulu Wang, Phil Lord, Celeste Ng and Daniel Dae Kim, condemned the organization’s longstanding policy, saying it was time to change the rule.

HFPA stipulates that, unlike Oscars, candidates for Golden Globe best drama or comedy / musical categories must present at least 50% of dialogues in English.

Just a year ago, Wang’s “The Farewell” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain And Glory” received several Golden Globe nominations, but were excluded from consideration for the main Globo awards. And despite his victory at the Academy, which made history, Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” was marginalized by HFPA guidelines.

While “Parasite” and “Minari” feature Korean-speaking characters, “Minari” centers on a family of Korean immigrants who move to a small farm in Arkansas and come from Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung. The film, from A24 and Plan B, stars Korean and Korean American actors, including Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Youn Yuh Jung, Alan Kim and Noel Kate Cho. Yeun discussed the film in Variety’s cover story released on Wednesday.

In reply to Variety’s tweeting that “Minari” will also not compete in the best picture categories, Wang spoke about the “outdated HFPA rules that characterize the American as just English”. “I haven’t seen a film more American than ‘Minari’ this year,” she wrote. “It’s a story about an immigrant family, in America, chasing the American dream.”

“Lost” star Kim also commented on how these guidelines ban Asian American stories. “The film equivalent to be told to return to your country when that country is actually America,” he wrote.

“Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu added that “‘Minari’ is an American film written and directed by an American filmmaker that takes place in America with an American actor and produced by an American producer.”

“Glee” actor Harry Shum Jr. tweeted that “Inglourious Basterds”, which features dialogues in German, French and Italian, did not receive the same treatment.

Black List founder Franklin Leonard also wrote: “Let us not forget that ‘Inglourious Bastards’ was not written in English and was not classified in the same way.”

Writer-director-producer Lord tweeted that HFPA will have no choice but to change its rules, or risk a boycott of the Golden Globes.

“Candyman” director Nia DaCosta shared that, as a “first generation American born and raised in New York City, ‘Minari’, a film about a Korean American family in search of the mercurial and multifaceted American dream in the area Arkansas countryside, made me feel seen in a way that films rarely feel. “

The author of “Little Fires Everywhere” Ng tweeted: “This is a wonderful film by an American, about Korean-speaking Americans in America, who would be a strong candidate for awards in any category. The idea that only English films count as ‘Americans’ is complete nonsense. “

“Pachinko” author Min Jin Lee wrote: “’Minari’ is an American film about new Americans. Everyone in America, except the Indians, came from elsewhere by choice or by force. English is not an indigenous language. Enough of this nonsense about Asian Americans being permanently foreigners. I finished.”

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