Although “Minari” has received praise from critics, the Golden Globes placed the film under the foreign-language category due to a rule created by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
According to the HFPA, at least 50% of a film’s main language must be English for it to be placed under two of the most competitive categories at the Golden Globes, Entertainment Weekly explains.
“Minari,” however, is mostly in Korean, making the film ineligible to compete.
“Motion pictures that qualify for the Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language award also qualify for awards in all other motion picture categories except Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, which are exclusively for English-language motion pictures, and Best Motion Picture – Animated,” the official Golden Globes guidelines state.
The Academy Awards were also accused of racism for placing “Minari” under the Foreign Language category instead of Best Picture.
The Lee Isaac Chung film follows the story of an Asian American family in 1980s Arkansas. The movie was also produced by a U.S. company and directed by an Asian American.
Social media users pointed out that the Golden Globes placed “Minari” under the foreign film category but failed to do the same for the 2009 Quentin Tarantino movie “Inglorious Basterds.”
The 2009 film, which stars Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender and Daniel Brühl, was nominated for Best Picture Drama even though only “30% of the film is spoken in English,” as stated in its IMDB trivia page. The main languages of the film are French, German and Italian.
Lulu Wang, the director of Awkwafina’s “The Farewell,” tweeted her disappointment last December about “Minari.”
Despite the Golden Globes’ decision, “Minari” still took home trophies from other awards ceremonies. The film was named Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film by the New York Film Critics Online. It also won other awards at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival and the Capri Hollywood International Film Festival, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Feature Image via Why You Laughing ?
