'Squid Game' vies for controversy-ridden Golden Globes

In this Jan. 6, 2009, file photo, Golden Globe statuettes are seen during a news conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (AP-Yonhap)

The global sensation “Squid Game” is competing in the Golden Globe Awards in a year which saw the awards, mired in a number of controversies, being boycotted by several studios and actors. The awards show, which takes place at 11 a.m., Monday (Korean time) is being neither broadcast nor streamed live.

The boycotts come despite the Hollywood Foreign Press Association attempts to respond to criticisms over lack of diversity.

This year’s nominations include several actors and projects of diverse backgrounds, including Korean actors Lee Jung-jae and Oh Yeong-soo competing for the best television actor and best supporting actor prizes, respectively.

The nine-part thriller “Squid Game” was also nominated for the best drama series.

According to Netflix, the “Squid Game” team, including director Hwang Dong-hyuk and actors Lee and Oh, will not be attending this year‘s Golden Globes. The global streaming service had not submitted the drama series for consideration.

Considered one of the two biggest US film honors alongside the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards has come under fire over allegations of racism and sexism.

The annual event faced a boycott from film studios and stars in Hollywood, including Tom Cruise, who returned the Golden Globe trophies he had won over the years.

An ethics controversy and criticism over lack of diversity were brought to the fore when “Minari” won the best foreign-language film at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards.

The film by Korean American director Lee Isaac Chung could not compete in the best drama, musical or comedy category, because the Golden Globe Awards rules categorized the film, most of whose dialogue was spoken in Korean, as a foreign-language film. The film was produced by American production company Plan B and New York-based film distributor A24.

The previous eligibility rules for the best foreign-language film stated that any film in which at least 51 percent of its dialogue was not in English must be entered into the foreign language category. This prevented the project from competing in the best drama, musical or comedy category, which was exclusive to English-language motion pictures.

With the new eligibility guidelines announced in mid-2021, the non-English language motion pictures became eligible to compete for the best motion pictures in drama, musical or comedy awards as well.

By Lee Si-jin(sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)