THE GOLDEN GLOBES

The 2018 Golden Globes were a rather subdued affair. Overstated in black, understated in choices that were mostly low-key but quality affairs. The usual royalty--Spielberg, Streep, Hanks--was ignored, with the exception of Oprah Winfrey who made a speech which had almost presidential-aspiring accents. Obviously, with this president even the weather forecast sounds presidential nowadays.

Since the sexual harassment tsunami brought Hollywood to some form of standstill, the culture is being rebooted. It is nevertheless necessary, here and elsewhere (politics, i.a.), to beware of some form of mass hysteria which might end up curtailing the ways of normal human interplay.  For sure, the workplace is not a bedroom, and jobs should be rewarded by equal pay. The workplace should, however, not become a barren environment wherein normal personal behavior cannot still flourish. A flirt can still remain polite. If not, we might as well stop all comedies and forget about Mary Tyler Moore. A Watteau painting must not be replaced by an auto-flagellation Zurbaran.

America often travels from exaggeration to exasperation. In the psyche there seems often to be a deficit of nuance. True, certain situations require a radical moral mobilization. Racial inequality, Vietnam, gender, equal pay, defense of democracy and of acquired added values (environment, Medicare, Justice, education) should indeed activate a "primal scream".  However once the statement has been made, the black dress comes down and the work begins. It is not enough to be anti-Trump or pro-just-cause.  Strategies are needed since the looming overhaul is much more vicious and organized than most people perceive or realize. Better get ready now. 

The Golden Globes wisely abstained from the Trump formula which just adds lies to insults, and thrives on the applause of his mostly older white demented cabinet members who have to appear at regular intervals for some form of embarrassing Sieg Heil ceremonial in honor of the commander-in-chief. That the president was mostly ignored in the Golden Globes event will have made him furious, since to be ignored or being the butt of jokes makes him equally enraged. Clowns are a sad lot. They need the laughs but resent the indignities they have to put up with for deserving them.

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