GLAAD award nominations announced
The films “Call Me By Your Name,” “Lady Bird,” “The Shape of Water,” and “Battle of the Sexes” are among the critical darlings dominating the nominations in the outstanding film category for the 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards announced Friday, Jan. 19, by the LGBTQ antidefamation organization. Rounding out the category is “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.”
The nominees this year, said Zeke Stokes, GLAAD’s vice president of programs, reflect a continuing rise in LGBTQ representations from year to year.
Notably, there are five contenders this year in the wide-release category for outstanding film, unlike last year when only two made the cut — “Moonlight” and “Star Trek Beyond.”
On the television side, Stokes said, “We have a long way to go. While inclusion, overall, has been increasing, unfortunately a lot of that inclusion remains really white and really male.”
The category for limited-release films has a wider range of LGBTQ subjects. Nominated films include “A Fantastic Woman,” a Chilean film about a transgender woman (played by trans actor Daniela Vega) who reels after the death of her lover; “God’s Own Country,” a British film about a young sheep farmer in Yorkshire; and “Thelma,” a Norwegian supernatural thriller.
The media awards also dip into television, a particularly important area given its accessibility. “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” and “This Is Us” are among those nominated in the drama category, while “Transparent,” “Will & Grace” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” got nods as comedies. “When We Rise,” a miniseries that told the story of the gay rights movement with San Francisco activists as the main characters, was nominated for outstanding TV movie or limited series.
Also notable is that fact that for the first time, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) is honoring “kids and family programming” as a nod to the growing presence of LGBTQ characters in those stories.
“That really does represent a sea change in inclusion,” Stokes says. “A lot of content creators and networks are making sure that young kids are seeing themselves and their own families reflected in their entertainment.”
Headway was made elsewhere. GLAAD noted that there have been more representations of the bisexual community, which in the past has been either ignored or sensationalized.
And, Stokes says, there seems to be an increase in what the organization calls “casual inclusion.” Essentially, films, television shows and other media are folding LGBTQ characters into their narratives in a way that feels natural.
“It’s something that GLAAD has really been advocating for,” Stokes says. “We don’t need a very special episode where a character comes out and devastates everybody’s reality. What we need to see are really authentic portrayals.”
The organization also noted that creators remain interested in telling stories about trans people. But Stokes says there is a lot of work to be done to make sure that trans people are involved in the creation and portrayal of those narratives.
“It’s not where it needs to be or where we want it to be as an organization. But we have taken some steps in the right direction in the past few years.”
All told, GLAAD handed out 125 nominations in 21 Englishlanguage categories — which include newspaper, magazine and digital journalism awards and music awards — and 16 nominees in four Spanish-language categories. Winners will be announced April 12.