by Nathaniel R

A silly and serious Globes preamble. We won't be live-blogging the Globes tonight though we'll do as much as possible tomorrow for a recap so until then one serious thought and two silly ones. We're heading into an unusual season when Hollywood is in a very serious mood due to the sexual harassment scandals. Awards shows aren't all that well-equipped to be serious as their format is inherently celebratory and "fun". That comes partially from the practice of comedians as hosts but it's there in the basic DNA since each awards night is a long and glitzy  'you get a prize and you get a prize and you get a prize' parade of the rich and beautiful and famous. In times when Hollywood curtails the glamour to address a serious crisis (like a new war for example or the lack of gender parity in Hollywood) it can come across as merely glum. It's as if the entertainment industry has crises of identity whenever they think people don't want escapist diversions but direct addresses to their ills.

Our theory is that people actually want both (which is why we try to balance the fun and the serious here in film conversations) and the celebrities that are best equipped to actually deal with tonight's mood are probably the celebrities who are inherently "fun" but can also turn deadly serious without feeling like a buzzkill. Or, in other words: Meryl Streep. Rescue us Meryl.

One area we know will be atypical (at least) is the red carpet...