Minari, the story of a Korean immigrant family struggling for the American dream, was placed under the category of foreign language film by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). And this decision has sparked an outcry in Hollywood to overhaul the guidelines to be more diverse and inclusive.
The 78th Golden Globes, which will be held in February next year, have not announced official candidates for each category so far. However, Variety reported that the movie will not be nominated for the Best Picture at the 78th Golden Globe Awards because it failed to meet the guideline “must feature at least 50% English dialogue.” Oscar-winning film Parasite received the same treatment last year.
Director Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye Ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh Jung, and Will Patton.
With this decision, more industry insiders are criticizing Hollywood for its “outdated” rules.
Director Lulu Wang spoke out HFPA’s “antiquated rules that characterize American as only English-speaking,” and stressed that Minari is “a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream.”
Daniel Dae Kim also expressed his perplexity, saying, “The film equivalent of being told to go back to your country when that country is actually America.” Harry Shum Jr. tweeted that Inglourious Basterds, spoken in English, German, French and Italian, didn’t receive the same treatment. You can check out here to see more stars/directors talk about this controversy.
I have not seen a more American film than #Minari this year. It's a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterizes American as only English-speaking. https://t.co/1NZbkJFE9v
— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) December 23, 2020
The film equivalent of being told to go back to your country when that country is actually America. https://t.co/kwEf8eO9v8
— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) December 23, 2020
Checks “Inglorious Bastards” English to German, French & Italian ratio—-roughly 30:70 😐 #Minari is an American film. https://t.co/rO6bjpNHQO
— Harry Shum Jr (@HarryShumJr) December 23, 2020
