The Golden Globe Awards Show undoubtedly had a huge hand in keeping the ball rolling on the #MeToo movement. The day of the event (January 7) tweets spiked with 126,051 mentions of #MeToo. Oprah’s speech was not only empowering, but also clearly encouraging to many people who proceeded to talk about the movement and share their stories on Twitter.
However, the 90th Oscar Awards did not have this same effect. Perhaps it’s because the original excitement surrounding the #MeToo movement has faded away or because there was a lack of uniform gown color for the women in attendance, but the volume of tweets during the event hardly spiked. On the day of the event (March 4) the total volume of tweets was only 86,069.
The Oscar’s did make sure to mention the #MeToo movement with Jimmy Kimmel opening up the show with a powerful monologue referring to #MeToo and Time’s Up, and Frances McDormand dedicating her Oscar to every woman nominated. However, these events clearly did not seem to have as strong of an influence as Oprah’s acceptance speech when it comes to keeping the movement alive on Twitter.
There was some backlash on social media after Kobe Bryant, who has been charged for sexual assault, won an Oscar for his short film: Dear Basketball. Along with this, the conversation from Oscar’s night included a lot of tweeters upset about sexual harassment allegations towards Ryan Seacrest that have gone unpunished by the E! Network. These types of conversation are reflected in the sentiment analysis from March 4 which showed 18% of tweets classified as positive during the day of the event as compared to the conversation during the Golden Globes, where there were 28% positive tweets.
Let me get this straight. Last night's theme was all about treating women with respect. So who wins an #Oscar2018? @kobebryant, who was credibly accused of rape, paid the accuser a settlement and issued her a written apology! Can't make this up?
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 5, 2018
No one's wearing black. No one's wearing #TimesUp pins. Ryan Seacrest is asking questions on the red carpet as if he hasn't been accused of sexual harassment & assault. Business as usual. Where'd our momentum go? #MeToo #Oscars90 #Oscars
— Alanna Vagianos (@lannadelgrey) March 4, 2018
Overall, the conversation surrounding #MeToo has definitely changed and evolved. While the movement and what it stands for is acknowledged now more than ever, it is no longer enough to simply mention #MeToo in order to keep this conversation trending.
Post contributed by ADPR 5750 student Dylan Kearney.
