Golden Globe winners: Workers salute ‘The Help’s’ Octavia Spencer
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Golden Globe winner Octavia Spencer is destined for Oscar gold -- that is, if the nation’s domestic workers have anything to say about it.
Spencer won a Golden Globe on Sunday night for her turn as a maid who takes delicious revenge in ‘The Help.’ The feel-good drama offered a window to the lives of black servants and their white employers in the Segregated South -- but was criticized in some corners for a too-rosy view. The film also sparked plenty of debate about today’s complicated relationship between employers and ‘the help.’
Spencer accepted the award on behalf of domestic workers everywhere, and added: ‘With regard to domestics in this country, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: All labor that uplifts dignity in this country is worthwhile.’
PHOTOS: Golden Globes red carpet
The National Domestic Workers Alliance issued a statement on Monday cheering Spencer’s win:
‘Domestic workers around the country watched with pride .... After generations of exclusion and invisibility, we are so grateful to Octavia for helping bring recognition and light to this workforce. And we’re thankful for all of the performances in ‘The Help’ that gave life and dignity to domestic workers stories.’ ‘We have a dream that one day all work will be valued equally. Together we can be ‘the help’ needed to bring respect to domestic work.’
A Golden Globe doesn’t always foretell an Oscar win -- but it doesn’t hurt the odds either. It’s possible that Spencer’s win pushed her into front-runner status. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce its Oscar nominations Jan. 24.
If you’re looking for another reason to cheer Spencer on, consider how she got real with the media during backstage interviews Sunday night: “I’m sorry y’all, I love you but I have to kick these shoes off.’
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-- Rene Lynch
