GLAAD Awards find film lacking, honor LGBTQ representation on TV

By Esther Zuckerman | January 31, 2017 | 11:06pm

Aux Features Film

The GLAAD Media Awards are intended to celebrate LGBTQ representation, but the announcement of this year’s came with a depressing statistic: Just two films are up for the outstanding wide release award. (As GLAAD notes, 2003 was the last time that category had that small a number of eligible nominees.) The those movies are the Oscar-nominated Moonlight, a richly told story about growing up black and gay in Miami, and Star Trek Beyond, which revealed that John Cho’s Sulu is gay. (That announcement itself was surprisingly controversial, as out actor and activist George Takei took issue with how it was introduced.) The limited-release category is more populated, and features The Handmaiden, Naz & Maalik, Other People, Spa Night, and Those People.

The television categories, however, feature a wide array of shows across a variety of platforms. The comedy category features network sitcoms like Brooklyn Nine-Nine—one of the repeat nominees—alongside melancholy, streaming half-hour shows like One Mississippi. Even an animated program, Steven Universe, has a spot. Meanwhile, the drama side features the returning Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, The Fosters, Orphan Black, and Shameless, who are meeting newcomers Hap And Leonard, The OA, Shadowhunters, Supergirl, and Wynonna Earp. (Interesting to note: GLAAD counts Shameless as a drama, which the Television Academy does not.) Individual episodes like Black Mirror’s sweet romance San Junipero and Drunk History’s take on the Stonewall riots are also up for a separate prize. You can see the full list of nominees here.