I don’t usually talk about the Golden Globes; as hardly any of the nominated films have been released here yet, I can’t really have an opinion on the results (and I cannot watch the ceremony in full). However, this year’s ceremony seems to signify that MeToo and Time’s Up are going to be the game changers we’ve hoped; they are not merely a fad or phase from which no progress is made. The ceremony became a rally of sorts, with most recipients and presenters choosing to use their platform to speak out about the treatment of women in Hollywood, and the workplace in general. It cemented the occasion as a milestone moment where Hollywood didn’t just sweep its issues under the rug, and instead everything was laid bare for all to see.

It all began before the ceremony even started. Almost all attendees on the red carpet wore black, and some also brought remarkable human and women’s rights activists as their guests. The sea of black marked a huge show of solidarity – the fact that only a mere handful didn’t participate shows just how far this campaign is going. It showed that with all of these people taking a stance, this isn’t just one group attempting to affect change, but an industry wide change in the tide; no one is going to stand for this anymore.

The ceremony itself was filled with pointed commentary and rousing statements. Right from Seth Meyers’ opening line – ‘welcome ladies and remaining gentlemen’ – it was clear that this was going to be a night characterised by the disgusting affairs that were recently revealed to have plagued Hollywood, and not in an overly controlled, sanitized form, for the sake of providing a bland, ignorant ceremony. Meyers’ monologue even outright stated that sexual harassment is not going to be allowed anymore. These sentiments were echoed in the vast majority of speeches throughout the night, from both female and male recipients, especially in the speeches around female-focused (and abuse focused) TV shows that claimed the big prizes of the night (Big Little Lies and The Handmaid’s Tale). Many winners also pointed out the incredible feeling of being in that room, indicating that they were really witnessing something important. As Frances McDormand put it in her speech, the night was more proof of the ‘tectonic shift in the industry power structure’, and pointed out how the women were there ‘for the work’. There were others pressing the need for more women’s stories to be told also, and pointing to the power of women to do so. One of the most memorable and markedly pointed acknowledgements of Hollywood’s sexism of the night, was Natalie Portman’s introduction for the Best Director category; ‘here are the all-male nominees’. A bit of a fist pump moment there for sure.

The highlight of the night though, and the speech that managed to tie up everything that everyone had been feeling, was Oprah’s acceptance of the Cecil B. DeMille award. It is really something you just have to go and watch as she pushes forward the idea that a new day is on the horizon and everyone is now working towards a day where nobody ever has to say ‘me too’ again. It is incredibly powerful and rousing, and will likely become historic. As far as the running for president situation goes, I think that notion really proves the impact of her speech and the power of good public speaking, especially in a country currently so hungry for such a thing, seeing as their current president seems to struggle to even string a basic and coherent sentence together (uttering synonyms for big or best intermittently between unfounded statements or phrases does not constitute anything that is likely to rally people around a cause).

This night proved what we had all suspected and hoped. #metoo isn’t going away, and Time’s Up will not just fade out whenever a new thing hits the headlines. This is a revolution, a time of change and progress that is so long overdue, nothing can overpower the pent up anger and injustice. This is a milestone, a time from which sexual harassment and assault in the workplace will not only no longer be tolerated, but the perpetrators will be brought to justice. It is the dawn of a new era, and it’s about time.