by Hana Beach

On Thursday Dec. 13, the Golden Globes announced a variety nominations for TV shows and movies. Although less exclusive than the Oscars, the Globes still acknowledge the best in movies and television. “Lincoln” leads the way with over seven nominations; however, it is followed closely by “Argo,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”

This year the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 80 freelance writers, announced their nominations four days before the voting for the Academy Awards occured. The Golden Globe nominations will place momentum behind many Oscar hopefuls.

“Argo,” “Django Unchained,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln”, and “Zero Dark Thirty” all received nods for Best Picture Drama, while best Comedy or Musical nominations went to “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Les Misérables,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”

As for TV, HBO continued dominating the category with 17 nominations from shows such as “GIRLS” and “Newsroom”. Showtime followed receiving seven nominations, mostly from “Homeland”. For the first time in its existence “Mad Men” did not receive a nomination for best TV drama. Although Jon Hamm did receive a  nomination for his acting.

The Golden Globes is known for its acknowledgement of movies that are not necessarily big budget films. This year is no exception with nominations for Wes Anderson’s indie movie “Moonrise Kingdom” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” both of which, although given positive reviews, were ignored by the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

As with every batch of nominations, a number of well reviewed and received movies had to be snubbed. The lack of a nomination for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was the most shocking. This indie film, created by Wesleyan alum Benh Zeitlin, received none of the predicted nominations. Also, the press ignored “Flight,” only giving a nomination to Denzel Washington. However, the most shocking was the exclusion of Keira Knightley in “Anna Karenina,” which only received a nomination for its score.

Overall, the Globes has yet again recognized the best movies and shows of the year. Giving high praise to Lincoln and Argo, and even recognizing smaller independent movies. The Golden Globes award ceremony will air on Jan. 13 on NBC with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey handling the hosting duties.

The complete list of nominees can be found here: http://www.goldenglobes.org/2012/12/nominations-2013/