After 2 years of Hollywood dealing with COVID-19 as well as virtual and pandemic- restricted Oscar presentations, last Sunday(March 27,2022) was the first time that a live audience will be delivered with a Red Carpet for the movie fans to see as well.
The desire to boost TV ratings on the Oscars(aka Academy Awards) got an unexpected boost from an unfortunate moment during the show—the Will Smith slap on Chris Rock. And to think that the Academy for Film and Motion Pictures is regarded as an esteemed institution highly intolerant of any misbehaviors.
No need for me to go into explicit detail as to what happened. The press, Youtube,TikTok,etc.has taken cared of that.
What I want to discuss are the numerous dynamics that came into play to this unfortunate event.
Chris Rock–He had already joked about Jada Pinkett-Smith in the past. Was he right in joking about her hairstyle as a result of her medical condition(alopecia areata)? Was it politically correct to begin with? Jada has always made it public about her condition. Does this mean that all comedians now must be very careful lest they will suffer a copycat response during ther own comedy gigs? It was noble of him to decline pressing charges at this time. I bet that he must have given a lot of thought that he should not have gone there especially since that joke was not even in the script.
Will Smith— Initially, he took it in stride but after seeing his wife cringing from Chris’ joke, he got very emotional and reacted by going upstage and slapped Chris because he wanted to vindicate his wife out of love. For one moment, he must have forgotten that being in an Oscars show, he has to show a certain degree of decorum and being up for a possible Best Actor Award, he has to show himself as being a good role model since a lot of folks look up to him as well. His fellow actor Denzel Washington said it best that the devil will come after us at our highest life points and being cautious about this is imperative.
Taking into account what I witnessed on the TV screen, what happens now? What will the Academy do? They obviously do not want a sequel to this event for next year. I hate to think that some trolls will tune in next year to hopefully witness Part 2. That would be an artificial boost of ratings in my opinion.
It would be nice if there would be a public joining of forces with these 2 gentlemen,making amends and going forward with a much better perspective. Perhaps, both of them together on stage being presenters irregardless of which type of awards show, as a sign of solidarity.
This is indeed a teachable moment for everyone concerned.
josiesvoice 