Oscar Shock and Awe
Self-aggrandizement, arrogant violence and another missed opportunity take center stage
Social media was ablaze today about the slap heard round the world. Well, heard everywhere but here. ABC edited and muted Will Smith storming to the stage and smacking presenter Chris Rock in full view of a domestic audience of more than 15 million. While many American Oscar viewers were rewinding their streaming platforms to assess what they thought they had just witnessed, shock and disbelief was clearly endemic among the glitterati as fans of both Smith and Rock took to Twitter.
There hadn’t been such histrionics since a streaker stole the show at the 1974 Oscar telecast. As co-host David Niven was about to introduce presenter Elizabeth Taylor a naked English teacher/artist Robert Opel jogged from stage left to stage right while flashing a peace sign. Niven quipped, “Ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen,” as Henry Mancini cued the orchestra. So much for the Academy’s pro-peace, nonviolence agenda.
Five days before the Academy Awards ceremony in 2003, the US officially declared war on Iraq, bombing the shit out of Baghdad beginning on March 19 and killing thousands. Oscar officials considered postponing the ceremony, but they finally decided to proceed as scheduled, but without the usual red carpet fanfare. After all, this was the 75th anniversary gala, and glitz was costly. The casualty count wasn’t going anywhere.
In a recent interview 2003 Best Actor winner Adrian Brody claimed that fellow nominee Jack Nicholson urged his four competitors - Brody, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Caine, and Nicolas Cage - to boycott the show in response to the Iraq invasion. Regrettably, but not surprisingly, no one took him up on it.
Nonetheless, history was made that night when director Michael Moore picked up his Best Documentary Oscar for Bowling for Columbine. After accepting his award, flanked by the other nominees, he delivered a fiery acceptance speech calling out then President George W. Bush and decrying the Iraq War. “We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you.” But he didn’t stop there, and before he was pulled off the stage to a chorus of boos, and quite frankly not enough cheers, he continued, “We live in a time with fictitious election results that elect fictitious presidents. We live in a time when we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.” And the music played on, until he was ushered away.
Today the Twittersphere has been flooded with Will Smith apologists, defending his assault against Chris Rock, including members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, most notably Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Jamal Bowman, some even promoting violence against other comedians - Dave Chappelle, Joe Rogan, Jimmy Dore and Ricky Gervais. Pressley and Bowman eventually deleted tweets endorsing Smith’s violent response to a Chris Rock’s GI Jane 2 joke, an arguably tasteless reference to his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. It’s unknown if Rock knew of Jada’s bout with alopecia.
Whether the joke was funny or tasteless or not, slapping anyone is not the answer, Ms. Pressley and Mr. Bowman. Violence should never be a solution for settling anything in the 21st century. And frankly, your flippant responses cast doubt on your votes for or against war. At least an embarrassed Will Smith apologized on Instagram today. Congress has never followed suit for a single US war of choice.
Today’s Russia/Ukraine conflict is the Iraq War on steroids; but in 2022 assault is now patriotic and Robert Opel would be doing hard time for streaking. Sabre-rattling by the global protagonists have even rekindled undercurrents of nuclear annihilation, unless alopecia and G.I. Jane jokes have now become center-stage. Another missed opportunity. There is still enough blame - and shame - to go around, but a slap from an unhinged, arrogant celebrity in the Dolby Theatre has obviously provided mass media another off-ramp for never having to shine a light on war and its consequences.