So did anyone watch the Oscars??

Did you watch the Oscars last night? I did, and it was really boring until Chris Rock came on, and then it got weird.

Depending on where you happened to live and which ABC affiliate was televising it - you saw various takes. In NYC we got the whole thing more or less, except it was muted when they started to curse each other out. Mother got nothing after the slap, her screen froze. And some folks just got a delay or a blank screen, while Japan and Australia got it all - live and in living color.

What happened, in case you are living under a rock, have no access to a television set or social media, didn't watch the Oscars...don't have to work with other folks in an office...basically a hermit in the hills somewhere (in which case can I join you?).
( summary of what happened )

That's the summary of what basically happened.

We chatted about the Oscars at work today, since most of my co-workers also saw them - and most of my co-workers are either Caribbean or African-American heritage. Their reactions were split. Most felt that Smith was out of line, and T stated that her estimation of him had gone down considerably - she felt it was immature. AA stated that his favorite comedian is Chris Rock.

Also, knowing Rock's brand of comedy - he's an insult comedian, which as T pointed out is the popular brand of comedy in the US. It's used a lot at the Oscars. Everyone from Don Rickles to Johnny Carson to Bob Hope to Joan Rivers to Chris Rock has used it. Amy Schuamer's brand is more self-deprecating comedy, but both Wanda Sykes and Regina were utilizing jokes that were insult comedy.

I'm admittedly biased, since I don't like insult comedy. It makes me cringe. And outside of Schuamer's two jokes - one about the Spiderman outfit and the other about the seat savers, I didn't think the jokes were funny.

As I told my co-workers and folks on FB and Twitter - I don't think we're in a position to judge. We don't have all the information and we don't know what was going on behind the scenes. What I do know - makes me think that Jada had had it with Rock making her the brunt of his jokes, and everyone laughing. And made her husband, Will Smith, aware of it. She was there to support him - and he'd initially laughed at the joke. She got upset - and he reacted. Rock was out of line - and shouldn't have made the joke which was in poor taste. (Although he does that - a lot.) I don't like a lot of stand-up comedy - because it tends to be cruel by nature. (If you've never seen it - I strongly recommend Hannah Gadfrey's Nannette which kind of rips stand-up comedy a new one.)

Also, he didn't hit him that hard. He's fine. There wasn't a bruise.

At any rate, Will was obviously upset and regretted what he did - because he did a tearful apology with his acceptance speech for Best Actor. How much of it was real, and how much was acted, isn't clear.

I felt he deserved the win for King Richard, he was unrecognizable in the role. Also, they shouldn't take it away from him - how many Oscars does Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Mel Gibson, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and various others of that ilk have? Plus the Oscars aren't for humanitarian achievement in the arts, they are about what performances or films members of the academy of motion arts and sciences deem to be the best.

But at the end of the day...this quote I picked up from Twitter resonates..

My opinion is that it isn’t always needed. Yet, for some reason that doesn’t always keep me from voicing it.

A co-worker was upset that we were talking about this instead of more important things. That it was 1% problem. To which, I stated, yes, but, this is more fun to talk about. The Ukraine is depressing, homeless situation, all our problems, the pandemic, etc - it's depressing and we can't do anything about it. Why not take a break from it - and talk about this?

We can go back to talking about the Ukraine tomorrow - no, actually, you can, I prefer to continue to ignore it as much as I can - living in NYC, surrounded by Russian and Ukrainian immigrants.

***

The Oscars themselves...
( Read more... )

See? All of this is so subjective. You really can't compare them. They are kind of fun though in a way. I wonder if there will ever come a time in which we don't need or want awards shows, and people just make art for the fun of it? With no need for validation, awards, or accolades - just to share something they made or created with others.

Perhaps when this happens...life will be easier for all of us?

One can hope, right?