Awards Season 2021

[knives]

My income is in the five figures, what great poverty, and I’d never assault a person. Hitting someone like that is never okay.

[captveg]

All I know is this article just reinforced why I'm glad I stopped watching the ceremony broadcast for the Oscars. I'm interested in the films and somewhat interested in what the current Hollywood culture deems their best (hint: things their major employers refuse to produce), not the terrible production values of when they hand some of them those awards. The Will Smith fiasco is just the latest low point.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 235120455/

[therewillbeblus]

My income is in the five figures, what great poverty, and I’d never assault a person. Hitting someone like that is never okay.

Same... also, I don't buy the separation from "real problems" for the wealthy.. who statistically have higher rates of many mental illnesses in the U.S. - and Will Smith certainly didn't seem 'well' last night, not to pathologize. It's not mo' money mo' problems, but mo' money does not equal no problems.

[therewillbeblus]

It has seemed for years that we're backsliding into a more violent society in general. In a twisted way, it seems like all the preaching for more "empathy" has backfired - instead of using empathy as a tool to de-escalate conflict, we're now expected to support every random jackass who feels aggrieved.

Bingo, that's why Glennon Doyle's tweet was so on-point, asking us to look into its problematic connotation from a historical lens rather than impulsively empathize with emotional blurring

[Finch]

Tiffany Haddish thinks it's okay to assault someone if they've offended your wife. Some warped minds out there.

[captveg]

Also, apparently the ratings were even lower than last year's, at least until the post-slap tune-in, which means the tape delay of eight awards and the moronic fan votes did absolutely nothing to get people to watch.

[Brian C]

Even lower than last year’s? I admit, I would not have thought that possible. Damn, Hollywood, you had it all and you lost it.

[cdnchris]

Tiffany Haddish thinks it's okay to assault someone if they've offended your wife. Some warped minds out there.

I do think she can be funny, and i liked her fetishism of Canadians bit with Liu, as cringey as it was (because we like it when people remember we exist), but her saying that is easily the least surprising thing here.

[FrauBlucher]

Exactly, the Academy is showing faux concern. They will use this and take advantage for next years Oscars in hopes of getting the ratings back up.

There is a reason almost every host is a stand up comic. Going back to Johnny Carson (Bob Hope was before my time) they have always had an acerbic MC making fun of their own. Was anyone really surprised by Rock’s joke. Apparently he has gone after Jada Pinket before. Smith could’ve and should’ve of seen it coming and told Rock before hand that his wife is sensitive to
her issue.

[dx23]

I had hoped I’d feel better after sleeping on it, but I’m waking up to most of the world unapologetically defending Smith and I’m just, like, done. This is the Bad Place

I'm actually seeing the complete opposite on social media with people saying that Smith was completely wrong about it and that he needs mental help. Still, I'm also seeing a complete cultural divide with what happen last night as Black and Latino twitter are defending for the most part Will Smith (although many said that it could have been resolved in a better manner) and White twitter condemning the actions and many equating Smith's actions and words to those of people that commit domestic/spousal abuse. Black and Latino twitter for the most part defend Will because they see it as another microagression that minorities have to deal with almost on a daily basis, including making fun of a black woman's hair, which is a no-no in the culture. The fact that Chris Rock had already roasted Jada 6 years ago about her movement to boycott the Oscars adds another layer to the situation. White twitter, especially comedians, are scared shitless and wanted Smith's head last night. Almost every white comedian, from Jeff Ross to Nikki Glaser to Meredith Salenger (wife of comedian Patton Oswalt), and so on, wanted Will thrown out of the building, charged and arrested and his membership to the Academy revoked and his award taken away from him. They fear that they will go now from being heckled for a bad joke to actually being on the receiving end of a violent attack and I completely understand their fear.

After sleeping on it and coming from a Latino background were I have been bullied in several ways for my accent or my place of origin, I understand that what Will Smith did is completely wrong and there should have been some consequences to his actions. Still, I understand his frustration and why he slapped Rock. It's not right at all, but seeing the pain in the eyes of someone you love because they were insulted in front of millions for something they can't control... well, everyone reacts differently to a set of circumstances like this. It's also of note that not only didn't Rock defended himself from the attack, he didn't retaliate. I don't know what crossed his mind in that moment, only he knows. But at the end of the day, I believe whatever beef they had was squared then and there and what happened was as simple as someone stepping over the line and another one responding to it. It's not about domestic violence. Is not about toxic masculinity. It's about mental health and emotions and a bad tasteless joke.

One more thing, whoever were the director/producers for the show last night, they should never be allowed to run a show ever again. The whole Smith/Rock incident was the straw, but the whole thing from stupid Lightyear commercial inserted into the broadcast, to the eliminating the showing of some categories to the disrespectful In Memoriam (where they forgot Ed Asner of all people), the show was a complete debacle. They need to remember that it is a show to celebrate movies. Stop trying to make it a variety special.

[Toland's Mitchell]

It's head-scratching that it still went longer than 3.5 hours even with 8 categories pre-recorded and edited into the show.

[captveg]

I still feel the best produced Oscars I remember, from perhaps 15 years ago, was the one where they ordered the awards from pre-production, production, and finally post-production, in a pseudo tour of how movies are made. It felt purposeful in trying to engage the viewing audience about why movies are a unique entertainment and art form, inviting in how it brought the viewer into the process, and instructive in why the industry celebrates the best of each field.

[captveg]

By the way, those who cherish animation as a unique medium were rather ticked off about last night, too.

[tenia]

It also seems that a Red Carpet type interview of Chastain was televised as "live" at a time slot when it was clear she was inside in support of the make-up team, that H.E.R. and Daniel Kaluuya were introduced at the sound of Toto's Africa, that Sebastian Yatra's rendition of Dos Oruguitas was subtitled (possibly entirely) as [Singing foreign language], and that Disney used part of Chris Evans' telecast to advertise the Lightyear's trailer (except nobody outside the US saw the trailer since it only was televised in the US).

It's head-scratching that it still went longer than 3.5 hours even with 8 categories pre-recorded and edited into the show.

I suppose the question is : imagine how long would it have been without this change.

[mfunk9786]

I think we're getting a lot of cultural commentary from places we usually don't, and I do agree that if your income were in the five figures, you're hustling to get by day to day, and someone ridicules your wife in front of all of her peers... yeah, ok. It might be go time, then. At least, a slap would be an appropriate response.

Lotta thinly veiled contempt for the proles there, bud.

Was meant as a polite comparison to the Smiths, who are multimillionaires and do not have meaningful reputations to protect within any kind of community. My income is in the five figures too lol. But I would never even accidentally think anything Will Smith does should impact my own sense of right and wrong. He lives on another figurative planet.

Anyway, this place is already starting to annoy me so I'll get out while the getting is good - bye all!

[Rayon Vert]

I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.

Which I guess does not include turning the other cheek.

[dx23]

I think we can all agree that the one suffering the most consequences of the whole Will Smith/Chris Rock altercation is this poor man who unfortunately owns the @willsmith Twitter handle

[hearthesilence]

I've been reading reactions on my social media feed - not interacting but just reading a lot - and it really saddens me that so many people are saying it's okay. Most are saying it isn't, but a pretty substantial number of people are saying it's justifiable. The heart of it is that they don't get the concept that physically hurting or lashing out at someone is wrong and even more damaging in its own way. Two things come to mind:

Without going into details, I spent a good deal of time in the past few years having variations of this lecture with someone: you're right to feel hurt by something so-and-so said, and they should understand that, even if they don't mean to be malicious. They've got to listen to you, understand and learn. But you reacting in a violent manner/lashing out at them violently is worse. Sometimes I follow this with a lengthy explanation on why, like maybe putting yourself in their shoes and thinking how it's painful and confusing to be physically attacked.

So seeing this incident play out at a high-profile event and having people openly defend it just says to me, "this is the culture a lot of people want to have."

Both the health condition and even the sensitivity of an African-American woman's hair (given the cultural context) was pointed out, but from experience I really can't go along with that. Again without going into too many details, I just had a holiday this past winter where I encountered quite a bit of discomfort that peaked with a blatantly racist joke by the family of someone I know. I was offended and disgusted, there's no excuse for it. But if I hit either of those people the way Will Smith hit Chris Rock, I'd still be carrying a lot of shame. But it's clear that's not a universal feeling or belief and just emphasizes how far apart people are going to be on this.

[hearthesilence]

By the way, those who cherish animation as a unique medium were rather ticked off about last night, too.

I also figured they would win for the same reason as politics - they have the most money for campaigning. Pretty bad on multiple levels.

[Walter Kurtz]

Also, apparently the ratings were even lower than last year's, at least until the post-slap tune-in, which means the tape delay of eight awards and the moronic fan votes did absolutely nothing to get people to watch.

My wife says... "reconstituting this awards show to aim for a larger/younger audience is pointless because young people don't watch network TV."

Hey, i married brains and beauty! (She also said by me saying that just now I don't have to slap anybody.)

[Toland's Mitchell]

It's head-scratching that it still went longer than 3.5 hours even with 8 categories pre-recorded and edited into the show.

I suppose the question is : imagine how long would it have been without this change.

Doesn't seem like it would have added much time. They showed the acceptance speeches. The trims were the reading off the names of the noms, and the winners' walks to the stage. Big whoop. It was a controversial decision, as it disrespected below-the-line workers, when the Oscars are the supposed to be an event where they get their due. I opposed that decision even though I understood it. The least the Academy could do was achieve their goal of trimming the show to less than 3 hours. Where did the extra time come from? Lose-lose situation, not even accounting for the Rock/Smith incident.

[flyonthewall2983]

The real winner for me is Hans Zimmer who accepted his award half-way across the world in his bathrobe.

[Drucker]

I had hoped I’d feel better after sleeping on it, but I’m waking up to most of the world unapologetically defending Smith and I’m just, like, done. This is the Bad Place

Right? I'm sure there are situations where a slug is called for but that wasn't one. He could have just cursed him out (as he ended up doing anyways) and called him names. The situation would have still been awkward but not as much. Rock wasn't a threat in any way. He made a stupid joke, that's it, at an event where people get ribbed all the time. Didn't Hall imply an open marriage at one point? He didn't slug her.

I always thought there were people on stage in the back so I'm surprised no one came out. But I still have to give Rock credit for just going on like nothing happened, after the initial shock (I assume he's done stand-up so I'm sure he's already wired to recover from such things).

I agree with most of the sentiment here. I'm finding myself feeling actually quite upset about what I've observed on social media, which is so much people making light of this, including many I find to be political and social peers. After all the ridiculous things I've seen people get upset about on social media over the last decade, from propositioning a woman the wrong way to celebrating the films of a racist filmmaker, to see people extol the supposed virtue of defending one's wife with assault is incredibly saddening.

I wouldn't even go so far as to say there's no excuse for violence. If this was a bar fight at one AM, I can imagine being in a situation where a physical defense of one's family could occur. But for Will Smith to lack self-control and then be celebrated for it, is really upsetting. On what planet is a joke not okay but slapping someone is?

It has seemed for years that we're backsliding into a more violent society in general. In a twisted way, it seems like all the preaching for more "empathy" has backfired - instead of using empathy as a tool to de-escalate conflict, we're now expected to support every random jackass who feels aggrieved.

Wholeheartedly agree.

[captveg]

Wait - in the delayed pre-taped awards they didn't mention the other nominees in each category? That's even worse if so.

[Brian C]

Reports actually seem to be saying that ratings were up over last year and peaked before the slap.