In my house we love the Oscars.

Okay, so really its more that we love the IDEA of them, and we use them as an excuse to have a party. We make score sheets for everyone to fill out to guess the winners, a first and a second choice, and sometimes there are prizes and trophies. Sometimes we make fancy food sometimes its grubby. We come together and chat and make fun of some things and talk about what movies we liked this year, and if any actors have died that we liked, we talk about what their best roles were.

This year was no different except that we had tons of trophies and movie night candy to give away and my wife made some especially awesome food.

Of course, the only reason some knew it was Oscar season was because of Will Smith's Slap of comedian and actor Chris Rock. I found it hilarious and sad at the same time. Chris Rock is not exactly known for letting opportunities pass him by, so that he made a joke at someone's expense was expected. Most of the responses to Rock's GI Jane joke in reference to Jada's very closely shaved head seem to land in two (shocker) camps.

  1. He should not have mocked her medical condition of Alopecia.
  2. Will's wife is a celebrity and he should be able to take such comments with grace.

Both of these seem problematic and understandable.

People being mocked for hair loss has been around since at least Bible times, and no that does not somehow make it okay. In a room full of actors who routinely abuse their bodies, drawing a line from a present look to an old movie really does not seem too far fetched, and with every other thing goin on between Will and Jada, Chris Rock's joke seems pretty tame. Also after the onstage implications and perhaps actual sexual assaults, GI Jane 2 seems fine. Actually, I would probably watch that.

I would be less annoyed if people were saying that we should not poke at people about their bodies. I know that if or when I start to loose my hair, it will be commented on and I will be made fun of and it won't matter why. Some things you have no control over. Chris could have picked a less jabby joke, but he certainly could have made FAR worse ones that would have been in line with the rest of the night.

Because of this, I think Will's so called response was WAY out of line. Well, both of his responses. Climbing up on the stage and making that not too short a walk all the way up and still slapping Rock removes the idea of an act of passion in my mind. Also, where are all the feminists crapping on Will for removing his wife's agency for speaking for her in that way?

Personally I think everything except Rocks response was staged. He is just not that good of an actor to fake being slapped and he definitely looked bewildered after he was hit. But either way, perhaps not making fun of people based on their looks is the best policy? Also, may

be more presenters should be like Kevin Costner and focus on the impacts of Cinema on themselves and the culture rather than on getting a laugh? Cause most of the time it's not really funny.

Also, this brings me to the next issue. I have seen no one (does not mean they are not out there) call out the host for groping Josh Brolin, or the 5 guys that were taken backstage to be "probed". Somehow this is okay because a woman said it? ick. I dont understand how this was supposed to be a high end party, but people act like its a roast or some kinda 13year Old's sleep over.

It's a real bummer for me, as I have always liked the Oscars. The over the top glam and acknowledgements and opportunities to yell at the screen for the Academy getting it wrong again has been a fun family event for us for years. I hope the slap can be a wake up call that we dont always need a raunchy comedian.

I'm sure I'll still watch next year, but it definitely soured the night. Not just the slap, but a lot of the other weirdness too.

-Klerik