Not to pile on too much to the Will Smith hate for his slapping of Chris Rock, but here is my take on it.
This is not meant to diminish the concerns that other people have over the incident, it is simply what concerns me that I have not seen anyone else talk about yet.
There is a barrier between he audience and the performers in any venue or type of performance. it is not necessarily a physical barrier, but a behavioral one. It states that the audience will not physically engage with the performers unless specifically invited.
This barrier is more serious than the one against heckling, as that can sometimes even increase the entertainment value of a performance. It is not meant to keep the performers from interacting with the audience, as that is, in fact, the whole purpose of theater. It is supposed to protect the performers, thus enabling the artists the freedom of expression of their art.
Now, you don't get immunity for your expression by simply declaring it art. There are some things that, while they could be handled in an artistic way, or could even actually be art, should not be done, such as killing people or starving a dog. In such cases, the appropriate authorities or action should be taken to stop such action. But short of that level of activity, the audience should not get on the stage.
If a performer says or does something objectionable, the answer is to boo, or jeer, or walk out. Write a bad review. Tell everyone not to see the show. don't hire the performer. Don't vote for them when they are up for awards. These are all perfectly acceptable actions to take against an objectionable performance.
But once you have crossed the threshold into the performance space you have broken the barrier, and physically connecting with the performer is the ultimate offense. For that you should be escorted from the theater.
IF an audience member is allowed to go on stage today, then that will embolden others to do so elsewhere. This will endanger the performer, who may feel the need to compromise their message for the sake of their safety.
Art, performing or otherwise, is an engine for shock; for change; for influencing emotions. The best artists train themselves to be very good at changing and directing people's emotions. It is the journey through emotions that we look to artists to give us. it enriches life and inspires us. It gives us new perspectives and and understanding. It helps us understand what needs to be taken seriously and what should not be taken so seriously.
And the good ones are not only good at doing that, but are good at guiding us to emotions that will better ourselves and the world around us; to improve our condition and advance our communities and humankind.
But if I have to worry that someone is going to smack me in the face for telling a joke, I may not tell that joke.
Perhaps it was not a good joke. Perhaps it is not a joke that should be told. But if the audience walks out on me, I will get that message without fearing for my life. the bad performer should fear losing their audience, not their life.
While as an actor, he played the macho man well, in the James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum film noir mode well. It was a good look for him as he walked onto the stage, slapped Chris Rock in the face, and walked off.
But this is the real world. not a film noir potboiler. Actions have consequences. To his credit (and not to take anything away from how much he should not have made that joke) Chris Rock knew when to stop, reset, say something that probably was the best joke to make at the time, and move on.
Will Smith was allowed to stick around and get his award. Had he left, either without doing anything or after the incident, he would not have been able to go on stage and pick up that statue and say his words, make his apology, make his statement, and then go party. He might have felt that Chris Rock and his dumb joke won.
But would the world really have thought that? The academy award winner for Best Actor would have walked out of the awards show because the host was a jerk! This would have put Chris Rock in the situation of having to apologize to Smith, the Academy, and the audience for having done something that upset the FREAKIN' BEST ACTOR!
And lets not ignore the fact that this is only a few years after the uproar of the lack of non-white faces in the running. Not a good look on you, Chris.
This all just seems like one of those Chappelle Show sketches, "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong."
And the meta-irony of it all is that it was a display of the kind of American Married Life Power Dynamics illustrated by Chris Rock's previous joke, the one about how the husband could not win an Oscar if the wife did not.
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