The Will Smith - Chris Rock Affair

This was to be my post-mortem post on Sunday evening's Oscar Awards and telecast, but unfortunately (to state it mildly), what became the highlowlight of the show has so dominated the public conversation and social media, that it deserves a post all of its own.

I am referring, of course, to Will Smith's shocking assault and on and  the f-bomb cursing out of comedian Chris Rock live on national and international television.  As we all know by now, Rock made a joke of questionable taste involving Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.  Smith, like  a chivalrous knight in shining armor, felt the need to defend his wife's honor, walked on stage, slapped Rock in the face, returned to his seat, and proceeded to to loudly curse out Rock, not once, but twice.

In a world where we have become pretty much immune to almost everything we see on television, this was a pretty shocking display of anger and violence that, had it happened in your neighborhood tavern, would have probably resulted in someone's arrest.  Said act was followed forty minutes later of Smith being awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in "King Richard."  His rambling, tear-filled acceptance speech only added to the surrealness of the occasion.  It contained a half-assed apology to "the Academy" and no apology to Chris Rock.

Reactions have split pretty much into two camps:

• Good for Will Smith.  Someone insulted his wife, and he defended her.
• Brickbats to Will Smith for committing an act of violence that simply cannot be justified, regardless of how dubious his joke may her been.  (And since when has edgy and even insulting humor in Hollywood and among comedians become a shocking thing?)

I fall into the latter camp, and find it hard to believe that people are defending Smith's actions.

This was my comment on Facebook on Sunday evening: "On what should have been the biggest night of his career, Will Smith just might have flushed his career right down the toilet."

Washington DC film critic and podcaster Arch Campbell said "if you ask me, Will Smith undid a lifetime of good will in this one moment."

Then there is this:

"When Will Smith stormed onto the Oscar stage to strike Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife’s short hair, he did a lot more damage than just to Rock’s face. With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community."

The author of that quote is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and it is the opening paragraph of this column from his Newsletter.  I strongly urge you to read it.  Abdul-Jabbar is a smart and insightful writer on a variety of topics, and this piece is no exception. (in fact, I just paid fifty bucks for an annual subscription to his newsletter, and I think that it will prove to be a real bargain over the course of the next twelve months.)

This was the closing of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's general columnist Tony Norman's column yesterday:

"I hope Mr. Smith’s five minutes of awkward Oscars glory was worth becoming a human meme. He didn’t “protect” Jada Pinkett Smith’s “honor” — he threw away three decades of good will because he, a Black man of privilege and unimaginable wealth, believed he could assault another wealthy Black man and get away with it.

"Whether he apologizes to Chris Rock or not, his life as the ebony Tom Hanks is pretty much over."

For those Grandstander readers who don't know of him, Tony Norman is Black, and here is his column in its entirety.  Again, I urge you to read it.

For his part, Smith issued an apology to Chris Rock yesterday.  As celebrity apologies go, this one seemed more sincere and heartfelt than most.  To my knowledge, Rock has not issued any statement other than to say that he would not be filing charges against Smith with the LAPD.  I've always liked Will Smith, both as a performer and a person.  I'll leave it to Kareem to summarize:

"I don’t want to see him punished or ostracized because of this one, albeit a big one, mistake. I just want this to be a cautionary tale for others not to romanticize or glorify bad behavior. And I want Smith to be the man who really protects others—by admitting the harm he’s done to others."

Sports, A Movie, and a TV Show

A little bit of a smorgasbord this Monday.....

STEELERS 27 -TITANS 24

The Steelers steamrolled the 5-0 Titans in the first half yesterday and took a 24-7 lead into the locker room.  The Titans, who I once again remind you were also undefeated at the time, stormed back into the game, and only a wide right FG attempt at the end prevented the game from going into overtime.  Of course, the never satisfied members of Steelers Nation can only focus on how "they almost blew it."   People in the national media are not nearly as critical of Rooney U as are the yinzers of Pittsburgh.

The Steelers are 6-0.  They are the only undefeated team remaining in the NFL.  I'm happy.

Elsewhere in the NFL....

• The Buccaneers are now 5-2, and Tom Brady seems to be in his Golden Boy Groove.  Now the Bucs are bringing in the wide receiver whose Name Shall No Longer Be Mentioned.  I can't wait to see how THAT plays out.
• After starting 4-0 and talking Super Bowl possibilities and an MVP candidacy for Josh Allen, the Bills lost two games in a row, and managed to beat the crummy Jets yesterday 18-10 by kicking six field goals. Couldn't manage a TD against the worst team in the league.
• Nobody is more fun to watch than Patrick Mahomes.
• Man, do the Cowboys stink.

THE WORLD SERIES

The world Series currently has the Dodgers ahead of the Rays, 3 games to 2, and by all accounts the Series has been quite compelling.  Somehow, though, I have found myself to be disconnected to this Series.  I have yet to watch any of the games to a conclusion.  Instead, I give up after six innings or so and end up listening to the remainder of the games on the radio while in bed.  I guess that there is enough of the Old Geezer Factor in me that finds listening on the radio to be enjoyable.  And I do admit that after listening to that bizarre ninth inning of game four on the radio, I immediately jumped out of bed and switched on the bedroom television to check it out.

Rooting interest?  Does a ten dollar wager on the Rays at the outset of the Series tell you who I'm rooting for?  And no, even now, I'd be hard pressed to name more than a half-dozen or so the Rays' players.

"ON THE ROCKS"

The previews for Sophia Coppola's "On The Rocks" have been showing all over the place, so we checked it out on Apple TV+ this weekend.  Anything with Bill Murray is intriguing to Marilyn and I, and this one was no exception.  In this one, he plays a divorced, wealthy man about town who goes to the assistance of his daughter, played by Rashida Jones, who suspects that her husband might be straying on her.  Murray suggests that they trail her hubby to get to the bottom of what may or may not be going on.

It was interesting, but I expected more comic elements to it (which is what the trailers led you to believe).  Also, it was dark, not in tone, but dark, as in "not bright."  It was hard to make out some of the images as you were watching.  I spent much of the movie wondering if something was wrong with my TV set.

Bill Murray is always worth watching, but, still, only Two Stars from The Grandstander for this one.

"FARGO"

The fourth season of "Fargo" has aired six episodes thus far.  I have gotten through five episodes, and while I am enjoying it, it does not hold up quite so well when compared to the first three seasons of this FX series.

This one takes place in Kansas City in 1950 as the Italian  mob family that controls the KayCee underworld (after wresting control from the Irish Mob, who had wrested control from the Jewish Mob) struggles with the up and coming gang of African American mobsters.   The best part of this current iteration of the series is Chris Rock who plays Loy Cannon, head of the Black mob.  You're used to seeing Rock being funny, but he does a great turn in this dramatic role.

There are some quirky characters in this one, in the tradition of the Coen Brothers world of "Fargo", but that element seems somewhat forced this time around.  I'll stick with it to the end, though.

Two and One-Half Stars from The Grandstander.