At the 2016 Oscars, Chris Rock certainly made an effective statement with his monologue and multiple sketches dedicated
to showcasing the clear lack of diversity in Oscar nominees. Although I can enormously appreciate Chris
Rock using his position as host of the Oscars to pass on a message so greatly worthy of attention, and how uncomfortable he managed to make the nominees feel ("It's the 88th Academy Awards, which
means that this whole black nominees thing has happened at least 71 other
times… And black people did not protest, you know why? Cause we had real things to protest
at the time. They were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won
Best Cinematographer") I can’t help but notice that while his efforts may
have been a push for black people to receive the acknowledgement they deserve
in film, it was not quite able to succeed as a push for complete diversity in
an event that creates plenty of media reaction.
As Suzanne discussed with us in lectures, humour and race have a very powerful relationship. Would the message in Rock’s sketches have been as effective or more effective at reaching the audience and have garnered a similar response to the issues if it had been dealt with in a different manner? While I can understand these racisms and discriminations are the most significant for Chris Rock and that his intentions were nothing but good, he did fall into making a joke that stereotyped Asians in one of the skits where he brought out three Asian children wearing tuxedos and holding briefcases as "the accountants". Did he do this because he knew it would guarantee him an easy laugh from the audience? Was his culturally insensitive quip actually reinforcing the idea of diverse cultures appearing just as entertainment and for poking fun at but not be taken seriously as Rock was fighting for earlier in the show, therefore giving the "White People's Choice Awards" what they wanted and turning on his intended point?
As Suzanne discussed with us in lectures, humour and race have a very powerful relationship. Would the message in Rock’s sketches have been as effective or more effective at reaching the audience and have garnered a similar response to the issues if it had been dealt with in a different manner? While I can understand these racisms and discriminations are the most significant for Chris Rock and that his intentions were nothing but good, he did fall into making a joke that stereotyped Asians in one of the skits where he brought out three Asian children wearing tuxedos and holding briefcases as "the accountants". Did he do this because he knew it would guarantee him an easy laugh from the audience? Was his culturally insensitive quip actually reinforcing the idea of diverse cultures appearing just as entertainment and for poking fun at but not be taken seriously as Rock was fighting for earlier in the show, therefore giving the "White People's Choice Awards" what they wanted and turning on his intended point?
I think that it is such a travesty that for whatever reason movie companies don’t believe that a ethnically diverse person from white American can pull off a major role, or that audiences don’t want to see someone of a different ethnic background. Making a norm and allowing actors of different ethnic backgrounds in major and powerful roles would go a long way towards audiences accepting change. film companies are believed think that some of the most culturally rich people in the world don’t want to see a film that stars a black male it’s travesty, I think that is so true that Chris rock uses comedy to diffuse the kinds of racial ideas. I think in these types of events are clever joke is always paired with I’ve dumbed down version or a painfully obvious punchline (Asian accountants). I can’t help but imagine how cutting has monologue would’ve been if was delivered in more of a English black comedy style.
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