B****es love the Oscar’s. But let’s be honest, this year’s host, Chris Rock, made us a little squirmy with how blunt his monologue and comments throughout the show were. Although, squirmy is not necessarily bad; in fact, I like when things make me a tad uneasy. It only means that I am challenging my own thoughts, and becoming a more well-rounded person. You don’t have to be a genius to know that race has been a huge topic of discussion since the last Academy Awards, which sort of explains why it was made the laughing stock of the show. In addition to all of the race related events happening here and there, people were enraged at the lack of diversity in the nominees; basically, where are all of the people of color?
Chris Rock hit the nail on the head. He brought up points about race that people needed to hear. My favorite lines from his monologue are:
“Now the thing is, Why are we protesting? The big question: Why this Oscars? Why this Oscars, you know? It’s the 88th Academy Awards…Why? Because we had real things to protest at the time [of the 50s and 60s], you know? We had real things to protest; you know, we’re too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer…Is Hollywood racist? You’re damn right Hollywood is racist. But it ain’t that racist that you’ve grown accustomed to. Hollywood is sorority racist. It’s like, “We like you Rhonda, but you’re not a Kappa.” That’s how Hollywood is. But things are changing. Things are changing.“
These are the kind of straight-up remarks that people need to start accepting.
When talking to the generation above us, many thought that Rock spent too much time talking about race; that he poked too much fun at it. If you ask me, that’s how you get people to listen. How popular are TED Talks about race and (in)equality versus the monologue given at the Academy Awards? How do the viewerships compare? I’m telling you, without looking, that Rock got substantially more attention and got his point across in a humorous way. Comedic relief is a great way to get people to listen, without them really knowing that they are! As they laugh at the obscurity of the joke, people sigh and think, “Wow, that’s actually really true.”
The main point of Rock’s endless jokes and jabs at race was:
“What I’m trying to say is, you know, it’s not about boycotting anything. It’s just, we want opportunity. We want black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors.”
Getting equal opportunities is not asking for too much; it’s the same thing feminists are fighting for today.
So no, if you ask me, Chris Rock didn’t overdo it in his monologue. I liked the way people were reacting; it showed me their true colors. Hollywood is racist, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t have called America’s attention to that. Just because some were offended by Rock’s monologue does not mean it wasn’t the right way of thinking.
Bryant H. McGill once said: “The feeling of being offended is a warning indicator that is showing you where to look within yourself for unresolved issues.”