by by Cesar Espinoza
As we all know, the 2022 Oscars was quite memorable. But it begs the question, for whom? For Will Smith? Probably. But what about all the individuals that worked hard to earn a nominee and, better yet, an award. This was to be a special moment for so many individuals, especially those in the black community, yet no one is talking about that. There is only one thing that is being talked about with this year’s Oscars. This audio blog post is intended to shine light on the incident that happened and give a personal perspective on how I feel about things.
Here are the links to a few articles and people I mentioned in this mini-podcast:
Jonathan Capehart’s article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/31/will-smith-slap-effect-black-people/
Shannon Sharpe’s Undisputed take: https://youtu.be/4YprePINGoQ
Oscars 2022 list of black winners: https://www.blackfilm.com/read/2022/03/oscars-2022-list-of-black-winners-memorable-moments-shock-of-the-night/
I appreciate you taking the time to listen. Let’s have ourselves a great term!
I think that this title and perspective was very intresting and taking the time to record and talk about this as well shows that you had the time to think and form your opinion. Doing a topic like this as well in your own voice was attention-grabbing to me just because how this event was interperted by everyone diffrently .
^Alina Williams
This is a new perspective that I have not heard yet and I think that you executed this topic very well. You’re right, the Oscars is a very respectable accomplishment. Though Will Smith did not handle the joke appropriately, it is true that the whole event surrounded the slap. It is very unfair that the Black community is being reflected off of this particular event. The awards that he received were extremely impressive and I believe that he made a mistake and is now paying a hefty price. Reflecting off of what you said, these accomplishments should not be brushed off. Now, he is not able to go to the Oscars for 10 years and a lot of films his films are in jeopardy of being taken off Netflix, Hulu, etc. This should not be a reflection on the Black community as a whole. His actions also should not reflect him as a person. -Leah Friedman
Hi Cesar,
I really enjoyed listening to your Podcast, It was really interesting to hear your POV from beginning to end. I think it’s amazing because when this situation happened, I didn’t think about the impact it would have on the black community. However, now looking at it from that perspective, I think it’s ironic but really disappointing how we, especially celebrities like Will Smith, promote BLM but then Smith goes up on stage and assaults another black man on live television. In so many ways its contradicting the message put forth to stand up for the black community and for Will Smith to do that had me in utter disbelief. I’m not sure if Smith felt like in the moment he had to do something and be a “man” and protect his wife but by no means was that right way to do it and it is so sad to watch.
Dear Cesar, Point well taken! Why do we drag this out so far? I can see both sides of this incident. Chris Rock saw Jada Picket in that army green dress and short hair and spit out an inapropraite joke without thinking. I have a nephew with alopecia and it in NOT is not a joking matter. Opps, I far too often say things that should never leave my head and that was a joke better left in the green room. We also react to negative things before we have a chance to think. Obviously there was some serious lack of thinking first, coming from both parties. Who is to blame? I blame the media first. It is sad that all the great achievements were overlooked due to this most unfortunate incident. However, it is the media that endlessly promotes such an altercasions and beats it on the head until dead. Perhaps as a society we should spend less time concerning ourdselves with such stupid ordeals. Yes, we should instead focus on all the people who worked so hard to be at the Oscars, epecially the peoplke of color who have so often been overlloked due to their race.
Dear Cesar, Point well taken! Why do we drag this out so far? I can see both sides of this incident. Chris Rock saw Jada Picket in that army green dress and short hair and spit out an inapropraite joke without thinking. I have a nephew with alopecia and it in NOT is not a joking matter. Opps, I far too often say things that should never leave my head and that was a joke better left in the green room. We also react to negative things before we have a chance to think. Obviously there was some serious lack of thinking first, coming from both parties. Who is to blame? I blame the media first. It is sad that all the great achievements were overlooked due to this most unfortunate incident. However, it is the media that endlessly promotes such an altercasions and beats it on the head until dead. Perhaps as a society we should spend less time concerning ourdselves with such stupid ordeals. Yes, we should instead focus on all the people who worked so hard to be at the Oscars, epecially the peoplke of color who have so often been overlloked due to their race.
Dear Cesar, Point well taken! Why do we drag this out so far? I can see both sides of this incident. Chris Rock saw Jada Picket in that army green dress and short hair and spit out an inapropraite joke without thinking. I have a nephew with alopecia and it is NOT is not a joking matter. Opps, I far too often say things that should never leave my head and that was a joke better left in the green room. We also react to negative things before we have a chance to think. Obviously there was some serious lack of thinking first, coming from both parties. Who is to blame? I blame the media first. It is sad that all the great achievements were overlooked due to this most unfortunate incident. However, it is the media that endlessly promotes such altercasions and beats it on the head until dead. Perhaps as a society we should spend less time concerning ourdselves with such stupid ordeals. Yes, we should instead focus on all the people who worked so hard to be at the Oscars, epecially the peoplke of color who have so often been overlloked due to their race.