Diana Wichtel: Never has the word "love" been bandied about so much in a broadcast in which a comedian gets smacked in the face by the winner of best actor. Photo / AP
Diana Wichtel: Never has the word "love" been bandied about so much in a broadcast in which a comedian gets smacked in the face by the winner of best actor. Photo / AP
OPINION
The new normal: we're told that's where we are. I suppose it sounds better than "the new not remotely normal at all and will it ever be again?". Another day, another crazy headline. Not the daft clickbait – "You won't believe how many Beatles are dead!" It's the realones that do your head in: "Vladimir Putin says Russia has been 'cancelled' like J.K. Rowling, author hits back". Mid his horrific invasion of Ukraine, Putin complains that Russia is not universally applauded.
Rowlings' approach to gender politics gets debated, as it should, without much sign of her actually being cancelled. Her reply to Putin has a point: "Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics."
A grotesque episode. It puts into perspective what "cancelling" other humans can really mean. And how deluded Putin must be if he thought this was good PR.
In other bizarre news, a salute to weaponry on 1 News. Simon Dallow lurked gleefully on the edge of a studio floor-turned-virtual battlefield as a virtual soldier fired at a virtual Russian tank. Ka boom. Over-excited commentary: "As the David and Goliath battle intensifies … Come in the American Javelin anti-tank missile … Let's see it in action now!" Let's not. This is no time to make war resemble virtual reality entertainment.
Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with US Javelin missiles during military exercises in Donetsk. Photo / AP
Come in the Oscars, back to in-person normal. Normal? Never has the word "love" been bandied about so much in a broadcast in which a comedian gets smacked in the face by the winner of best actor. Chris Rock made a GI Jane hairdo joke addressed to Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of Will. She has talked about having alopecia. If Rock didn't know, he should have. When Will Smith strode to the stage, it looked for a millisecond like it might be pre-rehearsed Oscars acting but not even these guys are that good. "Wow," said Rock. "Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me." He took time to acknowledge the moment's relentlessly unfurling impact: "That was the greatest night in the history of television." Back in his seat, Smith offered advice: "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth." Rock, shaken, talked about being there to present "a documentary to an Oscar".
Minutes later Smith accepted an Oscar for playing Serena and Venus Williams' father in King Richard: "Oh, man. Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family." Weeping, Smith declared he was called upon to protect people. He mentioned actresses he had protected on the film. Cut to the actresses, looking bewildered. He said he wanted to be a "vessel of love". He said, "Love makes you do crazy things," Not a great message when slapping is involved. He shared the evening's best advice to anyone, offered to him moments before by Denzel Washington: "At your highest moment, be careful, that's when the devil comes for you." Cut to Washington, looking grim.
The moment instantly assumed an epic quality, not just because of inevitable sensationalism. The shifting ground created by this unstoppable virus, the isolation and distance of the past two years, has taken a toll. People have been trapped in homes and online echo chambers. It's harder to choose who to do your thinking with. The distinction between what people might say on social media and face-to-face blurs. That was clear from signs at the protest at Parliament, freely advocating violence. As Washington said, especially when taking the moral high ground, be careful. The next day Smith apologised to Rock. There's talk he might lose his Oscar. It's been observed that Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski still have theirs.
The other end of the giddy mid-Covid emotional spectrum: Jane Campion became the third woman ever to win an Oscar for directing. The appearance on stage by a frail Liza Minnelli, accompanied by a sweetly solicitous Lady Gaga, was classic Oscars, yet moving. They sang a line from Cabaret, a great musical set in 1930s Berlin. It's about the price of ignoring injustice, brutality, tyranny. People talk about not bothering to watch the Oscars anymore.
There's much to unpack from this one but for some insight into our current torrid, new normal times, it's worth a watch.
