People are still talking about Chris Rock’s performance as host of the Oscars. And by “talking,” I mean complaining. While many of the (white) people who were there claim that Rock did a great job, there are some high-profile complaints, and high-profile “think pieces” on why Rock screwed the pooch when it came to talking about race and Hollywood. One of the biggest things that bugged me was Rock treated the diversity discussion as not that big of a deal because, hey, black folks were being lynched sixty years ago and wasn’t that worse? What I’ve always said is that we’re a multi-faceted and multi-racial society and we can have far-ranging discussions about race, representation, violence, and more without shrugging and saying, “Meh, it used to be a lot worse.”
The biggest issue for Rock might have been the fact that he treated Hollywood representation issues like they are literally black and white, like representation with Asian and Hispanic talent isn’t also a huge issue. That problem was perfectly encapsulated with Rock’s “Asian joke,” where he brought out three Asian children whom he introduced as the accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He said: “If anybody’s upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone that was also made by these kids.” Several high-profile Asian artists and athletes took note:
To parade little kids on stage w/no speaking lines merely to be the butt of a racist joke is reductive & gross. Antithesis of progress.
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) February 29, 2016
Seriously though, when is this going to change?!? Tired of it being "cool" and "ok" to bash Asians smh #Oscars https://t.co/1nBvAd3V0q
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) February 29, 2016
On Hollywood's biggest night, Asians are the joke. As usual: https://t.co/d23pQ27UPy #Oscars pic.twitter.com/jkv5ds9zT4
— Angry Asian Man (@angryasianman) February 29, 2016
Rock’s jokes are being called “lazy” – which is coded language, btw – and “disappointing” by many, many critics as well. Basically, the more people actually think about Rock’s performance, the more upset they are.
hey #Oscars, diversity is not just #black and #white.
— aasif mandvi (@aasif) February 29, 2016
About last night …. Photo by Mark Seliger pic.twitter.com/jZi5W6gKVi
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) March 1, 2016
Photos courtesy of Getty, Twitter.
Maybe it’s me, maybe I watched a different show, but I felt like a lot of races got skewered… and a whole hell lot were in bad taste
I didn’t actually see this joke on the show but isn’t he criticizing stereotypes? Isn’t that the whole point? In fact, I hadn’t a different take than most people on most of the “jokes.” I thought he skewered whites! Saying that black people were being lynched 60 years ago is NOT a joke. People laughed bc they were uncomfortable and thats what you do when someone tells a joke but he was pointing out how recently whites were lynching innocent people- also reminding us that cops are still killing innocent black people. He took everyone to task but I don’t think the people who are offended are really “getting” what he was saying.
Are the people who are offended any dumber or less humorous or less sophisticated than the people who “got” that particular “joke?” Not likely.
Kids of some Asian heritage were presented as classic stereotypes.
It did nothing to frame the argument about the film industry’s serious lack of diversity in its hiring practices and film presentations.
It said, “Ha ha on you, those crafty Chinese are going to outsmart you white slavers.”
It never works to play off one group against another.
I completely agree with you Marny. I kept wondering if those people knew what they were laughing at? I think he was making a point and it went over the white people’s heads. Which, I think, mages his point even stronger.
It was certainly not my intention to question anyone’s intelligence or level of sophistication. I’m only here to defend Chris Rock. I’ve read a lot of his interviews and seen a lot of his stand up and I think he’s brilliant. He makes incredibly astute observations and he’s always fair. He directed some of his criticism (through jokes) at blacks but he directed by far the majority of it at whites. I think it’s a reasonable way to ration out responsibility. As for the joke about Asians being good at math and working in sweat shops, I think it was another example like the lynching “joke” where it got laughs but he was actually criticizing Hollywood and making them look like a**holes.
I didn’t watch the joke when it happened so there might be some missing context, but I read the lynching comment the same way you did, Marny. It seemed like he was mocking the dismissive “At least awful things like that aren’t happening to you people anymore. That’s TRUE racism” argument that people sometimes toss around.
I haven’t seen the joke in action so can’t comment except to say comedic talents like to sit right on the PC boundary. But I’m glad those Asian commentators spoke out. I saw The Big Short a while back and there was a funny moment about a Chinese maths whiz that made me slightly uncomfortable at the same time.
He should get a lot of flak for it.
It’s not funny because its true that children of many countries slave labor our shoes, clothing, electronics, and some foods! He was just shoveling more fuel into the outrage train of hypocrisy…
Yeah I’m usually the last to be offended by edgy/dark humor, but even I cringed at him making jokes about actual slavery that’s happening now. It’d be one (iffy) thing if the rest of his bit wasn’t focused on racism and he kept the child slaves joke in, but as it was, I don’t see how you make the “this is ok” leap from spending hours eviscerating slavery-based white racism then turn around in the same breath and make fun of current child slavery.
Tandy, you hit the nail on the head.
It was always going to be a rough night for Chris. I know he was nervous( I would be too!) , but that whole show was awful. His performance was far from his best. Thank god for DVR. It got Best Editing in my world.
He should get flak. As should the parents, agents, and anyone who allowed those kids to go on that stage to be a part of that joke. Terrible and made me sick to see (after the Oscars, b/c I am happy to say I didn’t watch it).
Waiting to see if all the actors and actresses who were supposedly appalled over the lack of diversity will be demanding to work with diverse casts moving forward.
I would hope that those who allowed the children to go on stage did not know the joke was going to happen. Maybe I’m being naive. I usually look for the best in people. Just my nature.
They knew. There are rehearsals, and children are required to have a parent/guardian with them at all times on set, including rehearsals, so whoever is in charge of those children knew what was going on. As long as there are gross stage parents, there will be kids participating in gross jokes on camera.
Well, they were probably thinking its a good thing to put on the resume. I mean, Asians are not well represented at all in Hollywood, so they get parts where they can. It’s gross, but so is Hollywood.
Are you kidding? they had to rehearse and the parents or guardians had to be on set,because they are minors.When Will Ferrell did a skit with some Asian kids a couple years ago,the kids parents were there.Some local tv show interviewed one of the boys’ mom.Will was at MTV awards and pretended he had an Asian wife and three Asian kids.
Thank you all for the information. @Colette, they typically introduce the people from the accounting firm during the broadcast, so in my mind, this isn’t a “skit” and so wondered if they really had to rehearse it. Sorry I seem to want to think the best of people.
According to Jezebel one of the kid’s parents didn’t know that the joke was going to go in that direction.
http://jezebel.com/oscars-duped-an-8-year-old-girl-into-being-the-butt-of-1762499104
The joke might have been a commentary on racism in more than one way, but it’s good that people are speaking out about it and talking about different types of racism.
Yeah, I didn’t see that bit either (I had tuned out long before it happened) but I’m baffled that anyone thought it would be funny, especially considering the already existing issues with the lack of diversity / racism / etc in the industry.
I mean, what parent would say “Oh yeah, I think it’s ok for my kid to go out there and be the butt of a racist joke because hey! It’s the Oscars! And…something something diversity!” I think Chris Rock really effed with that bit, and I hope he realizes it.
I think the first part of the joke was definitely racist, but the second part regarding the phone seemed to be Rock taking the people to task for crying racism and yet supporting the very companies that exploit cheap labor by using their products to call him out?
its even worse. it means Rock knew 100% what he was doing and knew he would get away with it and dont face any real consequences because its about asians.
& he’s fully responsible for all of it, the Academy said that Rock had full control of what he was doing. He wrote his own jokes, even if he did some other writers in the room that joke had to have his approval. He thought it was a good idea & ran with it.
That’s how I understood the tech joke. Even the first part, I thought initially, though I’ll admit I could be wrong, seemed to be a dig at Hollywood for hiring Asians to be accountants, but not to be in films. I thought he was skewering society, not the kids (sort of like how when people who like Amy Schumer claim she’s skewering certain perceptions of women. I didn’t think the accountant joke was effective, but maybe people’s defences of her influenced how I initially viewed Rock’s joke).
And the monologue seemed to be an answer to the question “why now?” rather than saying people can’t complain about both types of issues. I guess I interpreted the initial monologue differently.
If that’s what he meant, the message seems to have been buried so, so deep and smart as he is… he should have been smart enough to make it more clear.
It’s an interesting education from Twitter. I took Chris Rock’s joke to be pointing out how stereotyped Asian Americans are as being only good at math and Jews good with money.
The second part was aimed at shaming people in the audience by showing the faces of cute kids who COULD look exactly like those working overseas in sweat shops. But it’s good to see that Asian-Americans found it the opposite as is their right and I appreciate them being vocal about it.
It also brings up the point that it’s usually best for specific communities of color to be included in issues pertaining to them. The joke would have gone differently if for example Margaret Cho did it because it would be more obvious that the joke is on the audience not the kids. Chris Rock doing it comes across as insensitive because he is not part of that culture. Same as when Whites do jokes to show discrimination against Blacks but it comes across negatively to Blacks. Or see the N-word debate. Good conversation.
“The joke would have gone differently if for example Margaret Cho did it because it would be more obvious that the joke is on the audience not the kids. Chris Rock doing it comes across as insensitive because he is not part of that culture.”
That’s a good point.
I do think there may have been some good anti-racist intentionality behind the joke, but Asian Americans (I am one) are responding to the way Rock seemingly replicated racist language to talk about Asians just to get a laugh. It’s a very old form of race humor — parodying racism by imitating it — and that kind of joke is no longer acceptable with any other race except Asians. Maybe because of our model minority status, Asian Americans are what’s left for non-Asian Americans to mock using really racist stereotypes. Like, we can “take it” or we “get it” because overall we’re successful enough so that it doesn’t hurt as much or something, while other minority groups would be very, very hurt and damaged by a bunch of stereotypes being deployed “jokingly” against them.
Dee Kay I am so glad you brought this up. I continue to hear slant eyes jokes and “pigeon Chinese” talking jokes and innumerable similar comments — in everything from how kids talk to radio DJs and commercials — it seems like the last group that it’s “acceptable” to make fun of. There’s fear and resentment behind all this, similar to what another successful group, Jews, faced (and sometimes still do), except modern Jews could often not be identified by appearance. Of course it hurts, and not only that, there’s still active discrimination.
The stereotypes of the inscrutable Chinese and the Yellow Peril die hard.
….that’s how I took it too?
@Lem
That’s exactly how I saw it. Second comment nailed the people who have no problem using all their various and sundry Apple products.
That joke seems to have come straight from British Comedian Frankie Boyle anyway
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2016/02/22/frankie-boyle-for-prime-minister/
Scroll down to the bottom
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/frankie-china.jpg
I don’t get why he got so much praise for his hosting job this year. The joke in particular was utter sh*t. His entire performance this year was to attempt to show that the Academy can take criticism, but in a way that doesn’t force the Academy or its viewers to actually confront the #Oscarssowhite issue (and the issue of why there’s so little diversity in the entertainment industry overall).
I’ve come to the conclusion that I hate Chris Rock.
He really did nothing for the diversity conversation. Instead, he made it black and white. Some of his quotes:
1. [The Oscars] need to have black categories.
2. We want black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors.
3. Leo gets a great part every year… But what about the black actors?
The one time he brought Asians into the conversation, it was for a joke about child labor and stereotypes. And he had the gall to put CHILDREN on stage to be the butt of his joke. Not cool.
But he didn’t only make a racist joke about Asians, he also did nothing to help black issues, and also made fun of the #askhermore movement. It would have been better had he not brought up #oscarssowhite at all. He did more harm than good, imo.
I saw literally about 3 minutes of the show. I saw his joke about him, Rihanna’s panties and Jada Pinkett- Smith. Then fwd to see Leo win.
I don’t watch awards shows. They’re boring and most times I don’t know any of the movies or actors/actresses nominated.
Idc about his jokes being racist or any other kind of “ist”. He’s a comedian and that’s what they do. Talk sh-+ and offend. I’m not overly sensitive to that kind of thing. I just don’t think that Chris Rock is funny.
I think Dave Chappelle would have done a better job.
No one is “complaining.” This is a legitimate concern/warranted criticism. I think Rock’s joke was compounded by Sacha Baron Cohen’s unplanned Ali G bit that was, in my book, even more offensive, playing upon the insulting and hurtful stereotype that Asian men are “under-endowed”. So it was multiple times throughout the ceremony that Asian people were the punchline.
Making fun of another minority, how’s that even better? I mean did he really think that joke was going to land. I didn’t get that joke or any of his jokes actually. Btw I love Constance Wu, she’s perfection & her tweet is so right.
I agree with you! I was just saying that I think we have forgotten to include SBC’s offensive bit in our criticism of Chris Rock’s joke and his (SBC’s) joke may have been even more harmful (insult to injury, I know) in reinforcing stereotypes and hurting young Asian people’s self-esteem. Chris Rock is not alone in this type of thinking in Hollywood. I agree with you about Constance. She’s great. Additionally, I hope everyone’s seen actor Jeffrey Wright’s fantastic inclusive attitude – his tweet about the Oscars was great.
SBC’s joke is only mentioned as an afterthought to complaints about Chris’ joke. What irks me is that people excuse SBC’s action because he’s supposed to be playing an unrefined, foolish person. While we’re at it, what is Ali G supposed to be? When I was a kid, I thought he’s parodying white guys who act like a black person ( His name is Alistair Graham) but someone mentioned he’s a caricature of an Arab Muslim guy.
Hearing Sasha Baron Cohen call Asians “yellow minions” who have “little dongs” at the Oscars almost caused me to break the TV. I’m Asian and so sick of being one of the last racial groups it’s still OK to dehumanize in the name of “humor.”
SBC’s real target though is Arabs and Muslims. He has been getting away with racist caricatures of them for over a decade. It’s baffled and infuriated me for years how he gets away with it in film after film and gag after gag, and instead of calling him out, Hollywood and the media keep rewarding him for it. The New York Times called out Chris Rock for the admittedly racist scene, but no mention of SBC whose entire schtick is racist humor.
So f-ing over all of this 🙁
He had the spotlight to talk about diversity instead his jokes didn’t land, made fun of others (Jada, Ask her more, Rihanna, Asians), & it was a mess. Sure we can’t hold him accountable for the #OscarsSoWhite because that’s the industries’ fault not his. But he could have said something like Kevin Hart or even Iñárritu. He should get flak for that joke it was bad & to bring kids into it damn Chris.
This was my big thing. Yes I get that Rock is Black, a lot of his standup in based in Black/White, and no I don’t think he has to speak for everyone…
…usually…
But when you have the platform and the stage for the night in these circumstances? What if George Lopez had hosted, talked only in terms of opportunity for Hispanics, done sketches only about Hispanic inclusion, and then brought three African-American children out for a joke about how good they are at sports? The Hollywood diversity issue is (dare I say it) diverse! This was weak.
I agree with this comment.
LOL but that’s exactly what George Lopez would’ve done! George frequently talks about Hispanic older people not wanting their kids to date Blacks. I believe Asians should get more roles. But I don’t think any other minority comedian would’ve been any different.
I am an enrolled member of the Chickasaw tribe. I am always saddened that diversity at means blacks first, hispanics second, and asians third. Native Americans are NOT even part of the conversation. Black actors being snubbed – name one American Indian actor/actress…you can’t. Liberal whites have focused through the education system to foster and heal relations with black America. None of this outreach has been offered to American Indians. In the USA, the UN declared one pocket of akin to a third world country…it was not Compton, Detroit, South Side Chicago…it was a North Dakota Indian reservation. And black Americans are not inclusive in the fight. People always thinks of themselves first, it is human nature. But Chris Rock tagging women then Asians was wrong. He is a hypocrite much like the Hollywood audience he was schooling.
I am with you on this. Speaking as an American of Asian descent, we could all do better on speaking up for all minorities. Thanks for bringing this up. Hopefully all this conversation continues healing and progress!
“Blacks first, hispanics second, and asians third”. Diversity isn’t a competition but everybody seems to think it is.
I was particularly upset the Grace Dove, the Shuswap actress who plays Leo’s wife in the Revenant wasn’t even invited to the f-ing Oscars.
The powers that be know what they’re doing — divide and conquer, remember? Turning one group against another allows the folks in charge to stay on top.
And I didn’t know that about Grace Dove. Shame on them!
You are right. Diversity conversations generally are limited to whatever minority the speaker is a part of. And that is patently unfair. It is even worse than in a year with so much controversy around Oscars and their lack of inclusion, a member of a minority group gets up on stage and feels it’s ok to disparage another (even less seen/acknowledged, but that is a secondary point) minority. Excuse me, how is that okay? And if you think for even one second that it is, how can you justify being offended by racist jokes that target your own group? It is always wrong, no matter who the comedian or the target group is. Always. And yes, diversity needs to be a bigger, more inclusive conversation.
Yes, yes, yes.
This is exactly what I was thinking. Chris Rock – while yes, pointing out the lack of black actors being nominated, and working as steadily as white actors who are less talented, isn’t pushing for overall inclusiveness. He’s only concerned about his own experience, his own struggle, and in turn find another minority to push down against… this isn’t the right move. I’ve never really been a fan of Chris Rock but at most was indifferent, but this whole mess solidified my distaste for him. His hits against women and other minorities shows that he’s just another part of the problem.
As another note – my husband found out about two years ago now, that his family has very very strong Wampanoag roots. His grandmother was (I believe) around 50% or more Wampanoag heritage, and while my husband is 26, this has only been a part of his life for about 2 years now. And it breaks my heart – because his grandmother (the sweetest old lady) felt ashamed, and kept it quiet because she grew up in a time where the residential schools and terrible treatment was still at a terrible height. My husband now is registered and has Native Status – but we know next to nothing about this part of his heritage, and it’s such a shame. And there is still such a small representation of the native community across all platforms – government, entertainment, etc.
THIS. It’s typically politically incorrect to say this, but it’s true! Diversity issues in America are usually centered around whites versus blacks. Asians are seen as model minorities who aren’t part of the equation when it comes to racism, underrepresentation, and discrimination even though they usually bear the brunt of jokes and bullying because they are stereotypically seen as weak and non-violent. And yes, Native Americans are almost NEVER included in the national discussion on race. They are practically non-existent and forgotten.
I look forward to Asian Americans getting more active in politics. Time to raise some voices!
Yes, people. Why do you have to learn a lesson about every single circumstance?!?! Can’t people just apply a lesson to other seemingly different but exactly the same situation? Don’t stereotype black people and don’t stereotype Asians either!!! It shouldn’t be that hard to apply this to every one! “No, it’s all funny and good until we are told otherwise!”
Honestly, people don’t see it until they are shown the err of their ways. These offensive stereotypes are so engrained that people just accept them as funny. I can kind of understand how masses of people just go along with major atrocities to humankind because they never use critical thinking, even when it’s so easy. Just go along with the masses and if it doesn’t affect then they don’t give a rats ass.
I didn’t care for how he minimized Ask Her More- as if women are being silly for wanting to feel like their thoughts and opinions are just as important as who designed their look.
Why dont they get Jimmy Fallon to do it, I think he would be good at it. Didnt think Chris Rock was funny at all, his whole performance was based around the white nominee controversary, and it wasnt good at all, not even funny or entertaining, it was actually cringeworthy in parts, worst show ever, and I have nearly watched everyone in the past 20 years.
I think Rock was faced with a more difficult task than Oscar hosts in previous years though. If Fallon were to get the job, it would most likely happen in a year where people aren’t talking about only white people nominated, and even if it did, I don’t think he’d be forced to address the situation since he’s, well, white.
I think Rock did fine the last time he hosted in 2005 when he didn’t have to address a hashtag. And I think having to address race relations with nuance is a far more difficult task than having amusing lip synch battles.
Don’t forget the anti-Semite joke within the tasteless Asian joke.
Reinforcing the fact that Jewish Americans and Asian Americans are often made to be the butt of the same “jokes” — they are the “outsiders” who are seen as “too successful” and are therefore stereotyped endlessly.
Once again Dee Kay you are bang on about this! I think I pointed out something similar about Jews above in the thread…but you said it better. Modern American Jews were able to assimilate a little more easily due to most being of European descent, more likely to Anglicize their names etc. And even with this, there was still a great deal of anti-Semitism, even after the devastation of the Holocaust.
It’s harder for Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Malaysian, Polynesian, Thai, Laotian, Vietnamese etc. – Americans to be taken for “white” for obvious reasons.
It’s the crabs in a bucket. If one tries to crawl out, the others pull them back down.
I wish I could be stereotyped as too smart, too successful and too good at math or technology. Instead people grab their purses when I walk by and police view me automatically a dangerous criminal.
Do you also wish that your people could be slaughtered en masse as recently as 80 years ago? Or have the lazy, illegal migrant farm worker stereotype? That you can’t speak English? That you are automatically a terrorist?
There’s lots of negatives for every positive. But thanks for playing the who has it harder Olympics. Pick up your medal on the way out.
Just…starting to think he should have stepped away from the role when he had the chance. It’s pretty clear the added pressure and cultural dialogue added a number of balls for him to juggle in the hosting position and he…dropped a lot of them.
I feel badly too because it’s not entirely his fault but the entire show played to a very very bad cliche.
A nearly all white audience laughing and clapping while a black performer makes jokes about how things used to be harder when black folks got lynched. Urk.
Then the Asian kids sketch…there’s a time and a place for certain jokes and I feel like that joke would have been clever in different circumstances. But especially on a night fraught with discussion about diversity and not stereotyping? …it just went so bad.
I was pissed off by the Asian joke, and I was pissed off that he dismissed “ask her more”. Like… come on.
#AskHerMore is a ridiculous movement that overblows a trivial matter and makes feminism look bad. I think that was one of the few truly on-point jokes he made.
He’s a hypocrite.
As someone black, I’m actually tired of all this Black/White, as if that is the only kinds of people in the world. The joke Rock told wasn’t funny and doesn’t help anyone’s cause for more diversity. Yes, I would like to see more diverse representation in the media, but not at the expense of another group.
You know…I think I’ve come to my personal conclusion on why Chris’s jokes about the issue flopped.
He had a message and a valuable point…but he used struggling ethnicities as a prop for that point. If you want to say to a group, “Hey you’re cool with slave labor and Asians being your accountants but not your leading men” (or any other interpretation of that joke I’ve heard) then you can find a way to do that using Asians as the messengers of the joke, not the bag the joke comes in.
Asian people can’t even get a leading man in a non-stereotypical role outside of ABC and the CW. Why would they enjoy watching some sweet little kids have an audience full of almost exclusively white people laughing at them? “Har har! We DON’T hire other ethnicities! Har har!”
So the white folks who were the target get to comfortably sit in their seats and be ‘skewered’ while Asian kids are used as props. That’s never going to be a good look.
Agree 100%
+ 1
Really good point.
Right on. : )
I agree with this 100%. I don’t think he made any of the ninority groups feel better. I feel like the white people in the audience got a chance to laugh at the expense of others and everyone else was made to feel worse. And my heart went out to those babies who were paraded around the stage to be made fun of.
Yup, the issue is not just black and white. There are many ethnicities being ignored by Hollywood. Chris complained about racism towards Black people, but then did a horrible racist joke towards Asians. How does that make sense? Wrong on so many levels. I’m a fan of Rock’s but he really let me down this time.
That joke was horrible and I’m glad he’s getting called out for it. On another note so many people waste time being mad at black entertainers for hypervisibility rather than promoting other minority actors who speak up about diversity! Gina Rodriguez speaks consistently about the hardships of Latino actors in HW and Aziz Ansari explained brilliantly how Indian actors are treated in his show. Sofia Vergara talked about her experience as a Latina actress when she was asked about diversity. So tell me why do you guys complain when black actors do the same? The whole Oscar diversity issue started because Black Twitter reacted to what they perceived as snubs and then everybody else caught on. You guys can’t be silent about an issue and then get mad because it’s not inclusive enough for your taste. The #notyourmule discussion on twitter is very interesting, check it out.
Also a good point, but sadly a very mixed bag.
It’s basically fun and easy for the media to jump on featuring black people ‘complaining’ about an issue but they never make more effort to really focus on other ethnicities discussions.
Native Americans are, almost invisible in the media’s eyes. I don’t think the discussion just started for other groups but I do think there’s an issue with knowing how to frame the issue and get media attention.
If they’d only managed to show a montage of white-cast clips from over the years, they could have had a good discussion – including Johnny Depp’s Tonto. But it would have made so many power players “uncomfortable” and lord knows we can’t upset the powers that be!
Yes and I’m glad he is, it was super tone deaf and racist.
Also I’m glad people are pointing out he made it a white vs black issue. I understand that during the monologue it was important to keep that angle because the biggest snubs this year were black people, but not even once during the whole show he spoke for diversity or in favour of other minorities. And the one time he talked another race he mocked them…
The Asian joke was foul. It was really crappy and he should have not done it.
Now with that said, black people cannot be the work horses for all POC. Asians and Latinos cannot benefit from and in a lot of cases perpetuate anti black racism and then expect black people to stick their necks out for them. They cannot.
Yes black people are hyper visible but we take all the brunt of the backlash politically, socially, and economically. You want support? Sure, but we cannot speak for you. They are literally killing us at every intersection possible. CNN, MSNBC, FOX and all them play our deaths on a loop for your entertainment. The only group black people probably owe something to is Native Americans that’s it.
@LEXX as I said above by no means does one group have to speak for all others all the time, absolutely not. But look at this one situation; the issue was OscarssoWhite and Hollywood diversity. Rock was the host with a global audience at those very same Oscars. He had the mic. He had creative control to write his monologue. There was no Hispanic, Asian, or Native American host at the Oscars who had the same opportunity. He narrowed the diversity issue and created separation. In these limited circumstances he could have done better.
But there were winners. Three POC won that night and they didn’t really have anything to say, except Innaritu and even then his remarks sounded like he was calling for some colorblind nonsense. We cannot help you if you don’t help yourself.
Lexx, El Chivo Lubezki is a very fair Jewish- Mexican, he is minority, but not exactly a PoC, I would also argue that Iñarritu is more the typical Mexican mixture, but not a PoC either, also minority, as minority/ Spanish speaking foreigners were the Chileans winners of the short animation and I don’t know the nationality of the documentary about women survivors of aytacks with acid, the lady director is from Central Asia, IIRC.
I agree that it was a lost opportunity to speak about the ethnic reality of the USA and how ethnicities are hired in Hollywood.
I find the B vs W discourse very limited, and somehow selfish in the part of CR. Like someone said, if it were a person of a different ethnicity, and black actors were practically ignored during the show, people would be complaining. BTW, How many Latins have hosted the Oscars?
Sasha Baron Cohen also made a tasteless Asian joke about “little yellow men with small penises” (punchline = Minions) too. It was glaring that overtly racist jokes were being made at an Oscars trying hard to overcome a racist image.
That’s disgusting. I never liked him or his schtick, and that just reinforces it. Why do these people get a megaphone? They’re NOT FUNNY.
I only watched his monologue but I did actually say out loud during it that he really needed to make his points more inclusive of all POC not just African Americans.
And no one is talking about his obvious sexism – because lets all throw Feminism under the bus its not important anymore – He was even blatant about it – we don’t need a womens category? don’t we Chris? seeing as women as the worst represented group in Hollywood?
I thought he was funny, but the children bit was not funny. Let alone racist, but those are kids. Not cool. But I found myself laughing when he was on stage.
Here’s info on one of the kids and what they knew (not until right before):
http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-02/what-its-be-butt-joke-one-kids-oscars-speaks-out
My mom and i texted back and forth while watching the Oscars, and even as a blacl woman, this was my major criticism about Rock’s Hosting, word for word my text to my mom “It was good. He hit all the right points. But the fact that he is only mentioning blacks i think is tone deaf. It’s very jarring to my ear. Cause its not just blacks it’s any kind of diversity.”
Her response “Yes but he has to speak as a black man. If the host was Chinese and the same controversy was raging, then he would be hi lighting the lack of Chinese representation!!”
I don’t know i think that’s reductive, as if one minority can’t speak out against injuries on another minority group.
I’m glad others agree with me cause my mom sure didn’t.