Struck by the King

 

To paraphrase comedian Steve Martin, sometimes comedy wears cruel shoes.

Comedy can be a risky and dangerous business. Especially when comedians take on one of their oldest and most traditional roles - that of Court Jester.

Court Jesters served Kings and Queens from the middle ages on. Their job was to make the often stodgy royals laugh. And it wasn't just juggling. Often they would use their humor to poke fun at the royals and those around them. Sometimes their jokes pointed out deeper truths than anyone else dared attempt.

Often, the jesters were greeted with gales of laughter. But not always. Sometimes, they went too far and wound up exiled or missing a head. It could be the King didn't want truth pointed out to them, or they were just vain and thin-skinned.

All comedy has elements of this. George Carlin, Leeny Bruse, and even Robin Williams got us to face unpleasant aspects of ourselves or society.

One of the modern equivalents of the Court Jester role is the host/comedians of our award shows. They face an audience of very rich, very powerful people. And many of those people think very highly of themselves and their vaulted position.

The comedians target their jokes at that group, trying to puncture their superior status and make them seem more vulnerable and down to Earth. Some, like Ricky Gervais, spend their time attacking the hypocrisy of their wealth and power. Some, like Jay Leno or Jimmy Fallon, do gentle pokes, playful jokes aimed at specific celebrities and/or the movies/shows/songs nominated. 

Others are insult comics who go straight for the jugular, like Don Rickles. It's an exaggerated nastiness that is sharp but at the same time dismissed because it is clearly extreme for the sake of being extreme. And it may contain elements of humor that are no longer in fashion*, that border on racist and sexist slurs.

Chris Rock's niche involves elements of all three. He pokes fun at their social status. He makes playful jokes to individual celebrities. And he can sometimes border on insult humor.

The joke about Jada Pinkett Smith was crass, but I thought more in the Jay Leno category than the other two. It might depend on how much he knew about her medical condition. Either way, I didn't think it was very funny. Will Smith did, at least based on his initial reaction. It wasn't until he looked at his wife's reaction that he got upset.

Chris Rock took the risk and got the smack. Struck by the King (Will Smith would shortly win the Best Oscar for playing King Richard).

The problem is this is not the Middle Ages. That should have never happened.

I am not a perfect person, and I have a problem. I have a fierce temper, which I have battled all my life to control. No, I am not physically or verbally abusive, but I get very loud and upset. It mostly comes out when I can't seem to get people to listen to me when I am calm. So, I get louder and more strident to get my point across.

My strategy doesn't work. It always backfires spectacularly. When I get loud, people no longer hear anything I have to say. They just say something like, "Oh my God! Did you see how loud Tom got? He is out of control!"

When Will Smith struck Chris Rock, he swamped the entire Oscars. He lost whatever point he was trying to make. And everything else was lost, including his own victory as Best Actor. 

The achievement of Questlove's Summer of Soul documentary, the award presented by Chris Rock? LOST. GONE.  

The SIX awards won by Dune? GONE.

The comedy performances of three talented female co-hosts? GONE.

The first female Director, Jame Campion, to have been nominated twice and won this year for Power of the Dog? GONE, GIRL, GONE.

And most cruel of all, the dramatic victory of the first winning film about a deaf family, CODA? SWAMPED. GONE. VANQUISHED FROM THE MEMORY HOLE.

The 2022 Oscars will be remembered for one thing and one thing only -

that a comedian was Struck by the King.

*more often than not, rightfully so.