Oscar night wins worst performance

Author: Amanda Brickell '08

Every February, I feel a twinge of giddy excitement as Oscar night approaches. I have watched the Academy Awards ever since I was a little girl - this year's show served a double purpose as it would help me with the transition from the excitement of Winter Carnival to this week's line-up of classes and midterms. The pre-show began as usual - enthusiastic commentators interviewed the actors on the red carpet, women gleamed in their glorious satin gowns of all shades and even the most slovenly actors were dressed smartly in dapper ties and shining shoes. The actors, the media and viewers like myself were all prepared for a special and widely broadcasted event that would honor Hollywood's most talented men and women.

Comedian Chris Rock, host of this year's Academy Awards, began the ceremony with a few opening jokes. As he began speaking, however, his humor was far from what I expected would be included on such an elegant occasion. Rock told the audience, who was giving him a standing ovation, to "sit your asses down." He then poked fun at Michael Moore's weight, President Bush's policies and the types of films that were targeted at African Americans. He compared the war in Iraq to a squabble between Gap and Banana Republic, where soldiers stained Gap khakis with their blood after giving up their lives over Banana Republic's supposed creation of "toxic tank tops."

Rock proceeded to introduce one of the presenters, Renee Zellweger, by commenting on the weight she gained for her role in "Bridget Jones' Diary." Robin Williams, another presenter, cracked jokes about gay cartoon characters, plastic surgery and nipples, and how animation was like a bottle of Viagra. Even Mike Myers contributed to the innapropriate humor with his line about his favorite scene in Shrek 2, where Shrek "farts in the mud."

I was both appalled and surprised by the tastelessness of the choreographed jokes. One would think that some of the most well paid writers in the country were clever enough to create a script that could amuse viewers without bathroom humor and crude lines like "Kiss my black ass." The jokes were both disrespectful and distracting - I found it difficult to concentrate on who was being honored throughout the show.

Perhaps Hollywood was trying to broaden its viewership by dumbing down the ceremony's comedic aspects and making the affair less uptight. But do these actors and actresses need to be pointed out and insulted by the host just to gain more viewers? Surely, there must be some other way to attract a wider audience. Foreigners already stereotype the United States of America as being a country without any culture.

The lack of courtesy and graciousness shown by the hosts and presenters certainly corroborates this kind of claim. Perhaps Americans, particularly those in Hollywood who would like put forth a better face to the international world, will be more mindful of their projected image the next time around.