The whole Oscar Slap tempest has focused on Will Smith and what he should or should not have done, but it should also lead us to talk a bit about comedy.
Crossing the Line
A Canadian comedian interviewed on CBC last was going on blithely about how comedians have to be pushing the boundaries all the time. I won’t argue about the truth of that statement. It’s a tough, competitive business; everybody’s looking for an edge, and it’s easy to slip into the misconception that the edgier the better.
But the whole point about stepping over the line is that you risk getting your toes trodden on. If you don’t, then it’s not really a line, is it?
A Different Line
People who step over lines need to be informed of the fact. If they don’t get any reaction, they step further. And sooner or later they get to a different line: the one between comedy and bullying. The “I was only joking” excuse is the oldest trick in the book, used to turn the blame for the bullying back on the victim.
The Line Has Been Drawn
Chris Rock stepped over a couple of lines the other night. First, he made fun of someone who was going through a tough time. Worse than that in the comedy world, he didn’t do his research. There’s an old saying about lawyers that you never ask a question in court that you don’t already know the answer to. It’s the same with comedians. If you jump to a conclusion about another person and then use it to make fun of them, you run the risk of being seen as a bully. When you’re crossing boundaries in your occupation, you have to be more careful, not less. Mr. Rock got carried away with his own importance, and, whether Smith’s reaction was appropriate or not, it sent the needed message loud and clear. Being a comedian is not a free ticket to act like an ass at the expense of other people.
Worst of the Worst
I have personally been under attack by a bully who hid behind the code of conduct of our profession to disguise his activities and refused to take seriously my polite hints, requests, and warnings. I finally had to step outside the boundaries of accepted behaviour to solve the problem. No, I didn’t slap his face. I slapped his ego in front of a gathering of his peers, which to him was far more damaging. From then on, he treated me with respect.
And there are many “comedians” in this world who are completely insensitive to the feelings of other people. They do whatever damage they like, and then hide behind society’s rules. A slap across the face has been the accepted response to an insult for centuries because the damage it does is not physical, but to the ego. And if some of those people need that level of response to make them smarten up, so be it.
I suspect that if Jada Pinkett Smith had walked up there and slapped Chris, this would be a very different conversation.