Bravo Chris Rock, The Oscars

I've stated this for quite some time now, and idk maybe it's because I understand Rock's sarcastic political humor, but he's the funniest comedian alive. Chris Rock's tone, subject matter, and facial expressions all feed off of his comedic style making them in sync with one another. Last night Chris Rock hosted the 88^th Academy Awards Ceremony for the second time in his career and well with all of the adversary behind Jada Pinkett Smith calling for  Black people to "boycott" the Awards, as a fan of Rock I made sure I watched the show. The Internet has gone crazy since the show and audiences are divided; there's the people who's pissed at Rock because they really don't understand the comedy and are now offended and there's the people like me who thought it was genius, because Rock addressed all the tensions and racial issues that our world currently face with classic comedy. This was the first time I actually watched the entire Awards. 

Chris Rock had no filter last night and in his open monologue he got straight to the point. Instantly addressing the lack of diversity in the Oscars, but he didn't stop there, he weighed in on the social discrimination inside Hollywood, unarmed black teens being murdered by cops, and the best moment was bringing out Stacey Dash. Rock made great points stating how it's hard for black actors to even get acting gigs let alone being nominated for an Oscar. He stated the reason behind him continuing to do the Ceremony and his feelings towards this "boycott." I agree with Chris Rock there are more serious issues than boycotting an entertainment award show. He mocked the Smiths and the boycott, implying how they don't ever stand for political issues unless it directly involved them. 

Audiences who felt disrespected by Rock's reference towards slavery cannot understand sarcasm. The jokes towards slavery were made to make you feel uncomfortable, because the act was unnatural and often overlooked. This was Chris Rock's way of saying "don't forget this happened" and no matter how far we go pass racial issues, slavery was real. I believe we can address slavery while eliminating racism. If everyone accepts that yes, slavery happened without creating hostility what makes it impossible for us to move pass the issue. The only reason why slavery is effects today's society is because the society continues racial injustice. Rock bringing forth these issues using a comedic device was perfect, because inside everyone thought about it because they were forced to. Either you laugh and move on or you harbor and hate, but eliminating is impossible because it happened. 

Probably the most memorable part of the night was the appearance by Stacey Dash. This was perfect, because she came out in the persona to make people laugh and got the complete opposite. I knew before the show aired that Rock would reference Stacey, because of her recent comments towards Black History month and overall Black entertainment, but I was shocked that she actually came out. As she spoke the audiences were silent and she didn't receive a single clap or chuckle. I'm not positive she wanted to receive some laughs but her face when everything was silent was hilarious. She looked like "oh shit I thought they would chuckle at least" she had to have felt embarrassed and stupid. 

Yes, this was the best Oscars I've ever seen thanks to Chris Rock and I'm happy Leonardo Dicaprio finally won, because he's a great versatile actor who's Oscar is long overdue. Honestly I think The Revenant was the only movie I seen that was nominated which showed me that I need to be more diverse, because some of those movies based on the clips looked really good. I'm definitely going to watch Maddmax, which received 6 awards last night, Spotlight winning Best Picture, and Room starring Brie Larson who received the award for best actress. 

The topping on the cake for last night’s show was as the credits rolled Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" played. This was the perfect song to end such a controversial show, raging racial inequities. Not only did Rock show the flaws with racial inequality, but he showed the flaws in people (including blacks) there was no pointing the finger to someone other than you is what I took from the show. Chris Rock turnt up the Oscars honestly and even in the midst of all the controversy, the message was serious. 

Winners List:

Best Picture: “Spotlight”

Direction: “The Revenant,” Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”

Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”

Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”

Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”

Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short,” Charles Randolph and Adam McKay

Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy

Cinematography: “The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki

Production Design: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (set decoration)

Film Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Margaret Sixel

Visual Effects: “Ex Machina,” Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett

Costume Design: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Jenny Beavan

Makeup: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin

Sound Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Mark Mangini and David White

Sound Mixing: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo

Score: “The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone

Song: “Writing’s on the Wall,” from “Spectre,” Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul” (Hungary)

Animated Feature: “Inside Out”

Documentary Feature: “Amy”

Animated Short: “Bear Story”

Documentary Short: “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”

Live Action Short: “Stutterer”