It was an Oscar ceremony that was marked by the slap, a slap that
resounded all over the world. Images of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock for
comments he deemed were insulting to his wife has evoked reactions worldwide.
This reaction to the standup performance was unusual in the sense, people
generally go into a show expecting to be provoked, occasionally made fun of and
people generally accept it as pure entertainment. Does this response mean that
if stand-up comedy crosses the line then the public will retaliate? Is it that
society is now getting intolerant?
For standup comedian Ash Chandler this was
a situation he had never experienced himself. He said “As with any form of
expression, whether it is books, music, cinema, religious teachings or comedy,
It’s never going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It is key to remember that no one
should be forced to hear or see material that they find objectionable but if we
claim to live in a free society, no one should be prevented from expressing
themselves also. The great thing about a free market is that it will decide
what it wants for itself. Yes, taste, decorum and decency must prevail in art
but I know that the market will decide what it wants”. Speaking specifically
about the incident at the Oscars he said he was never for violence and believed
reactions should be proportional and commensurate. Violence, he felt, was the
lowest form of expression and the parties in questions have issued their
apologies. He hoped that as a people all issues would be resolved with peaceful
and meaningful dialogue. Ash signed off by saying that it was important to remember
that if one did not like what one was seeing or hearing, it was up to the
person to either leave or turn it off.
Nupura Hautamaki who is a marketing consultant felt people were
getting too sensitive about anything and everything. She felt this was because
freedom of speech was being abused a lot of times by everyone. It was important
she felt to be mindful of people, their feelings and not try to prove a point,
to prove they were right every time. She felt to a certain extent maybe both
are crossing a line. Nupura said “If you are attending a stand up show, you
need to have an open mind, you may like some jokes, you may not like some
jokes, the point being you just need to accept that this is the level of that
comic’s jokes, ignore the ones you don’t like and move on. Otherwise just stop
watching or attending standup comedy shows”.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Sherize D’Souza, who is a singer, felt that when stars make
remarks about people’s personal life, it can get ugly, because it is already
tough to maintain marriages and relationships in today’s fast-paced world. She
said “People don’t care about when they trample on other people’s feelings and
sometimes need to be jolted to knock some sense into them. What Will Smith
resorted to was a reaction, rather than a response. Someone at his level should
have paused and thought about how to address the situation with more class and
poise, rather than resort to physical violence ‘caveman-type behaviour’. I
support Will Smith with his intention, but I just feel that it could have been
handled better with a befitting verbal response. It takes guts to fight and
protect family and hats off to him for defending his wife. I just feel that he
didn’t deal with the situation, tactfully, with billions watching the awards
show from across the world”.
For dentist and popular singer, Varun Carvalho it was all about
the fine line between comedy and sarcasm. He said “I do agree that sometimes
comedians cross the line. I believe that stand up comedians have to be
respectful to people and avoid personal attacks because a lot of people are
very sensitive.”
For young promising actors, Vaibhav Kavlekar felt there was no
problem with the tolerance of today’s society but rather it was important for
stand up comedians to understand the limits of their content and script. He
said “Just because of a few laughs and cheers comedians can’t just insult
anyone in the crowd based on any factors. If we talk about our society, then we
have people among us with various perceptions and ideologies hence artists
specifically stand up comedians should take immense care while writing their
scripts which would not hurt anyone’s feelings in any circumstances. Every
artist should think before performing jokes on someone’s tragedy or health
issues, they should think about it on a deeper note with unbiased opinions and
thoughts. Because at the end of the day, standup comedy is a very strong medium
through which many major issues and topics represent our society albeit in a
funny way, nevertheless it’s more of a responsibility then just entertainment”.
For Nisha Pereira, parent and entrepreneur, the fact that
violence was employed was unacceptable. She said “You can’t hit somebody that’s
not acceptable, you have to have some control, you are an actor after all and
people look up to you. Violence is not the solution to any problem.”
Crossing
the line is something that will continuously generate comment in this society
or anywhere else in the world. One can only hope lessons are learned and
absorbed.
