Beyond 'The Slap,' a community divided by best picture Oscar winner 'CODA'

The Oscars telecast everyone thought just might turn out to be a train wreck did indeed run right off the rails.

On a night when a trio of female comedians were expertly navigating one of the most challenging and uplifting and groundbreaking Academy Awards telecasts in history, along came the shocking, testosterone-fueled slap for the ages that reminded us all exactly why it is women should be in charge of everything from awards shows to governments.

Just after an affronted Will Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock for perhaps unknowingly joking about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, right on cue came a 50th anniversary salute to “The Godfather,” one of the most violent film franchises in history.

And only a few minutes later, Smith delivered a terribly awkward speech that was more riveting and cringeworthy than anything that’s been performed in a film over the past year.   

A tearful Smith shared with the audience the words Denzel Washington whispered in his ear moments before: “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.”

He certainly came for Smith in the form of Chris Rock, who joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head.

Smith acknowledged that he looked like a crazy father and said through tears, “I want to be a vessel for love.” He equated his role as domineering tennis father in “King Richard” to his spontaneous act of violence, saying that Richard Williams was also a man who protected his family. “Love will make you do crazy things,” he said.

He closed by apologizing to everyone but Rock. And never before have we seriously wondered whether an Academy Award winner might be facing an imminent arrest after the ceremony. Rock's publicists said the actor will not be pressing charges. It won't happen, but for the record, the Los Angeles Police Department said: "There is no requirement in California for a victim to file a police complaint for prosecutors to take action against a suspected assailant."

There also was the immediate question of whether Smith might have to give up his long-sought first Oscar for violating the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' ethics policy. The Academy sent out a Tweet about an hour after the telecast saying only: "The Academy does not condone violence of any form."

But in 2017, in response to the industry sex-abuse scandal, CEO Dawn Hudson said: “In addition to achieving excellence in the field of motion picture arts and sciences, members must also behave ethically by upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion and a supportive environment that fosters creativity."

After all that toxicity, the show thankfully found its way back to ending the way it badly needed to end: With “CODA,” as expected, handing the Academy Awards its most feel-good moment in years.

So why doesn’t everyone feel good about the groundbreaking movie winning the latest Best Picture prize? Because the unashamedly sentimental film that was made to bring the Deaf and hearing worlds together has, ironically, divided both the moviegoing public and the Deaf community.

Film fans were polarized, with some unimpressed by the formulaic nature of the story, while others gave themselves over fully to the film’s sentimental celebration of a family of four, three of whom are deaf, navigating the ordinary challenges of everyday life.

But Garrett Zuercher, a profoundly Deaf actor and filmmaker who played the Emcee in Phamaly Theatre Company’s 2013 production of “Cabaret,” wished the film had focused more on the Deaf brother than the hearing sister. 

“I am infinitely more interested in seeing Ruby’s Deaf brother Leo try to decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life than in watching Ruby pursue her singing,” Zuercher said. “I want to see the aspirations and passions and struggles of Deaf people themselves, not the hearing people struggling to support them, only to leave them behind.” Read more here

Diane Sorge of Broomfield, who identifies as “a profoundly hard-of-hearing person who can hear reasonably often thanks to technology,” said, “‘CODA’ is not only a feel-good film, but an important reminder of the loneliness of being deaf in a hearing world. ‘CODA,’ I hope, will enlighten some people to find more compassion and understanding for the Deaf.”

In these difficult times, no matter what film you were rooting for, you’d have to be dead inside not to feel the joy and significance of the moment when “CODA,” based on the 2014 French film “La Famille Bélier,” won in all three of its nominated categories. 

Earlier in the evening, hearts melted when South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung announced Troy Kotsur as the Best Supporting Actor — not by saying his name but by signing it. When the whole Dolby Theatre audience stood in unison and waved their hands in silent applause, it was a moment that will live in Oscars history. Here was a woman struggling with her own English, apologizing for the inherent limitation of language, using her hands instead of her words to deliver a message that could be understood by anyone watching.

“This is dedicated to the Deaf community, the CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) community and the disabled community,” Kotsur said. “This is our moment.”

For the first time, the Academy provided an American Sign Language-interpreted online feed of the Oscars telecast. "I really hope that wasn't a one-time thing because a Deaf actor was nominated this year," said Stewart Caswell, a Phamaly Theatre Company actor from Denver who has cerebral palsy. "This representation and recognition need to continue until the heat death of the universe."

There is no question that these Oscars will be remembered for “CODA” and the Smith meltdown, which is unfortunate given that the Academy, which entered this year in a desperate need to reverse 20 years of declining ratings, got it for the most part right. 

From the start, the telecast was safe in the confident hands of co-hosting comedians Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall, who faced the monumental challenge of navigating COVID, a politically divided America, war in the Ukraine and a growing disconnect between what the Academy thinks of as great art and the populist films the moviegoing public actually wants to see.

After decades of criticism, this was the Oscars showing the absolute best version of itself in terms of inclusivity and representation.

“This year the Academy hired three women to host because it’s cheaper than hiring one man,” said Schumer, getting the night off to a good start.

Just how much Hollywood has changed — or at last, desperately wants to present itself as if it has changed — was in evidence everywhere, and from the stunning start. The telecast opened with Beyoncé serving up the powerful anthem “Be Alive” from a tennis court in Compton, Calif., backed by a full complement of diverse dancers and an orchestra.

Ariana DeBose delivered the speech of the night after making history as the first openly queer woman of color to win as Best Supporting Actress for “West Side Story." “To anyone who has ever questioned your identity, or if you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us," she said.

The evening was an ongoing celebration of diversity among panelists, presenters, nominees and even rotating orchestra leaders.

Talk of politics, which tends to both attract and turn off Oscars viewers, never got a big foothold. The word “Ukraine” was spoken out loud only once, at the end of Francis Ford Coppola’s comments on “The Godfather.” Mila Kunis alluded to the war while introducing the Best Original Song nominee  “Somehow You Do” from the film “Four Good Days,” saying: “Recent global events have left many of us feeling gutted … One cannot help but be in awe of those who find strength to keep fighting through unimaginable darkness."

The Academy decided to devote a minute to scroll a silent message of support by encouraging the global community to support Ukraine “any way that you are able,” saying: “In Ukraine, the basics are now the essentials.”

There were moments of laughter and great escape, and the Academy clearly wanted to act for this one night as if COVID is part of the past, with Rock making the only meaningful comment about COVID and the seeming complete absence of masks in the audience. But things got real less than an hour into the telecast when news bulletins announced that China has begun locking down its largest city amid the country’s latest surging outbreak in the province of Jilim.

The echoing words of the evening were delivered by Sir Anthony Hopkins himself: “Let’s have peace and love and quiet.”