CommentsTHE DOCTOR IS IN - As a dermatologist, I understand first-hand Will Smith's outrage over Chris Rock's comments about "GI Jane 2" when referencing Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Frankly, it looked like Will Smith initially laughed, but probably saw his wife's response and chose to protect her at all costs.
The verbal outrage on the part of Mr. Smith? Certainly. Breaking the law and physically assaulting Chris Rock? Not so much--Smith was dead, dead, dead wrong...and unless we all want this to be a "new normal" when someone says things we don't like, it's probably something to be condemned, and not to be applauded.
But hey! Will Smith did increase Oscar viewership, interest, and relevance as more and more viewers turned off the elitist show that increasingly meant nothing to their lives...so maybe we ought to consider ten new and exciting ways to bring back Oscar viewership next year:
1) Have Chris Rock and Will Smith co-host the Oscars next year? I mean...who the heck wouldn't watch that? Even if they buried the hatchet (they probably will), viewership has to go up.
2) Have Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in a Mixed Martial Arts match.
3) Have Joe Biden and Donald Trump in a Mixed Martial Arts match.
4) Throw in Barack Obama, G.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton to keep things spicy. Maybe Hillary, to boot?
5) Have Will Smith ("King Richard") and Denzel Washington ("King Othello") in a sword-fight until one draws first-blood. All bets and rules are off...with the exception of decapitation. Decapitation...not cool!
6) Have special awards for Best Actor, Actress, Movie, etc. for movies actually seen by the general public.
7) Have a new award for Biggest Grossing Film to keep things relevant.
8) Have a new award for "Most Woke" film to be inclusionary...even to those who most of us cannot stand.
9) Inviting Kanye West to lead a "Who Got Served" music match-up and dance-off to see who gets lyrically and musically smacked down the most.
10) And finally...have new awards for Best Dressed, Least Dressed, and Most Irrelevant of all those red carpet attendees who most of us are really, really, REALLY sick of.
BRING IT ON, OSCARS!!!
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 9, years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach, Planning, and Transportation/Infrastructure Committees for 10 years. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
