By Reid A.
I was truly shocked after witnessing the renowned movie star Will Smith slap comedic legend, Chris Rock. Personally I thought that the slap looked like a staged WWE stunt. Although to some the slap may have seemed unprovoked, Will Smith was vocally defending his wife, which lead to him slapping Chris Rock. As we read in Chapter 10 of Gendered Lives, men are often ascribed stereotypes. Societal places have many stereotypes of men, however, in Gendered Lives, only 3 stereotypes are mentioned on pg 201; breadwinners, sturdy oaks, and fighters. In this particular instance, some may begin to ascribe the fighter trait to Will Smith. Traits Gendered Lives ascribes to being a fighter, are aggressive, ruthless, and competitive. Is Will Smith now considered a fighter? He was once recognized by the media for being an admirable father figure, so this can truly revolutionize his career, and could possibly be detrimental. What does this mean for Chris? Does this mean that he is docile simply for not being the aggressor in the scenario? Some may say that he should not have been running his mouth, which caused the slapping. However, others may say that Will Smith should have kept his cool. In my opinion, both instances are well causes for the heightened emotions depicted in the stage fight.
What were the causes of the incident you might ask? Presumably Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Wills Smith’s wife. Interestingly enough, Jada Pinkett Smith stated in an Exclusive interview, that she wishes Will did not slap Chris Rock and that Will was just overreacting. Does this mean that Jada does not agree with her husband fighting? She may possibly be fearing the attention that the media will put on Will for this incident. In my opinion Jada should have Will’s back in this situation, as he put his own honor aside to protect his wife’s social capital. However, on tik tok, viewers are mentioning that the fight falls along the lines of assault and not protection. Will’s actions are widely liked on social media platforms for entertainment purposes, but truly ignored by the professional aspect. I think that both parties involved need to be held accountable. No one likes when jokes are made about their loved ones, just as much as no one likes to get slapped in the face.
It is also interesting to look at what if scenarios. Had WIll Smith not slapped Chris Rock, would people demean him for not defending his wife. At what point is the double blind on men going to be taken? Will was damned from the start with this fight because perspectives from both sides showcase a man defending his wife’s honor and a man that was just simply trying to make a joke to keep the banter of the award show to a minimum. Yeah, Chris Rock probably shouldn’t have made a joke about a woman, but does that mean he needed to be slapped? This fight can truly change the way that men are depicted in the media because it is obvious that viewers are agreeing that Will Smith took the win. This means that society is redefining what it truly means to be a protective, and admirable husband and father. Although his actions were not liked by his wife, they were liked by the masses. Viewers liked and agreed that Will was rightfully defending his wife yet were unaware of the double blind that, had he not followed through with the slapping, he could have appeared less masculine.
In conclusion, I think that the attention the Will and Chris received from this stage fight could be detrimental to their careers since the viewers agreed that it’s real, because personally it looked fake to me. The careers of both can be affected because Will is now seen as an aggressor in the media, a trait that is not even liked by his own wife. Simply put, the media scrutinizes men more heavily for appearing to be less masculine, or less willing to be an aggressor.