While most watching the 2022 Oscars assumed they would only be privy to the sound of clapping, laughing and snubbing, they were soon slapped into reality as Will Smith’s hand made a direct impact with Chris Rock’s face. The reason for this sudden attack? A joke, literally. Chris Rock had poked fun with a GI Jane joke at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett, as she suffers from alopecia. The media took to it fast, everyone formed opinions and Smith was banned from attending the Oscars for ten years. This split-second incident, however, has left the world with a hard-hitting question: is there a line in satire that comedians should not cross?
Seventh grader Mia Federico says that she draws the line in comedy around identity and appearance. “[When it comes to] racism, sexuality, if someone recently had plastic surgery or gained some weight, don’t joke about that. If it’s a joke or a meme a lot of people laugh at, … I feel like before saying it you should get their permission [and ask] if it’s okay or not so it doesn’t result in fights,” she says on how to stay away from a slap.
Sophomore Tucker Thompson admits that drawing a line can definitely be difficult, but that at the end of the day, it all comes down to the intent of the joke. “I definitely think that [it’s okay to joke] as long as you’re not intentionally harming a certain person with a disability, a certain person of a minority or a certain skin color. I think most jokes are fine as long as you’re not using someone’s disadvantage as a comedic reference or joke,” says Thompson, explaining his own line. “I definitely think the line would be making fun of somebody for something they can’t control. That’s probably the line that I would draw.”
Federico comes at it with a sense of empathy as she herself has been at the expense of people’s laughs. “When I was in elementary school, I used to have glasses so I was called ‘four eyes’ a lot,” she says. “And since my last name is ‘Federico,’ a lot of people would mock me and say it with a Spanish accent, even though I’m Italian,” she recalls.
Both instances, appearance regarding glasses and assumed ethnicity regarding names, are examples that left an impact on Federico’s heart and a line drawn in her mind around what is okay to joke about. This also gives the insight that the line to draw in comedy is subjective to what we have all experienced. All people will have different takes on what they think is okay based on their own experiences, insecurities and passions.
Senior Aidan Page shares similar views to Federico in that he strongly believes there was no place for the severity of Smith’s reaction. Page believes that humor is entirely circumstantial and sympathizes with Rock. “Chris Rock didn’t know that Will Smith was going to take it there. I mean it really just depends on who you’re joking about or what the joke is, because for me personally, I think it’s a joke. So if you can’t take the joke, then that’s sometimes on you, but at the same time, there are some things that are like ‘okay that’s a little too much, you keep poking at it, that’s a little too far.’”
Additionally, politics has always been a source of comedy and jokes, but with the digital age and the 21st century, there has been a significant increase in jokes surrounding sitting presidents on both sides of the aisle. In regards to political teasers, Federico says that “in some references it’s okay, but in some it just kind of goes over the line. Like you can joke about the overall view of democracy, but you can’t just single out a president or a party.”
Thompson agrees with Federico that the media has taken too easily to undermine the integrity of the Oval Office. “I definitely think that as a nation we should have respect for whoever is leading the country. It’s hard to respect them when they do something terrible. I definitely think you should have respect, though, even if they’re a different party. You can hate them in private, but I feel like going to the extent of posting something online is just a bit extreme. I feel like there’s so much hate in the world already, putting more out there really isn’t going to do anything.”
The next time you’re making a joke try to remember the tried and true adage, “Think before you speak!”
