Why “The Slap” still matters a year later

The 2022 Academy Awards should mark a return to post-pandemic normality — to its traditional home at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater and to a March date following a COVID-postponed showing at Union Station last April. It was also seen as an opportunity for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate the reforms it has made in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, with a dramatically different membership that includes one of the most diverse nominees in history. from Hollywood. .

Then came the blow. Suddenly nothing mattered anymore.

Millions watched in real time as Will Smith — an overwhelming favorite for his performance in King Richard later that night — took the stage at the Oscars to confront Chris Rock after the comic made too many jokes about his actress wife Jada Pinkett Smith , had told. . In the process, the award became an afterthought for the protagonist and nearly everyone else following the exchange.

A year later, the blow has become more than just a stunning scene from the 2022 Oscars. It’s forever etched in the annals of popular culture, fueled by relentless social media debates from every corner of the event.

The blow continues to hit – with fans of Smith and Rock, with the entertainment industry, with journalists searching for meaning, with Smith and Rock themselves. What does the clap say about America as we look at the approach of the 2023 Oscars?

“’The Slap’: One Year Later” takes an exclusive look behind the scenes right now, through the eyes of Los Angeles Times journalists covering the 2022 Academy Awards and cultural critics trying to understand Will Smith’s attack on Chris Rock on television.