Will Smith's Slap of Love

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Music written generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com

I want to talk about this Will Smith slapping incident at the Oscars, not because it’s low hanging fruit and easy fodder for media commentary, but because there are several things about it that struck me as an opportunity to discuss topics that are really important to me and the themes I discuss on this channel.

One is that it’s not very often that people lose their composure in such a dramatic way in a time and place in which certain measures of etiquette are expected. This is especially true for professional actors. But it seems like, more and more, lately, we can’t keep up the act whether we’re professionals or not.

It suggests to me that a lot of people are at their breaking point which is a scary thing. It seems like we’re living in a tinder box that is ready to explode which brings me to a critical question: What can we do dial this situation back? I wonder if we’re at a point where conflict is inevitable, like the charges have been set and the explosion has to happen, or if there’s a way to untangle the nots and disassemble the fuses.

So on the one hand I sympathize with people like Will Smith, but also the revelatory nature of it all is significant in my mind. As a Catholic Christian, my thinking is always drawn to a sacramental interpretation of things I experience or witness. It’s this notion that the world we experience is very much enchanted.

#willsmith #chrisrock #oscars

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