Nestled on the couch, on Mar. 27, the night of the Oscars had families watch as comedian and host Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith until the sound cut out, causing a profound confusion. The cameras, however, didn’t fail to capture the sight of distinguished actor Will Smith swinging at Rock. Instead of highlighting the movie CODA’s historical win for the Best Picture Prize, social media erupted over the jaw-dropping slap and public opinions would soon arise. 

The incident at the Oscars, humorously nick-named “the slap heard around the world,” may have drawn attention to the award show, but no-doubtedly took away attention from the accomplishments of the various deserving actors, actresses and corporations. “I didn’t watch the Oscars, but I know Will Smith slapped someone on stage,” said sophomore Sivan Gil. The things that should be remembered by the audience were instead replaced by the surprising event. 

One major accomplishment from the Oscars was a historical win by “CODA.” The movie, whose title stands for “children of deaf adult,” won three awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and most notably, Best Picture. This was historic because Apple became the first streaming service to release a movie that won the prestigious Best Picture prize. “CODA” was thought to be the underdog, running against Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” which made the victory even more appreciated. 

The “Power of the Dog” didn’t leave empty-handed though. Director Jane Campion became the third woman in Ocsars history to win best director. The night consisted of  notable performances including Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas singing their Best Original Song winner “No Time to Die.” The cast of Disney’s “Encanto” vibrantly performed the trending song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” The song is recognized as the highest-charting song from a Disney movie since 1995. “I loved seeing the performance on live TV, it was interesting to see the voice actors behind the animation,” said Junior Mandy Schoen.

 “Encanto” deservedly won the Best Animated Feature Award. Furthermore, Jessica Chastain accepted the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”   

Had Smith not reacted so unexpectedly to Rock’s joke, the night could have memorialized his accomplishment of becoming the fifth lack man to win Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in “King Richard.” His speech was wasted on apologizing to the Academy and his fellow nominees (but not Rock) for his previous actions, and used his character’s conflicts to justify himself. “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said.  

Critics spotted other flaws from the night, such as the long stretches of time the hosts were off stage, making the show disjointed. Additionally, there were botched introductions, such as when DJ Khaled had to charge on stage and introduce hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes for a second time. Something viewers critiqued as the largest flaw was the eight awards handed out prior to the live broadcasting of the evening. Consequently, the acceptance speeches had to be edited in at ill-fitting times, which caused disturbance to the flow of the night. “I thought the Oscars were entertaining to watch but the show seemed disorganized even before the slap,” said Senior Adalyn Gully. 

Some argue Smith’s slap was symbolic of the shambles of the night, but nonetheless it overshadowed the great accomplishments of the year and will be forever remembered as the incident from the Oscars of 2022.