The Oscars this year were promoted as a show guys can enjoy, and im sure many noticed why. The Oscars brought along with it Seth McFarlane’s sexist and misogynistic jokes, pedophilia jokes about George Clooney and Quvenzhane Wallis, and overweight jokes about Adele. According to this, degrading women is what the Oscars think men like.
Some on the social media channels thought that they would follow Seth McFarlane’s example and join in the satire and insult but it didn't turn out quite as planned. Satire and Comedy websites are known to get leniency because of the nature of what they represent but not the night of the Oscars, at least not this time.
Many people ask, when do you know that you have crossed the line in Social Media? Well @TheOnion and @CollegeTownLife are the perfect example. After the controversy at the Grammys about Adele's weight, I watched my twitter feed with my eyes peeled as she took to the stage, waiting for that comment, the one that always comes. I am glad to say that there weren't any attacks against her on my feed, Unless you were @CollegeTownLife.
This appeared on my feed:
What you think is a compliment to Adele quickly turns into a nasty comment about her weight. @CollegeTownLife has always been known to post questionable material, but reactions to this post weren't quite the laughing kind.
Take a look:
Once again, a women being honored for the great things she has accomplished boiled down to what she looks like. Sadly, The internet didn't stop there that night, because it wasn't enough to degrade a women, they degraded a child. Quvenzhane Wallis, the youngest best actress Oscar nominee, was the subject of this tweet:
@TheOnion removed their tweet an hour after posting because of the rising controversy.
Apparently @TheOnion doesn't think the young actress should fist pump in celebration of her awesome accomplishments in front of the camera.
It took milliseconds for the twittersphere to break out into a frenzy as many called to action with #unfollowtheonion, and called for the writer to be identified along with being shown some manners. Stars and public alike defended the young actress and could not believe that @TheOnion would stoop to such a level, many demanding an apology.
As of this morning, @TheOnion has issued its apologies but I doubt this stunt will be forgotten any time soon.
At the end, these events make us think. Although the comment about Adele's weight didnt garnish as much attention as Quvenzhane Wallis', it may show how slightly desensitized we are becoming. People think that because Adele is a grown woman she should be used to hearing insults directed toward her and slowly but surely in people's minds it starts to matter less. The reality is this, both ladies were attacked and degraded in a way that sometimes can be more hurtful, because it can't be stopped.
Many found both of the tweets in this piece highly amusing and funny, is this what we are letting our society become?
Leave your comments below!
Natalia Martinez, a new media student at Cedar Crest College, is a student who is all too aware of how the media influences her and others. Always passionate about social justice, she has made it a point to explore and bring injustices and misrepresentations to light by using the same media that portrays them, You can follow her personal account @NataliaDeJesusM. During her spare time she enjoys playing video games, and scouring the app store for the latest mobile games! Follow her geeky musings @GeekFemme or find your way to her blog mode2geek.wordpress.com
