PAGE 10
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Will Smith banned from Oscars By Bella Lee Staff writer
In case you missed it: this year’s Oscars ceremony has been taking over everyone’s minds lately for one reason. Tensions have been extremely high ever since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on live television during the prestigious ceremony. Now, Smith is beginning to suffer the consequences of his actions. He resigned from the Academy shortly after the incident, and a week later the Academy announced that Smith would be banned from all Academy events, including the Oscars, for the next 10 years. “The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” said the Academy’s official statement. “Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted
to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards. This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.” Smith only gave a simple reply in response, saying, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.” The Academy began official disciplinary proceedings on March 30 and originally scheduled a board meeting for April 18 to take any disciplinary actions. However, in light of Smith’s membership resignation from the Academy on April 1, Academy president David Rubin moved the meeting to April 8. In the wake of this news, industry insiders and moviegoers still want further punishment for Smith. There have been calls for his Oscar for Best Actor in “King Richard,” which he won only 20 minutes after his assault on Chris Rock, to be revoked. In contrast, convicted criminals Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski, both expelled from the Oscars following their crimes, still hold
Contributed photo
Will Smith celebrating his Oscar win shortly after his now-infamous outburst.
on to their multiple Oscars. The last time the Academy has taken drastic measures to uphold conduct proceedings was in 2017 in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the expulsion of Harvey Weinstein. If Smith can receive a punishment like this one, convicted criminals such as Weinstein and Polanski
should be held in the same regard. Both of these two have multiple sexual assault allegations against them, many from victims who were said to be abused when they were only teenagers. However, even though they have been expelled from the Academy, they still maintain their awarded Oscars (Weinstein has been nomi-
nated twice and won once; Polanski has five nominations and one win). It is only the right thing to do to ensure that justice is served correctly. I can only hope that Smith has learned his lesson.
Hurst Hot Take: Check out Dominic Fike By Emma Coppolo A&E editor
After his appearances on the second season of Euphoria, many people have started to realize that Dominic Fike has not received the attention he deserves. As an avid fan of his, I absolutely agree with this sentiment. Fike’s music has the exact vibes that I look for. There is always a song of his that perfectly fits the mood you are in. Honestly, there are very few (if any) songs of his that I can genuinely say I dislike. There are a few, however, that I happen to like just a bit more than the rest. His album “What Could Possibly Go Wrong” has countless tracks on it that I put on repeat. My favorite is probably “Why.” It has a great beat that is perfect to put you in a good mood, especially on a sunny day. The lyrics, though, are the best part. The song is about a woman that has everything she wants, but Fike is questioning if she is really happy. Right after saying, “But it’s no business of mine how you waste your time,” the beat changes up and keeps getting better. There’s a little synth riff at the end that brings it to the perfect close.
Contributed photo
Dominic Fike at the Euphoria Season 2 Premiere.
I have listened to this song an embarrassing amount of times, and it never gets old. Another great song on the album is “Double Negative (Skeleton Shake).” It has a sort of dissonance at the beginning that sets the tone for the rest of the song. My favorite lyric in this song would have to be “if you feel out of place, it’s because you are.” Fike’s lyrics are always spot-
on, so picking a favorite is always difficult to do as they all are amazing. Another hit on the album is “Vampire”. It opens with the lyrics, “I only showed up to tell you everyone at this party’s a vampire.” I think this is an interesting commentary on Hollywood culture and artists being used for their notoriety. The tone of the song is exactly what you would
want it to be for the content. I think it is different from other songs on the album in its overall feel, so I like that it breaks everything up a bit. On his album “Don’t Forget About Me, Demos”, Fike’s song “3 Nights” was a mainstream hit. However, some of the album’s other songs got overshadowed by it. “Socks” is one of Fike’s slower songs. It has a very chill tempo,
and Fike’s voice approach the lyrics beautifully. He is able to convey so much emotion in his lines. That does not go just for this song, but it is quite apparent in this particular track. “Babydoll” is a perfect example of Fike’s style. It is a bit rock, a rap, a bit of its own genre. This song is only a minute and thirty-seven seconds long, which is actually part of the reason I like Dominic Fike. I feel like sometimes artists make songs longer than they should really be just because it is the average in the industry. Fike makes sure that his songs are only as long as is necessary. This is likely part of the reason I rarely find myself skipping his songs. Additionally, his lyrics are consistently good. His lyrics and music always blend together seamlessly, and his lyrics are both beautiful and eloquent. The song that got me into Dominic Fike is “Westcoast Collective.” It was a perfect introduction to his style, so I recommend you start with that as well if you are interested in giving him a chance. I have over twenty of his songs in my everyday playlist, and I can definitely say they make it better.
