If it’s a last-minute twist at the Oscars visual Repeating all the last-minute shifts in American culture recently — the Super Bowl, the election — is absurd Five-minute clip It’s worth noting what was captured earlier in the night regarding the country’s ongoing tensions and tastes regarding iPhone peripherals.
Host Jimmy Kimmel’s team arranged for a sightseeing bus carrying supposedly “real” tourists to enter the room, expecting a museum exhibit about the Oscars, but instead found themselves in the middle of the actual event. “Welcome to the Dolby Theater,” Kimmel announced. “This is the home of the Oscars, which are actually happening now.”
The Greatest Hollywood Tour Bus Trip Ever… @Starline Tours #TheOscars pic.twitter.com/hUsuhPQf0I
– Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 27, 2017
The segment was both entertaining and confusing: a strange microcosm of Hollywood’s relationship with America, America’s relationship with the media, and Jimmy Kimmel’s ability to make everything a little more awkward than it needs to be.
Hunger for folk heroes (and memes)
At the front of the group was the man who would become the rising star of the moment, Gary from Chicago. In the suit room, he was wearing basketball shorts, a baseball cap, and a “Hollywood” sweatshirt, with the gender-progressive touches of a purple phone case and a bag that might have been his fiancée’s. If the cute ambush was intimidating, he showed no signs of it, happily introducing himself to the stars and quickly responding to Kimmel’s jokes. On social media, popular culture craves the token quirky everyman — see: Ken Bone, Joe the Plumber — fast She made herself known. So did the cravings Various marketing teams for companies.
Our collective phone addiction
The dozen or so tourists seemed to realize what was happening at different rates, with different emotions—fear, exhilaration, apathy—but they were united in keeping their phones in front of their faces. “You know we’re on TV, so you don’t need to do that,” Kimmel said as Gary continued to film the room. His answer: “I know but I want to. I want to.”
The phone accessories themselves could form a fashion column after the show: one woman wore a jeweled bag, while another carried a selfie stick as if it were a talisman. Devices in hand, the group pulled celebrities out for selfies; Gary even handed his phone to Mahershala Ali as he posed with actor Oscar.
For the tourists, it was a rare opportunity to see people in the flesh that they usually only see on screen. However, they still insist that there is a barrier between them.
Piercing the Hollywood bubble…
In an era when Americans became acutely aware of how isolated their various spheres were—politically, socially, and geographically—working citizens from all over the country were literally bussed in for cultural exchange with the cultural elite. The stars greeted them warmly: Ryan Gosling gave Gary a gift, Jennifer Aniston handed her sunglasses, and Meryl, Mahershala and others smiled and hugged each other. Denzel Washington even “married” Gary and his fiancée Vicki, although it must be said that this particular cinematic icon seemed in no hurry to get back to his seat.
…or enhance it
The Oscars (the host) is very white
The tourists were a mix of white, black, and brown men and women. But Kimmel made diversity seem completely unnatural by using dull humor about “funny” names — names that are unusual for white Americans. When the tourists entered the room, he made the crowd chant “Mahershala!”, the name “Mahershala.” moonlightWinner of Best Supporting Actor. Later, Kimmel had a horrified reaction when a woman of Asian descent told Kimmel that her name rhymed with “jewelry.” When her husband said his name was Patrick, Kimmel responded with sarcastic relief: “See, that’s a name.”
In an event recently accused of white supremacy, this was a very tone-deaf trick. But Gary, of course, helped unload it. “I feel like you’re ignoring white celebrities,” Kimmel said. Gary: “Because I am!”
Live TV craze
My nervous reactions were in full effect as I watched this clip, and judging by the backlash on Twitter, I wasn’t alone. It is certainly possible that the tourists were merely actors, or that they were at least trained to a greater extent than we thought. Still, the spectacle of chaos at a venue as meticulously choreographed, widely watched, and culturally charged as the Oscars was interesting. At the end of the night, viewers will be reminded of what makes live TV like this so exciting – the potential for disaster and miracles.