Twenty-Two Observations From the Academy Awards Where Will Smith Smacked Chris Rock

Like, what?

1. The Oscars are live, but they never seem live. The whole night is over-produced, over-scripted, over-performed, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s all about, and for, performers. The Oscars never have those live wire moments like “Saturday Night Live” does, or live sports does. Crazy things could theoretically happen. But they never actually do.
2. Until, of course, this.
3. There were a whole bunch of things that happened at the Oscars on Sunday night, but no one is ever going to remember any of them. Not after this:

4. There are two ways to look at this:

a: This was an out-of-control moment by a great American actor who had been scheduled to have a definitive career-capping moment by winning a Best Actor actor Oscar that disgraced not just himself but the event itself.

b: Wow, what incredible television.

5. I’m not sure there’s really a wrong answer here.

6. More on Will Smith in a bit! But there was still an actual show before and after, even if it…