Let's Not Misunderestimate Jon Stewart

A bitter controversy may be raging somewhere about one of Oscar host Jon Stewart's quips.  hip hop arrived at the Oscars, and we will let the LA Daily News set the scene:

Top 5 Oscar moments

...The performance of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," followed by the winners' exuberantly incoherent acceptance speech and Jon Stewart's amused response: "Apparently, it's getting easier out here for a pimp," and "Martin Scorsese: zero Oscars; Three 6 Mafia: one."

So, just what did Mr. Stewart mean by the Scorsese comment?  Currently there are two interpretations on offer:

(a)  Where have we arrived that a brilliant artist like Scorsese has no Oscars while these street punks, whose next track is almost certainly about either offing pigs or slapping hos, have one?

(b)  Hey, the street punks won, get over it - Scorsese made a career out of glorifying Italian thugs, so why shouldn't these guys ride the gangsta gravy train?

Views differ - my impression from Stewart's face when Three 6 Mafia won is that he was thinking to himself, hmm, I have about four very funny career ending quips here, maybe I'll take a moment to reflect.

Comments

[kim]

It's always been hard out here for a fool.
====================================

[larwyn]

Already did the work in a comment at "God Lied, People Died"

The Oscar Encores LET'S LOOK AHEAD TO THE AFTERMATH:
I have censored - Vandeleun's post
presents uncensored.

Blow A N****'s A** Off
F*** That N****
F*** Dat S***
Get Buck Mu***f**** (Original)
Long And Hard (Original)
No I'm Not Dat N****
H**s Can Be Like N*****
From Da Back
F*** Y'all H**s
Mafia N****z
Weak Azz B****
Jealous A** B****s
Beatem To Da Floor
Put Cha * In Her Mouth
P**** Got Ya Hooked
Slob On My K***
or the immortal,
Slob On My K*** (Pt. II)

Hey gang, let's get with it and thank the people that brought us
this and vote just like them tells us to!

Funny the cable news channels neglected to report on the
winning Oscar Song this year. Just not a hummmer.

[Sue]

I thought Jon Stewart sucked.

[maryrose]

One thing about Jon Stewart recently on Larry King Live he was asked "So does your party want us to lose in Iraq?" And Stewart answered Larry" What are you insane? Of course not I've got kids.
Now Clooney,that's another story- His head has gotten mighty big since his Facts of Life supporting role and starring role in ER,which by the way got way better after he left.

[maryrose]

Scorcese has made some really great films. He deserves an Oscar. I hope he gets one sometime down the line.

[larwyn]

AMAZING!

MATTHEWS AND SHARPTON ARE GIVING THE ACADEMY HELL FOR VOTING FOR THE BEST SONG.

[MayBee]

Stewart, I think, was bemused by the idea that Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar, especially at an awards show that spent a great deal of time glorifying how life-changing and socially conscious Hollywood is.
He definitely meant a).

Furthermore, I thought his quip about Three 6 Mafia being the most jubilant people at the ceremony was an interesting observation. I think he was surprised to see how unable to laugh at itself his audience was. They weren't there to have fun, by golly. They were there to celebrate art and change the world. And give a pimpin' song an Oscar.

[MayBee]

I have no problem with that song winning, by the way.
But I don't know that that dance number will make it into future Hollywood Saves the World montages.

[Tollhouse]

At least he admits to being on one side or the other. Too many of his fans are of the too good for partisan politics to actually stand behind what they repeat, Jay Bennish types, they'll put it out there, but they won't back it up.

[Tollhouse]

They won't stand for what they believe in.

[Rick Ballard]

"They won't stand for what they believe in."

Do you think it possible, within the confines of the English language (leaving aside interpretative dance and Peruvian Indian flute music) to articulate what "they" believe in? Since the inarticulate, yet totally incomprehensible Marlon Brando selected Littlefeather to address the academy, I have found only an increasingly incoherent representation of a total lack of cognitive ability expressed during the ceremonies.

These are actors, were they thinkers, they might be writers. Most of them aren't even very good actors.

[Gary Maxwell]

Oh oh! Mathews strayed off the liberal reservation again? They will likely treat him like a member of the slapaho tribe. Maybe Sharpton being there will give him some street cred. Has Rev Al figured out what Bill Cosby has been preaching? Or was he just feeling sorry for Mathews who has been down on his luck after getting that lump of coal for Fitzmas.

[Tollhouse]

Politics being what it is, it's easier to attack the other sides proposals, then forwarding your own. I'm sure they believe in something, even if it's Bush is wrong.

[richard mcenroe]

Tollhouse — Nah, they don't. KOS articulated this strategy for the Party after the 2004 waxing: they don't have the strength to win any stand-up fights (under the laughable assumption the Reps in Congress would, you know, stand up), so settle for a strategy of criticizing and condemning anything that did get done, so that when the bitter, resentful Bush-hating electorate looked around for an alternative, all they would have to say was, "Hey, look at us! We made the same complaints! Bring us back!" The fact that this requires contradicting themselves at every change in real-world events is irrelevant, as long as they are angry enough, loudly enough, long enough.

[JJ]

@ Mr. Tennis Man

Therefore you've got Glenn Greenwald's last ditch strategy. Call em all out to fight and if'n they don't stand up, call em all kowards and kultists.

They don't need no stinkin' facts. Kause they got anger, outrage, and...and WORDS!

Heh, I take Stewart's side on the Oscars. In his defense, they shouldn't ask any comedian to host the Oskars. Actors don't like playing the straight man and there's too much temptation there for a good comedian.

[Rick Ballard]

What has "a good comedian" to do with Stewart?

[JJ]

Yea, well, or an average one or a bad one...

[Gary Maxwell]

Tennis man?

John McEnroe

Richard is that your long lost brother or sumthing?

[Soylent Red]

Rick beat me to it, but...

I have no idea why anyone in the world takes the time to care what the E! Channel set says, thinks, or does.

They were self-absorbed attention whores when I had to deal with them in high school and university, and now they are just very well-paid self-absorbed attention whores.

Hardly the people to be counting on for evangelism to the Red States.

[Wagstaff]

Stewart simply thought it was funny that a pimp song won. Next, being comically minded, he associated the 'mafia' in the name with Scorsese. Add a numerical tally and the joke writes itself.

[larwyn]

Art = Life or Life = Art

It's "Hard Out in East St. Louis for a Pimp"
& Democratic Vote Fraud at GatewayPundit

The Best Oscar for Original Song,"It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" could not have been more timely as the East St. Louis voter fraud, attempted murder and running of a prostitution ring out of City Hall sentencing continued on Friday.

Last month Kelvin Ellis was sentenced to four and a half years for scheming to buy votes in the November 2004 election. Ellis was also convicted of trying to have an unidentified witness killed. The witness had threatened to expose a prostitution ring Ellis was running out of City Hall.

Of course the LSM will never cover these crimes by Democrats of a victim class.

Oh yeah, only Republicans steal elections.

[SaveFarris]

I think Stewart lost it after the first two jokes (seeing stars w/out donating to teh DNC, first time voting on a winner) bombed big time. He immediatly course-corrected into the usual Bruce Villanch-style "My, look at all the celebrities..." jokes.

[richard mcenroe]

Gary — Different boats, as far as my family tree shows.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Thanks For the Memories.

[ed]

How about c) Three 6 Mafia have never even been nominated for an Oscar before and Scorsese's been doing this for 100 years.

[mojo]

"Raging Bull" deserved an Oscar. So did "Taxi Driver".

Ho-slappin' Pimps? Not so much.

[Robert Speirs]

Just ask yourself, "What would Osama do?" and consider the consequences.