5 Reasons Why America Needs Chris Rock More Than Ever

Image via Complex Original

Date: March 5, 2005

Chris Rock is routinely listed as one of the worst Oscar hosts of all-time, but matchmaking is more at fault than talent. The comedian was chosen to host the Academy Awards in hopes that he'd bring some “edge” to the show, and in that regard he was successful. Rock just had more edge than some viewers and the older Oscar officials could handle. Throughout the show he mercilessly made fun of Hollywood, with Jude Law being his worst victim. 

Taking issue with the jokes at Law's expense, Sean Penn used his award presentation to politely defend his All the King's Men co-star. Critics were less kind, though, and characterized Rock as an ungracious host. Today criticized Rock for “insulting his guests” and said his comments “demonstrate a complete lack of understanding about how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences actually votes.”

Even before the show aired there were signs Rock would be too much for the Oscars to handle. A month before the Academy Awards he said in an interview, "Come on, it's a fashion show. No one performs; it's not like a music show. What straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars? Show me one." He later appeared on Leno to clarify his comments but still stuck with his main thesis: "I really don't know any straight men who aren't in show business that have ever watched the Oscars."

We're not mad at Neil Patrick Harris being selected to host the 2015 Oscars, but it would have been awesome had Rock taken the job. Hollywood needs to be taken to task even more than it did 10 years ago. If he thought Jude Law was too ubiquitous, imagine what he'd say about the orgy of superhero films slated for the next decade. 

Date: Oct. 9, 2009

In the documentary Good Hair, Chris Rock set out to investigate all the work African-American women put into their hair in order to live up to white standards of beauty. He said he was inspired after realizing his 3-year-old daughter had already been conditioned to think her natural hair wasn't desirable. 

Through humor the documentary outlined and challenged existing paradigms shaped by the idea that white women have more beautiful hair. Actress Nia Long was just one of the interviewees in the film to agree with Rock, saying, "There's always this sort of pressure within the black community like, if you have good hair, you're prettier or better than the brown-skinned girl that wears the Afro or the dreads or the natural hairstyle."

But many women within the African-American community took issue with the project. In an essay for Entertainment Weekly, Alynda Wheat refuted many of the movie's points. She acknowledges that black women may have desired more white features in the past but argues that that line of thinking is largely gone today. Wheat also points out that women from a variety of racial backgrounds go to great lengths to have "long, thick, luxurious hair." 

Wheat was one of several guests featured in a round table discussion to discuss Good Hair on Oprah. During the show, Mikki Taylor, of Essence, asked, "When will our hair cease to be political? Every other group of women can do what they want with their hair, and it’s not seen as making a statement. We’re over that, and we wish everyone else would be over it, too."

At the very least everyone can agree Good Hair did a great job of encouraging dialogue about an issue within the black community. African-Americans and the country at large could benefit from him discussing other key issues. The news continually reminds us that racism is far from "over." Just revisit the events in Ferguson. 

Date: June 1, 1996

Bring the Pain transitioned Chris Rock from well-known comedian into GOAT status. The Emmy-winning special is outstanding from top to bottom, but the “Black People vs. N*ggas” routine is the most hotly debated part. “There's like a civil war goin' on with black people, and there's two sides. There's black people, and there's n*ggas. And n*ggas have got to go,” he says during the special.

Divisive in nature and in its reception, the eight-minute rant splits the black community into two categories: “black people and n*ggas.” According to Rock, all the negative stereotypes attributed to African-Americans are acted out by the latter subgroup. “Any time black people want to have a good time, ignorant ass n*ggas fuck it up,” he says. From there Rock runs through a list of his grievances as he builds up to the knockout punch: “When I go to the money machine tonight, I ain't looking over my back for the media. I'm looking for n*ggas.”

Despite chastising Rock for his frequent use of the n-word, Bill Cosby made similar points at 2005 gala dinner commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Even Barack Obama quoted the routine while campaigning in 2008—a testament to the timelessness of Rock's material—albeit with tamer language: “Chris Rock had a routine. He said some—too many of our men, they're proud, they brag about doing things they're supposed to do. They say 'Well, I—I'm not in jail.' Well, you're not supposed to be in jail!”

But there are just as many who look at the bit critically, arguing that Rock's routine justifies white racism. The New Republic dedicated 4,000 words to criticizing Rock, as well as Chris Tucker, for his "reliance upon minstrelsy and coon comedy." The writer of the piece argued, "Chris Rock is attempting to shuck, jive, grin, shout and bulge his eyes all the way back to the days of minstrelsy. His act often legitimizes white racists' view of the world."

Eventually, Rock retired the routine: “By the way, I've never done that joke again, ever, and I probably never will,” Rock said in a 2005 interview with 60 Minutes. “[Because] some people that were racist thought they had license to say n*****r. So, I'm done with that routine.”