As tens of thousands return to the streets for the first national Palestine march of 2026, this movement refuses to be sidelined or silenced, says PETER LEARY
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Will Smith slap is the perfect metaphor for a Hollywood in decline
The scrap during an Oscars ceremony that drew its second-lowest TV audience ever cemented the end of Hollywood as the engine room of US cultural hegemony — and mirrors the empire's overall decline, writes JOHN WIGHT
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HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Will Smith’s entire career is now defined by a slap that was seen and heard around the world. At this year’s Hollywood Oscars ceremony Smith, in the judgement of his critics, crossed a line by engaging in this act of violence against comedian and host Chris Rock over the latter making a joke at the expense of the former’s wife, sitting next to him in the bejewelled audience.
It’s worth noting that many of these same outraged liberals, aghast with dismay over a face slap, have been extending themselves in agitating for World War III with Russia over Ukraine these past few weeks.
Anyway, taking a broader view, the degeneration of the Oscars into something akin to a slap (pun intended) stick comedy, mirrors the degeneration of Hollywood as the world’s pre-eminent engine room of culture, entertainment and ideas, which in turn mirrors the fading global hegemony of the US itself.
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