Congratulations!
You have just been selected to host the next big award show in Hollywood. Your job is to crack some jokes, entertain guests and viewers and create a positive atmosphere overall. You have had a lot of practice, so it should not be too hard.
Right?
Well, recent award show hosts have created an uncomfortable environment by relying on inappropriate, even misogynistic jokes to poke fun at guests. These hosts should instead make more positive jokes that highlight the accomplishments of their guests while still being funny.
Take the host of the 2024 Golden Globes, Jo Koy, who arrived with an arsenal of offensive, unamusing jokes focusing on embarrassing the Golden Globes guests rather than uplifting their success.
Ignoring the deeper messages and nuances of “Barbie,” Koy quipped about the film being “based on a plastic doll with big boobies,” receiving silent stares from an unamused room as he belittles a film that people are there to celebrate.
“A lot of comedians and hosts find it funny to make fun of certain movies or actresses and they think that will make their audience laugh,” junior Anaika Nagireddy said. “But a lot of times, they offend the actors because they put so much effort into making their movies.”
Furthermore, as Wolf Radio smartly puts it, instead of making scrutinizing jokes about the long run-time of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Koy could have humored audiences on how the film “blew up” the box office in its widespread success.
Going back to the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith slapped comedian-host Chris Rock for his joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, further exemplifying how hosts do not know how to accurately read a room. Not only did Rock’s joke elicit barely any laughter, but it ignited angry responses.
On the other hand, some may argue that Koy, Rock and other award show hosts should not be fully blamed for their issues entertaining the audience since there is often a very fine line between stale jokes that do not take enough risk and those that go too far.
However, award show hosts do not have to solely depend on jokes if they are not confident in their ability to please the audience. For example, Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris made for a great show at the 2009 and 2010 Oscars, respectively, simply by singing and dancing, according to Forbes.
Those selecting the hosts in their award shows can even look for people with backgrounds in these alternative forms of amusement instead of limiting themselves to comedians. Since so many hosts often count on comedy, other entertainment methods may be refreshing and even more engaging to guests and viewers.
By using these other forms of entertainment or planning their jokes to emphasize the success of their guests, award show hosts can lead a more enjoyable night for everyone involved.
