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[Daily Dose]( The newsletter to fuel â and thrill â your mind. Read for deep dives into the unmissable ideas and topics shaping our world. May 17, 2022 Today Actors, novelists, musicians and poets have regularly hit the news by hitting each other. Will Smith and Chris Rock are only a recent incarnation of a long line of famous fights â many of them in âdefenseâ of women. In todayâs Daily Dose, we take a look at a couple of famous historical spats, and the old code of chivalry that so often motivates violence. â with reporting by Matthew Blackman from Cape Town, South Africa
Now and before Whatâs broken since Smith hit Rock The Smith-on-Rock face slap â broadcast to a global TV audience â kept much of the world glued to their news feeds in subsequent days. Smith was counter-slapped with a ten-year ban on attending any of the film academyâs events, while Rock refused to speak about the incident. The fallout has everybody divided and confused, and speculation remains as to the feelings of Jada Pinkett Smith, the person who was really at the center of this public spectacle. Bieber vs. Bloom Prior to Smith vs. Rock, we had Bieber vs. Bloom. In 2014, Orlando Bloom, who played elven-warrior Legolas in âLord of the Rings,â seemingly had to defend his ex-wife Miranda Kerrâs honor. Justin Bieber provoked Bloom by saying things to him about Kerr in a restaurant in Ibiza, Spain. Bieber also reportedly shouted, âWhatâs up, b**ch?â Bloom then responded with a punch. Little damage was done, though, as their bodyguards quickly intervened. But Bieber took the matter to Instagram, where he shared a provocative image of Kerr and another image of Bloom crying. As [one commentator suggested](, the three great losers in this affair were Bloom, Bieber and humanity.
Rage of the writers Mario Vargas Llosa vs. Gabriel Garcia Marquez These two South American literary Nobel laureates were once best friends. However, at a film preview in 1976, Vargas Llosa unleashed a right hook as his friend came up to greet him. The punch connected with [Marquezâs eye](. Vargas Llosa also reportedly yelled, âFor what you tried to do to my wife!â Marquez was thought to have comforted Vargas Llossaâs wife while he was off having a love affair. Marquezâs own wife, Mercedes, added a verbal sucker-punch, calling out to Vargas Llosa: âWhat youâre saying canât be true because my husband likes only very good-looking women.â This encounter shows how even those in the loftiest literary set are merely human, like the rest of us. Roy Campbell vs. Stephen Spender South African [Roy Campbell]( was considered one of the most talented poets of his generation. But he also struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues, and was known to have abusive relationships with both women and men. In April of 1947 he climbed onto a London stage and punched fellow poet Stephen Spender in the nose, accusing him, bizarrely, of being âa lesbian.â The two loathed each other personally and politically. Campbellâs wife, Mary, dragged her husband from the stage. Spender, meanwhile, refused to call the police, stating, âHe is a great poet. We must try to understand.â Ernest Hemingway vs. Wallace Stevens Ernest Hemingway is known in many circles today for toxic masculinity â which included occasional bouts of violence. In 1936, while both he and poet Wallace Stevens were in Key West, Stevens loudly âimpugnedâ Hemingwayâs âmanhoodâ within earshot of the novelistâs sister. She is said to have rushed home to tell her brother, who then headed out to confront Stevens. In the [ensuing fight](, Stevens broke his hand on Hemingwayâs jaw. Hemingway himself suffered no injuries. Both agreed to explain Stevensâ various bruises by claiming he fell down the stairs â a rather banal cover story for such esteemed writers. [TAKE OUR POLL](
Origins of the honor fight Knight in shining armor Art historian Kenneth Clark traces the notion of men protecting a womanâs honor back to [chivalry and courtly love](. The doctrine of chivalry asserted that women â who were seen as naturally pure and chaste â were incapable of self-protection in an offensive and violent world. As Professor [Pieter Spierenburg argues](, such beliefs were fundamental to Europeâs violent medieval patriarchal life. âAn important part of menâs honor was precisely to keep up the honor of women,â writes Spierenburg. âMen performed this task by attacking and taking revenge on other men whose actions had compromised their wifeâs, daughterâs or motherâs honor.â That is, the theory of female weakness led directly to male violence. Damsel in distress to Wild Wild West The notion of a damsel in distress needing a swashbuckling hero is older than Greek mythology. And if thereâs one entity that has glorified this storyline for the purpose of making big coin, itâs Hollywood. Many actors, directors and producers have profited from placing strong male heroes alongside supposedly weak â yet always beautiful â female leads. And long before his chivalrous antics at the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith had famously rapped, âAny damsel thatâs in distress / Be out of that dress when she meet Jim West.â WATCH JAY GLAZER on [The Carlos Watson Show](, season 4! What the psychologists think Susan Fiske In the 1990s, Princeton Professor Susan Fiske, along with Peter Glick, defined âbenevolent sexismâ as the societal belief that men have a duty to protect women because of their supposed helplessness. Although this thinking might seem benevolent, Fiske contends it restricts gender equity and damages womenâs rights. Importantly, Fiske testified in [Hopkins v. Price Waterhouse](, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case involving sexual discrimination in the workplace. Michal Chmiel Michal Chmiel â a senior lecturer in psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London â [decided to ask his students]( what they thought of Smith hitting Rock. The survey revealed 58% believed Smithâs behavior was justified. Chmiel believes that portrayals of gender in film and television helped shape these responses. He also points out that research indicates âsome women are so attracted to the idea of being cherished and protected that they donât see men exhibiting such brash behavior as sexists at all.â Chmielâs own perspective was that Smith should view his wife as capable of defending herself. [TAKE OUR POLL]( Community Corner Are acts of masculine chivalry appropriate in this day and age? Share your thoughts with us at OzyCommunity@Ozy.com. ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on âthe New and the Next.â OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. [www.ozy.com]( / #OZY Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. Thatâs OZY!
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