Pop Culture Roundtable: Chris Rock slaps back

<p>Almost a year after actor Will Smith jumped onto the stage of the Academy Awards to slap Chris Rock, Rock exacts revenge with a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/04/entertainment/chris-rock-netflix-live-special/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">new comedy special</a>.<br> <br> And in the notoriously competitive movie industry, the independent film studio <a href="https://a24films.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A24</a> has skyrocketed to success with a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-09/-everything-everywhere-studio-a24-is-independent-film-king?srnd=premium&amp;leadSource=uverify%20wall" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">multibillion-dollar valuation</a> — and 18 Oscar nominations this year.<br> <br> Plus, did the movement “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/movies/oscarssowhite-history.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">#OscarsSoWhite</a>” lead to this year’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/movies/2023/03/10/everything-everywhere-oscars-asian-actors/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">record number</a> of Oscar-nominated Asian and Asian American performers?<br> <br> It’s our Pop Culture Roundtable.<br> <br> <strong>GUESTS</strong><br> <br> <strong>Michael Jeffries</strong>, dean of academic affairs and professor of American studies at Wellesley College<br> <br> <strong>Linda Liu</strong>, lecturer of sociology at UMass Boston, who specializes in cinema, media and cultural studies</p>