Was the Edward Snowden Joke at the Oscars Funny?
(Image: Associated Press)
At the Oscars on Sunday, host Neil Patrick Harris made what he must have thought would be a pretty innocuous joke. Citizenfour, the documentary about NSA leaker Edward Snowden, had won Best Documentary. The filmmakers had just exited the stage. Cut to Neil Patrick Harris:
"The subject of Citizenfour, Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason."
Get it? Snowden couldn’t be there because he sought asylum in Russia following the leaks for fear of prosecution; he has been accused of treason by at least one prominent Democratic senator, and called a traitor by one prominent Republican congressman. He has been called much worse by many Internet commenters.
Meanwhile, the word “reason” rhymes with “treason.”
Was the joke funny? I chuckled. I doubt anyone spilled their popcorn or spewed out their chardonnay. The moment passed, and another forgettable pun receded into the distant amnesia of televised award shows.
And then the reactions started pouring in. Wil Wheaton, the Star Trek actor, tweeted that he was “profoundly disappointed in the “for some treason” joke from NPH” and concluded that “Edward Snowden is a patriot, who stood up for all Americans.” The Guardian, meanwhile, where journalists have been publishing the findings from NSA’s leaks, dubbed the joke one of the best lines of the night.
Glenn Greenwald is one of the journalists behind Citizenfour and the Snowden leaks in The Guardian (but not on its Oscars wrapup coverage). After the show he was asked for comment about the pun (yes, really) by BuzzFeed News:
“I’m just gonna go ahead and treat it as a joke,” he said, before not treating it as a joke: “I thought it was pretty pitiful, given Hollywood’s fondness for congratulating itself for doing things like standing up for McCarthyism and blacklists. So to just casually spew that sort of accusation against someone who’s not even charged with it, let alone convicted of it, I think is, you know, stupid and irresponsible.”
He added: “But I’m trying not to make too much out of it. Although I’m not succeeding.” (Agreed!)
Greenwald wasn’t the only one who had trouble not making too much of it. The media piled on. Thinkpieces flowed. (Sample piece: “Neil Patrick Harris’ Edward Snowden Joke: Far From Funny”). Tweet battles raged.
The LA Times asked Laura Poitras, the director of Citizenfour, what she thought of the Oscars pun: ”At best it’s a bad joke. On those questions, I think everyone can reach their own conclusion, but I think I’m pretty sure that history is going to answer that question and that Neil Patrick Harris is wrong.”
History probably won’t judge a throwaway line during a forgettable telecast by an underachieving Oscars host –– History, I am guessing, has far more important cases on its docket –– but the point is taken: What is at stake here is the national opinion of Snowden and his actions. The filmmakers and journalists clearly have a stake in defending them both; a little wisecrack that undercuts the consecration of their film may have been ill-timed. Why not deliver the treason joke during the monologue, so as to not subvert the victory? (Perhaps Poitras and Greenwald can take solace in the recent reports that show this year’s Oscars scored the lowest audience in 6 years.)
Anyway, what of the joke’s subject? During an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit yesterday, Edward Snowden himself was asked what he thought of the Oscars Treason dig. His response:
“To be honest, I laughed at [Neil Patrick Harris]. I don’t think it was meant as a political statement, but even if it was, that’s not so bad. My perspective is if you’re not willing to be called a few names to help out your country, you don’t care enough.”
His answer made the preceding hubbub seem a little silly. And regardless of what you think of Snowden and his actions, this seems like the correct, measured response to the crack: Let your work talk for you and respond to haters.
Oh, and also: Laugh a little bit! It’s good for you, and the NSA overseer who is spying on your every move enjoys it when you smile.
