The internet is a wonderful/terrible thing. It’s ability to connect people from all over the globe means that it is now possible for folks from all walks of life to come together and do things otherwise thought impossible. Unfortunately, this is usually manifested by idiotic internet memes that take over your computer for a month until people finally realize they weren’t that funny to begin with and they fade away into nothingness.
I DON'T CARE, 4CHAN!
Every so often though, a meme pops up that makes a real impact on the cultural landscape. And there is usually no discernible reason to explain why. Enter Betty White. For seemingly random reasons, the “Betty White Should Host SNL!” meme was all over the place. Why Betty White? I have yet to come across someone who can provide me an answer with any more depth than “Because she’s awesome!” Now don’t get me wrong, Betty White is a great comedic actress. But it struck me as odd that everyone jumped on board to get her to host. While it would be unfair to say she is past her prime, she is freaking 88 years old.
But then that never stopped Keith Richards
Regardless of the insane reason behind the attempt, it worked, and Betty White did in fact host Saturday Night Live. More importantly, she brought in the shows highest ratings since Tina Fey was doing the Palin skits. And it was a quality show to boot. Even at 88, Ms. White proved she was just as funny as these young whipper-snappers. It seemed a great way for her to go out, by answering the call of pop culture and proving you can still kick ass. But the internet wasn’t done with her yet (the internet apparently being the island from Lost). Now it wants her to host the Academy Awards.
Cinematical asks if Betty White could reinvigorate the Oscars. It’s reasonable to suggest she would. But the more important question, I think, is Does Betty White even want to fucking do it? Let’s not forget, she’s 88 years old. The fact that she hosted a live sketch television show is impressive, but the Oscars is a marathon of self-congratulatory Hollywood excess. With all the wardrobe changes and the bloated run time, should we really be asking America’s most beloved senior citizen to perform simply for our amusement?
It would be one thing if Betty White had expressed some kind of interest to do so. But like the SNL meme, this Oscar one has sprung up on Facebook all on its own. Does she want to do it? Who the fuck cares! 145,000 fans on Facebook demand it!
He demands it
Now, maybe Betty White would in fact like to host the Oscars. In that case, good for her. She probably would do a great job. My point is that it is not up to us to decide that a specific individual should preform. She’s not a trained monkey. She’s not an enslaved gladiator. She doesn’t have to get up on stage just because a bunch of people with too much time on their hands start a petition. She’s earned the right to kick back a bit and only do the things she wants to do. So I guess what I’m saying is, Leave Betty White Alone!
