For a movie that came out in 1997, G.I. Jane is getting a lot of traction today thanks to Chris Rock and Will Smith. When Rock took the stage at last night’s Oscars to announce the winner of Best Documentary, he made a now-infamous joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, who sports a shaved head, saying, “Jada, can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2.”
Will Smith approached the stage and slapped Rock for the joke, but in addition to being the most-talked-about moment of the night, it also has many people wondering what the meaning of the G.I. Jane joke is.
What is the plot of G.I. Jane?
Demi Moore starred in the Ridley Scott film G.I. Jane where she starred as a woman named Jordan O’Neil who enters a newly-created, physically rigorous Navy SEAL program. Moore famously trained for months to endure the physical feats required for the film, and she shaved her head for the part.
Was Jada Pinkett Smith in G.I. Jane?
Jada Pinkett Smith was not in G.I. Jane. In 1997 she was busy filming Scream 2 and lending her voice to the animated film Princess Mononoke. When Chris Rock joked, “Jada, can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2,” it was purely a reference to her shaved hairstyle which was similar to that of Demi Moore’s in the original film.
Why was Chris Rock’s G.I. Jane joke offensive?
In comedy, if a woman is bald, the jokes and references range from G.I. Jane to Sinead O’Connor and that’s literally it. Bald women are often targets of mockery for… Rock seemed pleased with his joke before Smith apprehended him on stage, saying, “That was a nice one.” But Pinkett Smith seemed displeased for being singled out, mostly likely because her choice of hairstyle is due to her battle with autoimmune disease alopecia, which causes hair loss.
In the debate between who was more wrong, Rock for making a joke at Pinkett Smith’s expense (whether or not he knew about her alopecia), or Smith for handling it the way he did, there are no winners. Well, except for the Hollywood exec whose wheels are spinning and is probably going to green-light G.I. Jane 2, because everyone loves a reboot.