I was going to write about this clip, but Bob Lefsetz wrote just about everything I wanted to say.
From Bob’s newsletter:
We’re looking for viral moments. And now they’re quantifiable. All YouTube clips have a counter. And, of course, the lame labels are trying to game the system, but not when it’s news, not when it’s an evanescent moment captured on tape. This clip will never have a billion views, but it’ll have enough to help Jennifer Lawrence open her next movie.
And how did it happen?
By breaking all the rules.
Hell, the action’s supposed to be on the screen, during the show!
But it’s small, off-guard moments that end up winning.
What are we gonna remember about the Oscar telecast? Seth MacFarlane, boobs? Even Babs?
No.
We’re gonna remember the mistakes, the honesty, the truth of this unscripted exchange.
It’s all about being forward-worthy.
Think about that when you create. Is what you’re doing so interesting that people are gonna want to tell others about it, without you imploring them to do so?
That’s the magic you’re looking for.
And it’s got nothing to do with perfection, it’s got very little to do with beauty.
It’s got to do with humanity. Life. Insight into what it’s like to be where Jennifer Lawrence is.
She won.
More than an Oscar.
The audience’s heart.
Half the reason people like Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Christie, Norm MacDonald, or former wrestler/Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura is because they speak their honest opinion. By honest opinion, I mean that they don’t often water down what they say like the vast majority of people. I’m not implying they’re speaking 100% truth (maybe my opinion on government conspiracy and UFOs will change if I ever dust off and read my signed copy of Jesse Ventura’s book that I randomly won).
Most people play it safe when they’re interviewed. They stick to their rehearsed script and keep the commentary soft. They figure by not expressing a strong opinion about certain things, they’ll keep themselves open to a much broader audience. But that rarely works. The paradox of being honest, opinionated, and vulnerable is that it makes you more likable. People fear being direct with opinions as to not rock the boat and create conflict. In exchange for being safe they receive obscurity.
Standing out doesn’t 100% rely on being good or perfect (this is proof, I assume). Just as much, it relies on being opinionated and talking directly to a group of people who are craving someone with an edge to speak up in their bubble wrapped world.