Rock's presence goosed the TV ratings a bit, but the long-term slide of the Academy Awards show mirrors the long-term slide of the movie industry itself. So did Williams resign from the show in protest? No, he went onstage with a piece of tape on his mouth, and then peeled it off, proceeding to play out the snipped-up script. Of course, everyone in the audience cheered Williams' pseudo-martrydom. In the words of Oscar observer Peggy Noonan, "false courage applauded by the falsely courageous." Indeed, the Academy Awards seemed to specialize in making political points in a politically correct code. The...