(no subject)

[technoir]

I don't know if it is a sign of age or what. I finally saw something so offensive from family guy that I wont watch the show any more. For those who want to know, it was the Mexican Superfriends skit. It is so racist that I am mildly embarrassed I even watched it and I have seen Birth of a Nation. It was not funny just offensive.


oh well.

Comments

[tomdpimp.livejournal.com]

Every show has one bad moment. Better to attack all, ala South Park, then have a bias.

[msrlapin.livejournal.com]

Actually, better to just not attack at all. Things don't have to be funny to be offensive. I've never liked South Park, either.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the occassional sharp look at a group or shocking offense if you do it in the service actually saying something interesting. However, if all you are showing is racist drivel and not doing any thing new or interesting or even funny then well whats the point?

[tomdpimp.livejournal.com]

Comedy that is safe is dull or just a waste of time. George Carlin's last HBO special had him open by insulting Lance Armstrong. How tough is that and it was funny.

[msrlapin.livejournal.com]

... so Wall-E is a waste of time?

Or the The Muppet Show?

Or Buster Keaton, or the Marx Brothers, or The Smothers Brothers, or... heck, just about anyone before the 60's?

I disagree.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

Being offensive does not preclude it being funny. You can go after people and be funny. It is a matter of scale and how you say it. George Carlin and Lenny Bruce were funny.

[msrlapin.livejournal.com]

...but by the same token, you can be funny and *not* go after people. And honestly, I don't see much of that anymore.

[monkeyd.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Bring back Red Skelton, damnit.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

I kind of like Jack Benny.

[goblinkatie.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Jack Benny.

Ahhh, the Jello Show.

I remember Mary, who else was there?

[technoir.livejournal.com]

Oh agreed. Wall-E was merely a redo of Charley Chaplin or Buster Keaton and it is funny and touching.

I do acknowledge the lack of refinement or courtesy in society. This is not just in humor but in movies, music, politics, and even our news. The upside is there are few sacred cows. We can always point to things that are wrong or even silly and not fear it is a forbidden subject. The downside is people begin to loose perspective and courtesy.

[tomdpimp.livejournal.com]

The Muppet Show had risky comedy. Several of the muppets are parody of sterotypes. Buster Keaton, a personal obession of mine, his most famous comedies always made fun of women. The Marx Brothers? In 1930s the comments made to Margert Dumont were very harsh. It just looks tame by today's standards.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

The thing is George Carlin and Lenny Bruce before him were offensive but always with a point. They were funny and actually saying something. I don't mind people pressing buttons as long as it has a point to it and are funny.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

When you try to offend for a laugh and you fail to make the audience laugh then your just offensive. If you can't say something clever or interesting in your offense then why bother. This is why I stopped watching South park. They stopped being funny. One episode a season of south park is funny to me. The rest end up boring me. Being offensive alone is not funny even if you are across the board.