Have we become TOO insensitive?

[Parks]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 5:47pm

I see so many shows today--where things that should not be joked about.. are joked about. The main topic is AIDS. I'm pretty sure a few years ago, this would have been considered completely uncalled for and inappropriate by most audiences, but today, shows as big as "Family Guy" are able to make fun of it and get away with it.

It seems like nothing is off limits today... Have we become too insensitive do you think? I'm always disgusted when I see jokes on TV about AIDS or cancer. Anyone else?

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 5:57pm

No, George Carlin puts it best.

His bit about how rape is funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3av_qRR_DWc

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:09pm

There is NOTHING funny about rape. People who make fun of it are repulsive. People kill themselves because they can't deal with their lives after being raped. I know from personal experience.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:10pm

Parks, I think it's not appropriate to use the collective "we" in your thread title or the framework of the question. The real question is "Where do people draw the line?"

Personally, I draw the line where Bruce Vilanch does, which, when asked if any topic is off limits for current event comedy he replied (I'm paraphrasing), basically, did anybody die?

Family Guy lost me forever when it made a joke about Matthew Broderick's fatal car accident in Ireland. I have never been one to buy the "But they make fun of everybody equally, they're an equal-opportunity offender." That's bogus (yes I am looking at you too Matt and Trey).

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:11pm

E3, did you watch the video?

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:29pm

I did and lost all respect for George Carlin. Unless you or someone close to you has experienced rape (which I hope to God never happens), you can't possibly understand what I'm talking about.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:34pm

I've never heard any jokes about Aids on TV, and I consider myself lucky for that.

Parks, I'm with you, that is a subject that is not funny and should not be joked about.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:43pm

THAT caused you to lose all respect for him? You obviously have NOT seen or heard much of his work.

[jenna2]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:53pm

I'm a huge fan of George Carlin, but I was really taken aback the first time I heard that bit (and try to avoid it now). Rape, terminal illnesses such as cancer and AIDS, and mental illness are just some of the things on my off-limits list.

[Parks]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:54pm

Family Guy makes light of AIDS.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 6:58pm

I loathed George Carlin to begin with and that was the final straw.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:00pm

Frankly, I think we've gotten more sensitive, not less. Well, certainly more politically correct. Like anything else, it's very subjective. AIDS isn't funny, but mental retardation is? Or, how about cleft palate? Or testicular cancer? Something may be funny to you, if you are not touched by it in any sort of personal way. Once you are, it might not seem so funny. I remember laughing very hard at Joan Rivers in the 80s saying that her neighborhood in New York was so tough, her apartment building had a washer/dryer with a rape cycle. Today, she couldn't even tell that joke. I still think it's a funny line. However, I probably wouldn't feel that way if someone close to me had been raped. So, I suppose my point is, everything and anything can be funny, but everybody isn't going to find the humor in everything.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:07pm

Well said JohnBoy.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:17pm

You know, I agree with what you're all saying; however, I don't think it's the "making fun of" that is the problem. It's the respect or lack thereof that is expressed through the "joke." For example, I have a daughter with cerebral palsy, and on the surface, nothing is "funny" about that. But I have been with parents of other kids with disabilities and we have been able to find the "humor" in our situations without ever being bitter, mean-spirited or disrespectful. Yet, there have been plenty of times when I've been offended by what I perceive as insensitive comments (intended to be humorous or not) about this topic. Again, it goes back to the intent of the remark.

Humor is sometimes very cathartic and a healthy way of dealing with dire circumstances. I've known many people with cancer who found a way to find the absurdity in it, and it helped them in their recovery.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, "It depends." I cannot imagine a joke about rape that I would find amusing, but I'll only know if I hear one. That being said, I choose not to follow the George Carlin link because I don't try to be offended.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:24pm

miss pennywise, the humor found in your real-life situation, with a group of like-situated people is completely different from some schlub, or cartoon character making light of that same situation. I know what you mean, though, through similar circumstances.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:24pm

Imagine Porky Pig rapeing Elmer Fudd.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:36pm

Rape is an issue I'm all had personal experience with, and nothing is funny about it. Not even cartoon characters raping each other. NGD2225, try to have a bit of tact. I take it that you have no experience with rape and I hope you never do, but it is something that has destryed many people's lives, including mine and one of my best friend's. Updated On: 10/25/08 at 07:36 PM

[roquat]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:39pm

I often have this problem with "Family Guy"--wanting to laugh and cringe at the same time. I like it when they satirize the Lifetime Movie/After-School Special approach to "serious" subjects, but they went over the line with that AIDS number--and it wasn't really funny, either.

Think about it--what's the first thing we generally say when a joke offends us? Not "That's offensive", or "That's in poor taste." No, we say, "That's not funny." Implication--if it WERE funny, that's the only thing that would matter.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:40pm

JohnBoy, I understand that it's different when you're one of the people the joke is "about." I was just using a real-life example of a situation to illustrate the point that everything isn't "black and white" when it comes to humor. It's highly subjective.

Sometimes some schlub can say something I find amusing that someone else finds offensive. Is either of us "wrong"?

The gauge of whether a joke has pushed the limits of propriety is dependent on a number of factors, including -- among others -- the intent of the author and the experiences of the audience.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:44pm

No I have not. Maybe if I had been around, I wouldn't. But since I haven't, I see them as just a joke. If you don't like it, fine. It isn't my problem. But when people get all up & arms about what a comic or show says, THAT pisses me off.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:49pm

Even if you haven't experienced rape, it's completely inappropriate to see it as a joke. I don't know anyone who's been murdered, but I don't see murder as a joke. Like I said, please have some tact.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 7:57pm

Updated On: 1/10/09 at 07:57 PM

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 8:03pm

Agree with Miss P. Depends on personal experience.

The other day I overheard a conversation about how someone was enraged that a dancer had used the phrase, "That's so gay." Not two minutes later the same person said something along the lines of "That's so retarded." to describe a situation in their own life. To me, both are equally offensive whereas to her the first was offensive and the second wasn't.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 8:07pm

miss pennywise, I believe we wholeheartedly agree!

Elphaba3, while I understand what you are saying, everyone has something that they believe is tactless for others to find funny. The point that miss pennywise and I were making is that it is subjective. You may find something funny that others would find utterly horrendous, and tactless of you. No one person can be the arbiter of what's funny, or what is good or bad taste, other than for themselves.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 8:10pm

I agree with Petite. (And JohnBoy. Quel suprise! )

I also think it's possible to actually have experienced something about which you make jokes that someone else may find offensive or just plain "not funny."

Having experienced the "basis" for the joke doesn't automatically excuse someone from being insensitive or offensive.