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The Big [Censored] Theory

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Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#521

Post by smsm42 »

munificent wrote: post #459
MichaelCollins wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> nunchaku Huh, you weren't kidding. Banned and censored in the UK, banned in Canada, Germany, and several US states... because of Bruce Lee? Bizarre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunchaku#Legality

This sounds so hilariously quaint to someone in the US like me. But, I guess that's because I'm used to being surrounded by people armed to the gills with assault rifles and shit. Maybe if you're in a mostly gun-free country, nunchaku actually seem kind of scary and threatening.

Especially ironic given nunchaku as a practical weapon is really not that great, especially in the hands of an amateur. A common kitchen knife or an iron rod (or even a good sturdy stick) would probably be more dangerous. It may be a great tool for a martial artist to develop valuable dexterity and speed skills, but as a practical weapon... It's common though for politicians to ban things out of sheer ignorance and following cultural stereotypes borrowed from fictional movies.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#522

Post by pchristensen »

cercatrova wrote: post #453

The solution to this is, of course, piracy. I'm glad people like those on /r/DataHoarder preserve media in their complete forms so I don't have to watch them censored. A recent example is Community which has an episode of a character dressing as a dark elf, and the joke is that another character assumes it's blackface, even though it's not. Well, networks and streaming services now removed it and unless you have the…

Brutalitops!

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#523

Post by elliekelly »

vlunkr wrote: post #512
coryfklein wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Mormon neighbors tend to use VidAngel, which got in huge trouble with an absolutely hilarious payment model. 1. VidAngel purchases a bunch of Blu-ray discs and stores them in a warehouse 2. Tag all the content of a film and create filters so the user can, for example, filter out all sex and violence but leave in vulgarity 3. User "purchases" a Blu-ray for $20 (!!) and VidAngel says, "since we now know you're the o…

Vidangel is a pretty absurd company. I read recently that they are still around and trying to come up with their next strategy. It does raise an interesting question for me though: is Hollywood losing out on profits by not offering censored versions of their content? Clearly there’s some demand. People like to make arguments about artistic integrity, but they have no problem censoring content to air on network tv.

I would absolutely pay for this service if it allowed me mute the audio during door knocks, door bells, dog barks, and squeaky toys. Have you ever seen a dog instantly wake up from a deep sleep because they’ve been summoned to play? You’re basically obligated to pause whatever you’re watching and play.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#524

Post by hindsightbias »

jibe wrote: post #504
thebradbain wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US _does_ have examples of government censorship in media, some more extreme than others. The fact you don't even think of it as censorship just shows how prevalent it is. It's not on the same level as the CCP, but it does exist! For example, during the AIDs epidemic, Reagan used his social and political power to effectively ban the mention of that word on primetime television (remember, not only was he the presi…

This sounds a little crazy. AIDS was definitely discussed in TV in the 80s. First of all on the news all the time, but in prime time dramas and sitcom as well. CNN documents several examples. https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/entertainment/80s-hollywood-a... St Elsewhere might have been the first in 1983. Golden Girls, Trapper John MD. There was plenty of hesitancy to deal with a difficult subject, and the gay element c…

Three TV episodes in the 80’s is not a lot of samples in 10s of thousands of prime time TV.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#525

Post by avodonosov »

falcor84 wrote: post #509
avodonosov wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. Such connotations may also depend not only on west / east, but also on time. Those placards are from 60-70 years ago I think. See also https://www.google.com/search?q=%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%...

Interesting, but I would argue that this is actually supporting the West/East distinction, as this kind of imagery would have fit closely with the USSR's push to promote the communist "workers of the world unite" agenda. Would you be able to find any similar western imagery from that time frame?

Similar in what sense? Close bonding between males? I don't know about that time frame, but Judas kissing Christ is a known theme, painted many times.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#526

Post by teawrecks »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #447
teawrecks wrote: post #439

> When the Netflix-produced Korean show Squid Game went viral and won awards worldwide, many Chinese netizens were asking on social media — when can a Chinese TV show be recognized in that way? Fascinating. I mean, the answer is obvious to everyone else in the world, but it'll be interesting to watch them figure it out over the next few decades. Is Squid Games even allowed in China?

I mean, yes lack of censorship, but there are plenty of countries with little censorship that haven't had the same level of success as Korea in TV shows either. Look at Germany, for example. Big country, economic powerhouse, but German TV shows and movies have little broad international appeal.

This sounds like the fallacy of the inverse[1]: Increased censorship implies less favorable critical reception, but less censorship does not imply more favorable critical reception.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denying_the_antecedent

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#527

Post by jibe »

hindsightbias wrote: post #524
jibe wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds a little crazy. AIDS was definitely discussed in TV in the 80s. First of all on the news all the time, but in prime time dramas and sitcom as well. CNN documents several examples. https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/entertainment/80s-hollywood-a... St Elsewhere might have been the first in 1983. Golden Girls, Trapper John MD. There was plenty of hesitancy to deal with a difficult subject, and the gay element c…

Three TV episodes in the 80’s is not a lot of samples in 10s of thousands of prime time TV.

It isn't none, it isn't an exhaustive list, and it should be enough to dispel the claim that there was some sort of white house directive to "ban the mention of that word on primetime television". If you have some evidence to support your claim please share it.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#528

Post by avodonosov »

In the future censors could not only cut parts, but also insert something - fragments promoting desiraole values, etc. If the show producers offer them as options to order for particular audiences; or maybe with the help of generative machine learning tech.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#529

Post by ginger2016 »

kelnos wrote: post #454
mr_toad wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole show is a giant stereotype.

I was never a big fan of the show, but emphasizing stereotypes is a very common, often very effective form of comedy. If that's not your cup of tea, that's fine -- I tired of it quickly and stopped watching -- but that doesn't mean it's inherently wrong.

I don’t consider stereotypes funny. America has a really bad history when it comes to shows propagating racial stereotypes. People finding a stereotype funny is not a good reason to air it on national television.

Jim Crow was a stereotype which plenty of people found funny 80 years ago, we don’t find it funny anymore(it was never funny), as we see it for the truth. It was an untrue racist portrayal that harmed Black Americans. Granted the portrayal of Raj isn’t nearly as harmful and it is not comparable to horrors of Jim Crow. Jim Crow was a billion times more harmful to a lot of Black Americans.

Portrayal of Raj probably has little to no impact on Indian Americans. However as a society we have to learn from the past, and it is time to abandon stereotypical portrayals of people.

Big Bang Theory is an old sitcom people found funny during its time, just like people abandoned the stereotypes of the past, people will dumb Big Bang Theory.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#530

Post by LAC-Tech »

koheripbal wrote: post #332
ginger2016 wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the racist protrayal of Indian American Raj Kuthrapalli, I am of the opinion Indians are magnanimous in allowing this show to be aired there.

It's a bit like Jewish, Irish, Japanese, Korean, or Italian stereotypes in movies/tv - few real members of those groups get offended because we're not currently disadvantaged.

Currently disadvantaged?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_U...

Indian Americans have a median household income of $126,705. By comparison English Americans are at $78,078.

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