41–50 of 90 posts
Concentration camps in China are apparently fine, but god forbid if someone makes an "edgy" joke.
The price for doing anything about the concentration camps in China is higher than anyone is willing to pay, whereas the price of putting warnings on tv shows is negligible
What does it mean to have a "negative depiction"? Would that be a depiction that is viewed by the majority as negative, or is it assessed by some objective function? Sometimes I hear people talking about "negative depictions" and "negative stereotypes" I'm either not convinced they're negative (Apu from The Simpsons) or other times I find a stereotype being depicting as overtly negative yet seemingly it's acceptable…
> a multitude of caricatured national costumes as part of a performance of It’s a Small World After All, including as a Chinese person with exaggerated front teeth and a long braid.
> Peter Sellers appears in a segment titled A Gypsy’s Violin wearing a black headscarf with gilded trimmings, a red vest and a large red satin belt, and singing in a heavy accent
It seems like almost everyone interested in a good faith discussion would agree that these two examples are offensive stereotypes that don’t really belong in a children’s show. Considering the episode’s aren’t being removed I can’t imagine why anyone would object to this in good faith.
Unfortunately there are a ton of people who are fully aware that these stereotypes are offensive but, in bad faith, pretend that they are innocuous jokes and that this is just a moral panic. Although HN rules prevent me from accusing anyone of bad faith, I will suggest that someone who doesn’t have a problem with Apu from the Simpsons is someone who affirmatively supports using racist stereotypes.
There are more examples here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Muppets/comments/lnwse2/muppet_show...
I adored the Muppet Show as a kid. Tried watching it with my daughters this weekend, since it just became available. "Dad, this is weird. This is really weird. It's not even a show! Just weird little scenes!" ["not even a show" = no connective plot] These kids have all kinds of precision-engineered laser-guided entertainment aimed squarely at their cerebral cortex. They don't need the Muppet Show like I did, I guess.
I think this is just a general change in entertainment. When media out was limited to fewer shows being created and the audience so much broader it was necessary to try and throw "something for everybody" into each show. The Muppet Show is kind of the height of this with celebrities, silliness for kids, sly asides for adults, etc.
Concentration camps in China are apparently fine, but god forbid if someone makes an "edgy" joke.
No one said concentration camps in China were fine The price for doing anything about the concentration camps in China is higher than anyone is willing to pay, whereas the price of putting warnings on tv shows is negligible
I adored the Muppet Show as a kid. Tried watching it with my daughters this weekend, since it just became available. "Dad, this is weird. This is really weird. It's not even a show! Just weird little scenes!" ["not even a show" = no connective plot] These kids have all kinds of precision-engineered laser-guided entertainment aimed squarely at their cerebral cortex. They don't need the Muppet Show like I did, I guess.
The same content warning has been added to 'Aladdin' (the 1992 cartoon, not the Will Smith shameless money grab). I'm wading into shark-filled waters here but could someone please explain the racist bits of Aladdin to me?
Argh. My dream is that one day people will understand that a really large chunk (probably the vast majority) of piss-ripping found in humour isn't actually racist or misogynistic but is actually the complete opposite in making a statement about the stupidity of the protagonists' racism or misogyny. Fawlty Towers 6th episode "The Germans" is a classic case in point. The entire premise of the episode was not "Germans a…
> Literally the only people actually being offended are - who...? Those who have been the target of persecution, slavery, police and other systemic discrimination up to outright genocides for hundreds to thousands of years . It's not that hard to have fun without having to step on other people's toes, or to recognize that what was acceptable 50 years ago is not acceptable today, because society has progressed .
Isn’t part of the joke that Germans are being discriminated by an innkeeper? And it’s the innkeeper who is in the wrong.
Note of course German Jews and other subpopulations were horribly persecuted in the Holocaust. If this episode targeted those subpopulations then there is a real case.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean that's not actually Swedish?! ;-)
As someone from Denmark I gotta tell ya, that guy is 100% authentically Swedish. I'm pretty sure the Norwegians will back me up on this. :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is just a general change in entertainment. When media out was limited to fewer shows being created and the audience so much broader it was necessary to try and throw "something for everybody" into each show. The Muppet Show is kind of the height of this with celebrities, silliness for kids, sly asides for adults, etc.
I'm not sure the Muppet Show was that; the very setting was a behind the scenes look at the operation of a live variety show of yesteryear, and iirc everything fit into that theme?
- 25 for adults - 25 for kids - 25 site gags for toddlers
And media now is like: that should be 3 separate shows.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Literally the only people actually being offended are - who...? Those who have been the target of persecution, slavery, police and other systemic discrimination up to outright genocides for hundreds to thousands of years . It's not that hard to have fun without having to step on other people's toes, or to recognize that what was acceptable 50 years ago is not acceptable today, because society has progressed .
What Germans have been the target of persecution, slavery, etc? Isn’t part of the joke that Germans are being discriminated by an innkeeper? And it’s the innkeeper who is in the wrong. Note of course German Jews and other subpopulations were horribly persecuted in the Holocaust. If this episode targeted those subpopulations then there is a real case.
But we Germans don't care or complain because we Germans haven't been the target of relentless, historical injustice. For persons of color, for Jews, for Sinti/Roma the situation is different - every time some "comedian" uses their plight for cheap laughs, it's yet another slap in the face.