rolling "Is This Racist?" thread

ie no they don't have a character buffer btwn the viewer and the depiction but i'd disagree that it's somehow a flat, literal and unironic statement of belief for all that

I have no problem believing that as far as the misogyny goes.

p. sure that in family guy the deplorable character through whose eyes we are seeing lol stereotypes is an implied omnipresent narrator or w/e ie no they don't have a character buffer btwn the viewer and the depiction but i'd disagree that it's somehow a flat, literal and unironic statement of belief for all that

I remember some interviewer that was grilling Seth on this and he just kept saying "well, Peter is supposed to be an idiot, so everything he says is wrong", which is fine, but that ignores that there is a ton of racism in the show outside of "the dumb shit that Peter says", something that even "edgier" shows like South Park doesn't have

that's not really true, there is plenty of racism in all of these shows to fill everyone's daily allotment

there's always been a distinction for me, not just with Family Guy but also shows like Mind of Mencia and 2 Broke Girls. I don't remember where I read this but basically the saying goes "the funnier you are, the more offensive you can be" which IMO is pretty OTM, shows like Chappelle's are pretty clever which makes you feel like the writers are going for laughs on another dimension than just "stereotypes lol"

like I don't have a problem with racist humor, but if it's not funny (or doesn't try to be) then what are you left with?

^ seems to me to be the point of this thread, it's the funny!/not funny! game with "racist!" in place of "not funny!"

i refuse to be the frogbs pawn in this pond

(not beefing, mind) xp

i mean it's obviously all "racist" to some degree, i think the better question is "is this offensive?" which IMO most posters ITT aren't really going to be good judges of

...

(maybe I should have changed my display name before posting that)

hahahahahahahaha

@frogbs Not so much "is this joke reenforcing the oppression/stereotyping of non-whites", more "as a white person is it OK if I laugh at/listen to/watch this"

You can deal with racial humor or racist stereotypes without actually being racist, it's just a really difficult task because to some people even acknowledging a race-based stereotype is seen as racist.

@frogbs Not so much "is this joke reenforcing the oppression/stereotyping of non-whites", more "as a white person is it OK if I laugh at/listen to/watch this"

does anyone actually feel like watching/listening to racial humor is "not okay" because it'll turn them into racists? (or...?)

... because, in the case of Family Guy, it's boring shite that you could probably have gotten away with in the UK like 30 years ago

i.e. 'Allo, 'Allo?

Well, it's old hat, red nose humour

You can deal with racial humor or racist stereotypes without actually being racist, it's just a really difficult task because to some people even acknowledging a race-based stereotype is seen as racist.

― mh, Wednesday, January 18, 2012 11:14 AM (58 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah but the flipside of this, which i thought Whiney was getting at in a worthwhile way, is that to some people acknowledging a race-based stereotype in any kind of knowing or humorous or ironically distanced way absolves you of any kind of possibility of seeming racists or approaching the subject tastefully or responsibly. there's a bit of a naughty 'ain't I a stinker' hue to it as well as a strong whiff of 'if I bring this subject up AND preemptively signal that I'm not endorsing a racist mindset in the same breath I can preempt any accusations of being a racist' maneuvering. at some point this WAS a clever and perhaps even smart way to deal with this kind of thing, but now that it's a standard tool of every 3rd show on TV and is often done really reflexively and carelessly, it's just kind of nauseating.

yeah, exactly that.

I pretty much agree with that with the unfortunate caveat that ironic racist caricature heavily informs most of my current favorite shows

sorry that tosh.0 is your favorite show

lol

the really sad thing is that I did actually watch Tosh.0 for like three weeks before going "wait, NO"

Tosh.0 is basically just videos of ppl throwing up on each other and dick jokes, right?

Tosh is actually one of the people guilty of that sort of thing who I don't mind as much because there's so little distance between him and the joke, he's not playing a fictional character or voicing a goofy-looking cartoon or putting his words in the mouth of a minority to soften the blow, he just stands up there saying the horrible noxious but sometimes pretty funny thing as himself and lets you think whatever you want about him.

Yeah I appreciate that Tosh doesn't really try to defend himself at all nor does he ever pretend his show is supposed to be anything more than crass jokes and gross/funny videos, the reason why I'll defend him over Family Guy is that he's a lot funnier and doesn't always go the obvious route the way FG does

when was the last time you actually watched Family Guy

are you seriously getting haughty about people underestimating the nuance of Seth MacFarlane

are you seriously getting haughty about somebody stanning in a ridiculous manner on ilx

can we all stop using the word haughty? it reminds me of a constipated horse

hee-haughty

are you seriously getting haughty about people underestimating the nuance of Seth MacFarlane

I'm getting haughty about people overestimating the nuance of Tosh.0!

http://documents.clubexpress.com/clubs/289698/graphics/The_Haughty_Horse_Logo_2011.jpg

when was the last time you actually watched Family Guy

I watch it a lot at the gym b/c the machines I use are generally stationed in a place where I have to choose between that, "Uncover Boss", or "The X Factor", I don't know how many new-ish episodes I've seen but I've watched more of it than I want to admit

ie no they don't have a character buffer btwn the viewer and the depiction but i'd disagree that it's somehow a flat, literal and unironic statement of belief for all that

― Seriously, who votes for Drake? (Nicole), Wednesday, January 18, 2012 7:13 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

OTM. the family guy's misogyny is pervasive, nasty and seemingly undistanced. i find it much more offensive than the lol racism bullshit.

"uncover boss" sounds like the worst game show ever

depends on yr boss

now if you'll excuse me, I need to get Ms. Berry her latte

iunno man, like tosh is like the exact same anarchic attitude towatds humor that perpetuates "I'm Shithead" where like "funny = funny," and you're not supposed to think about how terrible it really is. I really think the internet is like a glowing id that lets people live out their basest shocky impulses to say the n-word and look at vaginas and laugh at car crash victims all day. Television shows should be commenting on that instead of reflecting it.

Like all the jokes in "I'm Shithead" really are like id shock buzzwords barely tramsmuted through "post-modern youtube culture": "anal," "asian," "AIDS," "black," "drunk."

thats sorta just comedy tho tbf

whiney what does your display name mean

thats sorta just comedy tho now tbf

― HOOS steen is it anyway? (Lamp), Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:11 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

kind of happy i have no idea what "i'm shithead" is beyond whiney's descriptions of it

dayo, i dunno, its a joek about unp3rs0n changing his display name to "誤訳侮辱"

Whiney is OTM here

oh man just watching that for the first time. what the fuck.

yah

"should be"...why?

i think you kind of have to realize there is a difference between finding someone funny or enjoying their show and wanting to emulate that person or thinking that you're full on endorsing that guy. though Tosh seems to be completely different in his interviews, even if he really is a terrible person I'd still enjoy his show.

Like all the jokes in "I'm Shithead" really are like id shock buzzwords barely tramsmuted through "post-modern youtube culture": "anal," "asian," "AIDS," "black," "drunk."

i get that, but this isn't really what Tosh does

Tosh played the video on his show!