The Effect of Modern "Humor" On Movies, TV, and Pop Culture

[Dark 5cythe]

you bring up a very very good point poiuytre.

With society demanding from us so much political correctness, It seems my (the current group of 20-30 somethings) generation has found a way to rebel against that. And the internet has given people refuge.

We can't let the sensitive minority continue to dictate what the majority can do or say.

Do you think I care that a group of people are offended because of something I drew? There are things I hold sacred that people make fun of all the time. They have that right. And I wont stop them. But no one better try to stop me either.

[Spike Spiegel]

Originally Posted by poiuytre

I
However I support the notion that everything should be allowed to be criticized and made fun of. The latter is a tough cookie tho seeing as I sometimes feel like a lot of shock "humor" is just about being offensive rather than being an actual joke about something offensive. But it's hard to expect tact when everyone can draw their line elsewhere in a free society.

Humor is an important and healthy part of human life. Seriously. I didn't set out to make this the "Why are they crucifying Michael Jackson?" or "Epic Movie sucks!" thread. I was using those as examples. What I was really trying to say is that there should be balance in humor, sexual content, violence, etc. Spoof films and parodies can be classified as a sort of art, I think. Look at stuff like Spaceballs, Airplane!, and the I'm a Marvel, and I'm a DC parody series on youTube. To a certain extent, even our beloved TMNT is a parody of other comics...

I just feel that the more recent developments with jokes being used for sheer shock value, etc. is like a sort of reverse censorship...you're laughing at something without really seeing the value of it. Instead of having themes and content without humor or levity, it's all humor and levity without themes or content. It's an insult to the audience as well as the people or franchises that are being made fun of.

[Mecha Cow]

Those sorts of things are just poor attempts at comedy by people with no actual wit or talent. It's fairly easy for them to get a podium through the internet and such, but most people recognise that stuff for the trash it is. Sure, plenty of people still go and see those -Movies (and I hate every single one of them for it), but generally they're still considered some of the worst movies of all time. I don't think it's really negatively affecting our culture in the long run, and hopefully it's just a horrible trend that eventually goes away (most likely to be replaced by something equally horrible, but never mind that).

[Fledermaus]

Peanut has made some good points about these things having existed in the past, but not receiving the same amount of attention, glorification and indirect approval that they receive today.

There will always be would-be child-eating goat molesters jerking off in their mother's basements fantasizing about their ideal companions... However, most of society (so far) does not approve of such actions. We do not consider them bold or sexy, so people with such desires do not fulfill these ambitions.

Back say two-hundred or even sixty years ago a man who could provide for a woman and family was seen as masculine -- now, the typical dad is an emasculated goofball. Every girl out there is either or nagging c*nt or your fantasy sex toy. Every guy's either a dickless loser or doing the most asinine things to prove his balls. You want to be "responsible?" Treat others with respect? Be prepared to be labeled the loser, just like that loser dentist in The Hangover.

All it takes is the approval of society for massive social change to occur. Without artists, musicians, media to move audiences, listeners, consumer -- there is no fire. We broke the taboo of rewarding murderers and monsters with fame with books like IN COLD BLOOD; movies that featured rape and gratuitous violence (to which most of us are now desensitized) heralded one of the most rape-infested decades in America -- the 70's and 80's.

It begins with harmless curiosity, like with Hitchcock's films -- brilliantly made. What could be more harmless than fantasizing about murdering people and watching them writhing, screaming in pain on the screen while you have your little orgasms? What's wrong with obsessing about it if you yourself would never do it? When controversial topics are introduced to our culture with great finesse, they become acceptable to those who are merely kept at bay.

Those who tend to be sicker in the mind, seeing that society does in a sense condone their actions, by finding entertainment in them, have less fear. Meanwhile, most of us become brainwashed to remain indifferent while the world crumbles -- we are made to believe that we are irrelevant. Instead of taking action -- instead of moving, we watch others move. And then we go play in our fantasy video game world.

Either you take it critically, take action or you remain a happy little golem. Or unhappy, complaining and saying how all this sh*t sucks, why care for anything because it's all going to hell. It's kind of hard to tell.

EDIT: On the topic of Michael Jackson -- genius often goes hand in hand with insanity. I prefer not to drag people down for the fun of it. I know how it feels, and I know it encourages the victims (or their sympathizers) to take revenge when they use their intellect to destroy, rather than create. If it weren't for Jackson, I think most pop music today would sound like David Bowie.

[Ra]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Now I've always loved his music so I was never fond of the jokes, but if another famous person accused of molestation died and I was hardly exposed to his work, I might make a cheap joke my self.

This.

Originally Posted by Peanut

The thing is, before the internet, those jokes about dead people, those super perverted stories, they were kept for very specific people. Your close friends, maybe even your family. It's the kind of sh*t people would giggle about in their basement with friends.

Now, that kind of stuff is broadcast for the entire world to see, 3 out of every 4 people are, at all times, trying to make a horribly off-colour joke. You've got shut-in's who sit on their computer, day and night, and joke about things that usually have had zero impact on their life. And every time we open up an internet browser, and someone is making a joke about child molestation or cancer, we become more and more desensitized to it. With that comes the invent of more and more retarded sh*t to joke about. Once insulting the dead has been beaten to death, move on to rape.

And this.

Over exposure = Desensitisation. Desensitisation = More willing to make jokes and crack off about these kinds of things.

Let's face it. Our generation is a generation full of assholes right now. I don't think anyone before us would have cracked off any foul humour or tasteless jokes about people dying or getting raped. Yet look at today. People in my TAFE course last semester are a prime example. Some were great, loved poking fun at people and their friends and what-not. They knew where to draw the line. Other people... well, I know one of them ragged on the death of Heath Ledger at least once a week. We have a file-sharing system there, which got flooded with pictures of pr0nz and mocking people's deaths. It got sorted out eventually, but the fact that they were so willing to do that kinda drives the point home about this generation being desensitised.

Rape, sex, drugs, racism, and death. You can tell the current standard of humour is going downhill when everyone starts making tasteless jokes about things like this. Thank god that not everyone is like this though. But slowly but surely... as we start getting exposed to this more and more... it starts seeping into our popular culture. Those bastards in my TAFE course? They could be making movies or games in five years. Which sort of scares me, and hopes that what they think is funny is just a phase and not a permanent mindset.

Fun story. A few months ago I was on a train going home. It was the middle of the day, and I was listening to my iPod. I didn't get to hear the message "all passengers please leave the train and move onto the next platform", so I was in the carriage alone with a man and his five-year-old son. Seeing that we were alone, I thought I would go out and check what was going on. Then I see a train instructor coming in and kindly told us to move out. I was just about to get out when I heard the father down the carriage. I can't remember the exact quote, but it was something similar to "You can't f***in' tell me what to f***in' do you d***hole."

He said that.

In front of his five year old son.

If we think we are low now, what standards are we setting our kids? Not only just in movies and television, but in real life as well? Insulting people to their faces... cracking off jokes about rape and murder... They say that popular culture reflects on the state of the world as we see it. Those examples of Michael Jackson jokes and crap like Epic Movie are probably reflections of that. Which is a bit disappointing. It makes me wonder about that kid. If he grows up with his dad swearing every sentence or so and considers it to be normal... well, won't that feed into the cycle? It grows more and more like a snowball gathering speed, sinking the bar lower and lower to the point where we won't even know what is acceptable and what is tasteless any more.

Then again, this is just me rambling. I don't think we are that doomed as of yet.

Are we?

...dear god, I've rambled again, haven't I?

[XERO]

Originally Posted by Ra

Rape, sex, drugs, racism, and death.

As the world turns, huh?

The more society advances, the more insane and disturbed society becomes. I mean, if cloning goats and sh*t of that nature brings 'praise', what else can be identified as 'the right way'?

If Adolf Hitler can be labeled a hero to some people, what's stopping Jeffrey Dahmer from that label? And you wanna bet most people would also find that amusing and humerous?

Face it, a 'normal' person nowadays won't last long. Too much crazy crap has happened to the point where we are just about used to it. And if we're not careful, it's only gonna get much worse... but... when are we ever really careful?

I don't think we are that doomed as of yet.

Are we?

If you want my opinion, the death of MJ brought us one step closer.

[Jester]

[ThirdMarioBro]

Mecha, I understand that MJ is a part of popular culture, and people are going to make jokes about him until the end of time. Honestly, he brought a lot of it on himself. Every popular figure is a target for ridicule, though the red target on his face was/is bigger than most.

What I'm referring to is the dill weeds who decided the very next morning (or earlier) to go to town on him before his corpse is even cold while people are trying to grieve. I find that pretty disgusting. Its not too different than if I were to go to a funeral for somebody's aunt. Now imagine that aunt was a two-timing whore, and everybody knew it, but I

Originally Posted by Peanut

I don't understand why what he's saying is being dismissed so quickly.

I don't agree with the sentiment that this sh*t has "always been this way". Sure, these kind of jokes, and that mode of thinking has always existed, but it gets more exposure, and there's simply MORE of it, than there ever has been.

The thing is, before the internet, those jokes about dead people, those super perverted stories, they were kept for very specific people. Your close friends, maybe even your family. It's the kind of sh*t people would giggle about in their basement with friends.

Now, that kind of stuff is broadcast for the entire world to see, 3 out of every 4 people are, at all times, trying to make a horribly off-colour joke. You've got shut-in's who sit on their computer, day and night, and joke about things that usually have had zero impact on their life. And every time we open up an internet browser, and someone is making a joke about child molestation or cancer, we become more and more desensitized to it. With that comes the invent of more and more retarded sh*t to joke about. Once insulting the dead has been beaten to death, move on to rape.

Oh, yeah? Rape? You know, when some f*cked up crack-fiend attacks and has his way with an innocent woman, sometimes killing her afterwards, and generally scarring their victims for life? Really funny, right? A f*cking HOOT! Something that it's fine to make fun of at this point in time, and something that is now WIDELY THOUGHT OF AS ACCEPTABLE.

I'm not even saying this is a recent turn of events, but it has come to a point, within the last decade, that absolutely nothing is beyond making a joke about. And again, I'm not saying that those kind of things weren't talked about, or joked about before, but at this point those kind of things are now widely accepted by the popular audience, and that makes me f*cking sick.

PS Great thread, BTW. An actual discussion on here? Christ.

Winner.

I think we can agree that the internet brought this kind of humor out of the closet, but it was TV shows like Family Guy that mainstreamed it. I'm a big fan, but I can seriously do without the damned rape and fetus jokes.

[Mecha Cow]

I know. I was referring more to 'Michael Jackson' jokes and not as much to 'Michael Jackson is dead' jokes. The former is to be expected, but I totally agree that the latter is unacceptable.

I mean, if cloning goats and sh*t of that nature brings 'praise', what else can be identified as 'the right way'?

What do you mean by this?

[XERO]

Originally Posted by Mecha Cow

What do you mean by this?

I was just trying to state an opinion about on what's 'right and wrong' nowadays. Guess I went a little over the point there.