Some of these conclusions just make me sad

Quote: Pacomartin

What would you do if you produced commercials?

Or that you only see white middle aged men
breaking into white peoples homes in the
alarm protection commercials. Not the
black and white and latino crackhead
teens who do the majority of smash
and grab burglaries between 9-11am
and 1-3pm, when they know there's a
good chance nobody will be home.

Quote: Pacomartin

What would you do if you produced commercials?

Drink, smoke, cheat on my wife, dump her, marry a 20 year old French-Canadian girl who works in the office, live in a fancy Manhattan apartment, drive a huge Cadillac, save accounts screwed up by the 29 year old snot kid who wants my job, and take my clients to local brothels.

That is what the guys who produce commercials seem to do.

If you're in the mood to waste your time reading a stupid article about how "offensive" Seinfeld is, here's your article. The idiot author gives 10 examples of racism/sexism in the show. The problem is that none of these examples are particularly offensive, in my opinion. If anything, most of these 10 episodes are still hilarious. (I don't recall the details of the Peurto Rican Parade episode, so maybe the verdict is still out on that one.)

That's not to say that Seinfeld isn't occasionally flawed (it is), and I agree that the lack of black people on the show is ridiculously unrealistic considering these characters live in NYC. But in almost all of the 10 examples, the butt of the joke isn't a persecuted minority... the butt of the joke is George or Jerry or Elaine who consistently act like selfish morons.

Maybe tomorrow I'll write an essay about how Newman's vindictiveness reflects unfairly upon all U.S. Post Office employees...

Quote: reno

If you're in the mood to waste your time reading a stupid article about how "offensive" Seinfeld is...

The upcoming generation has really drunk the Kool-aid on a number of PC things. I'd guess the average 25-yr-old and under has the opposite reaction to yours [and mine] - probably saying "wow, what were they thinking?"

My observation has tended to be that unrealistic idealism devolves into bitter feelings of betrayal. We shall see.

Quote: reno

If you're in the mood to waste your time reading a stupid article about how "offensive" Seinfeld is, here's your article. The idiot author gives 10 examples of racism/sexism in the show. The problem is that none of these examples are particularly offensive, in my opinion. If anything, most of these 10 episodes are still hilarious. (I don't recall the details of the Peurto Rican Parade episode, so maybe the verdict is still out on that one.)

That's not to say that Seinfeld isn't occasionally flawed (it is), and I agree that the lack of black people on the show is ridiculously unrealistic considering these characters live in NYC. But in almost all of the 10 examples, the butt of the joke isn't a persecuted minority... the butt of the joke is George or Jerry or Elaine who consistently act like selfish morons.

Here is the thing, and I do not have the time to wast on such an article. People out there are just waiting to be offended and find racism/sexism/anyism in something so they have something to whine or write about. Humor is no longer allowed. We are supposed to be miserable. PC is killing everything. Watch the first 15 minutes of "Blazing Saddles." Probably the most un-PC 15 minutes of any movie, ever. Also some of the funniest 15 minutes.

Even when there are blacks on a show the PC police whine. Ever see "Amos and Andy?" It is very funny. Good comedy. People say it is "racist." Why? They do not act any more stupid than any white comedy you see. So because of the PC Police a historic comedy is hidden from public view. CBS even thought about destroying the tapes!

In this day and age, the only group that can safely be made fun of in comedy is a straight, white male preferably a Christian one, but any non-Muslim one will do. It is a reason I have become so tuned out. Surely I am not alone.

FWIW, the PR episode had one near-the-line scene when Kramer set fire to a PR flag and stomped it out. But most of the complaints were just because the PR Parade was not shown in a positive light. You probably do not remember it because the episode was pulled from syndication for years, making it a "lost" episode. It was not very good in the first place.

Quote:

Maybe tomorrow I'll write an essay about how Newman's vindictiveness reflects unfairly upon all U.S. Post Office employees...

Shouldn't Face do that?

Quote: odiousgambit

I'd guess the average 25-yr-old and under has the opposite reaction to yours [and mine] - probably saying "wow, what were they thinking?"

Ha! I sort of did this just a bit ago. When I sub in the city, the pregame intoxicant session is done in front of the TV, where we usually watch Sanford and Son or Good Times or some other old sitcom. To say it's "a bit different" is a hilarious understatement. It's quite an interesting thing to see how far things have come (see also: how far things have fallen).

Quote: AZDuffman

Shouldn't Face do that?

Me? You want me to go on some pro-PC diatribe?

Not bloody likely.

Quote: AZDuffman

... Watch the first 15 minutes of "Blazing Saddles." Probably the most un-PC 15 minutes of any movie, ever. Also some of the funniest 15 minutes....

"Kentucky Fried Movie" was further out there... and funnier.

There's a record by Les Luthiers called "Cartas de Color." The best translation is "Letters of color," where "color" means "black."

The protagonists are a man and his nephew. The story seems to be set in the 1920s, though it doesn't say. It starts in a mud-hut village in Africa. The nephew has to flee when the Chief catches him with his wife, after returning home early from a hunt. What follows is an exchange of letters. The nephew's letters are read, the uncle's are read over the sound of drums "tapping" out his words.

The nephew flees to America and tries to make it as a singer. Most of the jokes concern his lack of talent. Three's a lot of tangents and diversions, especially in the introduction, regarding things like the shortage of rhinoceros (which is why the Chief returns early), the village slut (the uncle's sister), and more. Most of the bits are puns in Spanish or a combination of Spanish and English. One I can translate goes like this: "Its not true that all blacks are mistreated in America. Some of them are mistreated in other countries."

Some of the content could be regarded as racist. The use of drums to send messages, for example. Was there a need for that? Well, it's used in one joke. The uncle is the tribe shaman and tries to send his nephew the magic words to insure success. When he does, the men working the drums applaud him. the gag goes on for a while.

It's not among their funniest bits, or even in the top ten.

I saw Blazing Saddles in the theatre in the
70's and it was hilarious. I find it very
tedious now. To much use of the N word,
too much cornball humor. The N word
isn't funny anymore, it's racism in the
extreme. Times change.