|
|
COMMENTS:
Gah. I think all three of the choices you put are valid. So... I vote for all three.
Voted : It all makes me laugh, I think people just need to lighten up.
I have to decide on this one. But it is interesting to watch a guy like Dave Chappelle do his schticks and never get in trouble. And I LOL at his portrayal of white people.
by mojo on Tue Apr 10, 07 5:47am
[+]
I guess History must play a role in it here? The legacy of segregation and the fact that white people came up with the N-word?
Dunno. I guess it's a complicated issue, but I do enjoy laughing at those comedians you name above. And think about Carlos Mencia. He's an equal-opportunity 'racist' comedian, who's one of the funniest guys around.
(Don Imus however, has never made me laugh -- not coz he's racist, but coz he seems like an angry old fart.)
by mojo on Tue Apr 10, 07 5:57am
[+]
I think the perception of whether the intentions are good or bad matters.
Voted : Content should decide humor, not race.
IMO, if you have to pull race into the joke, then you've lost most of the pop. mojo, I'm not that fond of Chappelle's stuff, either. Pryor did a lot of racial stuff, but I *lived* a lot of that first- or second-hand, and could laugh at the memories it evoked more than the actual joke.
Voted : It all makes me laugh, I think people just need to lighten up.
As long as it isn't designed to deliberately offend then I see the funny side of most cultural/ethnic jokes.
one of the more interesting concepts was sacha baron cohens Borat. An anti semetic kazakstan tv presenter. one of the songs he created being "throw the jew down the well"
In at least one segment on Da Ali G Show (another cohen character) he encouraged his guest to answer questions with either "Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train to Auschwitz".
He's jewish but does that mean it's funny or that we are letting our guard down on our own prejudice because we are unaware that this clearly anti semetic behaviour is somehow acceptable.
This ballot raises a very important point. Would it be funny if he wasn't jewish himself? well probably not to be frank.
He is deliberately using racial slurs against his own people and yet he is doing it as someone who comes across as not jewish and yet his comedy is acceptable to people who would normally scream anti semite.
the question is why is that?
the answer to that would answer the ballot.
but even I dont know the answer to that little conundruum.
|
|
