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I've noticed a change in the general tone of comedy in U.S. media society, in the past some decades. For me, it was exemplified in the changes that occurred on
by pasbesoin 10y ago
I've noticed a change in the general tone of comedy in U.S. media society, in the past some decades. For me, it was exemplified in the changes that occurred on the broadcast television show, "Saturday Night Live".
I used to howl at the early SNL -- well, when they were "on"; individual skits were always hit and miss. Over subsequent "generations", it came to the point where I could no longer watch it.
I've ended up feeling similar about a significant portion of mainstream "comedy" films.
Eventually, I realized: It used to be, even when the portrayals were sometimes a bit vicious, that we, the audience, guided by the writers and actors, were laughing with them.
That changed: Now, much of comedy is taking grossly stereotypical portrayals and laughing at them.
Laughing with, we acknowledge our... weaknesses, flaws, strengths, human-ness, and bond through shared laughter over them. Defuse the discomfort and tension.
Laughing at, we define and separate into groups: "Us" versus "them". And those laughing, as the "us", bond through the process of excluding the "them".
Society's never been easy. But this part of it -- emblematic, for me -- has turned into a nastier place, in the U.S. media.
- hammock 10y agoLove the sentiment, need data on the accuracy. Even during the golden years of SNL, you had sketch artists like Chris Farley whom we were constantly being asked to laugh AT. And in Farley's case, it contributed to mental illness and his eventual death. Edit:I was thinking of the Murray/Belushi days and don't know why I thought Farley was around the same time
- pasbesoin 10y agoI'm an old timer. Farley's tenure is well past the years I'm referring to, as best I remember.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- DonHopkins 10y agoI think I know what you mean -- Even if on the surface he appears to be making fun of Joe Cocker [1], Belushi's impersonation was the deepest form of respect [2] [3]! Trump's impersonation of Serge Kovaleski [4], on the other hand... [1] http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=26b_1315119865 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=26b_1315119865 [2] http://ultimateclassicrock.com/joe-cocker-john-belushi/ http://ultimateclassicrock.com/joe-cocker-john-belushi/ [3] http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-joe-cockers-other-legacy-john-belushis-impression-20141222-story.html http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st... [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGAqmaBjQxg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGAqmaBjQxg
- f00a99s 10y agoDonald Trump claims he did not know the reporter was disabled. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/27/us/politics/donald-trump-says-his-mocking-of-new-york-times-reporter-was-misread.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/27/us/politics/donald-trump-s...
- DonHopkins 10y agoI'd respect him more if he had the nerve to do his "politically incorrect" impression of Serge Kovaleski to his face on stage during a live broadcast of SNL, just the way John Belushi performed his Joe Cocker impression, instead of cowardly lying after the fact that he didn't know the reporter he was making fun of was disabled.
- studentrob 10y agoI recently started watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend with Rachel Bloom, who got popular from her video about Ray Bradbury [1] It's renewed my faith in comedy. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gONl3jXrzBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gONl3jXrzBE