‘Airplane!’ Director Says Hollywood Is ‘Destroying Comedy’

[SomeRandom]

Perhaps, although the ironic thing about condemnations of blackface is that one of the original blackface entertainers, Al Jolson, was actually beloved for his performances. He was "woke" for his time, as he deeply sympathized with the struggles of black people in America at the time.

One of the lesser discussed nuances.
What was once revolutionary, even sympathetic in terms of social commentary in entertainment (in this case comedy) is often viewed rather harshly in hindsight. Sometimes a little unfairly, one might argue

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Perhaps, although the ironic thing about condemnations of blackface is that one of the original blackface entertainers, Al Jolson, was actually beloved for his performances. He was "woke" for his time, as he deeply sympathized with the struggles of black people in America at the time.

Yeah. It's why I have no problem blasting woke stufd because they are often historically illiterate when it comes to the nuances of things that have them wailing about racism. I've even seen some say context doesn't matter. Amd that is definitely where I draw a line.

 

[Stevicus]

Could Team America: World Police (2004) be made today?

Never saw it. Is it any good?

I think so. But I Animal House....unlikely.

Animal House probably wouldn't pass muster nowadays, not without severe cuts. That Dean Wormer and Greg were badmouthing the United States of America would probably be roundly criticized these days.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

"... I welcome our new ... "

Spoiler: Trigger warning

I think it is OK to post that to such a sophisticated audience as RF (and it's mod team) who won't fall victim to Poe's Law easily. But I'm not so sure about a general US audience.

That movie is wonderful. And, yeah, it has a lot of racist things in it. So much so it's a comical riot when the black sheriff manages to pull off holding himself hostage.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Never saw it. Is it any good?

Your weekend project is to rent it and watch it.
"America! **** ya!" LMAO!

 

[Stevicus]

https://youtu.be/Gd0NtQDio20

A funny movie,comedy has moved on and although people try to suppress it it will always find a way to express itself,this scene was for shocks more than laughs imo

Yes, that's definitely one of the scenes that wouldn't pass muster nowadays.

These scenes, as well:

Spoiler: Mrs. Cleaver can speak Jive.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Yes, that's definitely one of the scenes that wouldn't pass muster nowadays.

It did. I saw it on the telly just a couple years ago. And I say let them scream and cry, and maybe, just maybe, at the end they'll learn racism is ugly as the movie shows but it's the butt of the joke.

 

[Revoltingest]

Never saw it.

Hilarious.
**** yeah!

 

[Stevicus]

He's a Boomer, so his outdated attitude toward such things doesn't surprise me. It's also good PR for a famous comedian to act like he's brave by punching down when he was always going to be able to say certain things even if faced with criticism.

I have far more respect for satirists in dictatorships than glorified bullies like Dave Chapelle and Seth MacFarlane (who are incidentally also Boomers/Gen X'ers). The former actually risk their safety to put out good comedy.

Boomers were "woke" for their time, at least many of them were. Back in the day, the KKK was far more visible than it is now, and there was such blatant, atrocious racism pervading all regions, sectors, and layers of society that...a few silly but off-color jokes by people who, overall, believed in the cause of Civil Rights didn't seem so bad by comparison.

 

[Debater Slayer]

So, then you're getting his stuff presented to you as someone else wants to present it. Not watching their stuff is a major problem if you want to comment on it. That's how Chappelle was wrongly labeled a Trump supporter.

No, if a specific joke or set of jokes generate controversy that piques my curiosity, I make sure to watch them in full context to know what the fuss is about. But I don't watch stand-up comedy otherwise, since I don't find it entertaining.

He's pro-animal, pro-environment, pro-trans, and very much pro-free speech. It's not his fault if a young audience can't see how a message can have social awareness and even many of the same values despite coming wrapped in a very different package.

He has markedly unscientific opinions on animal testing, so his animal rights activism is also mixed with demonization of necessary research and, consequently, the people who carry it out. Ironically, he could well fall within the category of overly "woke" people in that regard.

His views have no bearing on the question of whether comedy can create harmful influence, though. As far as I can see, it definitely can—and it can also have a significantly positive social impact (e.g., in mocking dictatorship and raising awareness about it in a humorous manner).

And why should he cater to young audiences? Not all of us are young and we have our likes and dislikes as well. We also tend to have that "set in our ways" thing going for us, even if we aren't old yet.
In fact, trying to make it an issue of age is what is called ageism.

I'm not saying he should cater to anyone in particular; just pointing out why I believe his attitude is outdated and increasingly going out of fashion.

There are many people around his age who disagree with normalizing certain types of comedy, so the way I see it, the fact that he's a Boomer partially puts into perspective some of his attitudes, which are in agreement with certain prevalent norms among his generation. Highlighting generational trends seem to me a form of a cultural commentary, if anything, similar to how one can talk about Millennials' prevalent relationship choices or Gen Z's social trends.

 

[Stevicus]

It did. I saw it on the telly just a couple years ago. And I say let them scream and cry, and maybe, just maybe, at the end they'll learn racism is ugly as the movie shows but it's the butt of the joke.

I think older movies and TV shows might be given a pass, mainly for sake of nostalgia. I grew up watching "All in the Family" in our house, but I saw reruns shown in more recent times which had to come with a "viewer's discretion warning" because of some of the issues raised in the show. The episode with Sammy Davis Jr. was a classic.

Here's an excerpt:

Spoiler: Viewer Discretion Advised

 

[Stevicus]

I thought they only made super hero movies these days

I don't pay as close attention to movies and TV shows as I once did. They seem to have a lot of remakes.

If they made a TV movie about RF, I'd watch it.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think older movies and TV shows might be given a pass, mainly for sake of nostalgia. I grew up watching "All in the Family" in our house, but I saw reruns shown in more recent times which had to come with a "viewer's discretion warning" because of some of the issues raised in the show. The episode with Sammy Davis Jr. was a classic.

Here's an excerpt:

Spoiler: Viewer Discretion Advised

And I've watched Tosh.0 on TV with three or so viewer discretion warnings on at the beginning and, no joke, a lot of commercials about needing Jesus and going to church.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

He has markedly unscientific opinions on animal testing, so his animal rights activism is also mixed with demonization of necessary research and, consequently, the people who carry it out. Ironically, he could well fall within the category of overly "woke" people in that regard.

Animal testing is largely a philosophical area. After all, there is not one concrete reason we must test first on animals. We could go straight to human testing. The only reason we don't is because we value our own hides more than the lives of other animals.

His views have no bearing on the question of whether comedy can create harmful influence, though. As far as I can see, it definitely can—and it can also have a significantly positive social impact (e.g., in mocking dictatorship and raising awareness about it in a humorous manner).

He's not really creating a harmful influence though. Many of his harshest jokes, after all, include vicious self-deprecating stabs.

There are many people around his age who disagree with normalizing certain types of comedy, so the way I see it, the fact that he's a Boomer partially puts into perspective some of his attitudes, which are in agreement with certain prevalent norms among his generation.

That's called agism. Lumping people together like that, assuming behaviors are because of when someone was born, and dismissing all as a part of a looney concept of generation is agist as it is judging someone by their birth year rather than content of character.

 

[Viker]

https://youtu.be/Gd0NtQDio20

A funny movie,comedy has moved on and although people try to suppress it it will always find a way to express itself,this scene was for shocks more than laughs imo

It's both shocking and hilarious. It probably belongs back under the 70s/80s rock it climbed out from. It wouldn't fly today.

 

[John53]

I don't pay as close attention to movies and TV shows as I once did. They seem to have a lot of remakes.

If they made a TV movie about RF, I'd watch it.

Brad Pitt would obviously play me but who plays the part of @Revoltingest

 

[Revoltingest]

Brad Pitt would obviously play me but who plays the part of @Revoltingest

 

[John53]

I was thinking more like...

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Nah, that's Jay.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I don't think people who recognize that comedy could have an influence on society are "snowflakes." I don't watch any stand-up comedy, but that doesn't mean I will fail to acknowledge the impact that normalization of, say, antisemitic or homophobic jokes could have on a society.

His attitude is outdated, in my opinion, because it's starkly different from that of many (or possibly even most) younger people who have more social awareness or at least care more about the effects of their words than he does. He seems to want perception of his jokes to remain the same despite the changes in society and culture.

Yeah, we disagree on this. Particularly the 'recognize that comedy could have an influence on society' part.