The Coffee House

[waday]

Whether male or female, it seems many antagonists in superhero movies could make major amounts of money if they put their mind to it, but, instead, they always want power to control the world. If only they realized that money is power is control.

I guess the thing that makes me a little sad is that there is just no way a lot of the great movies of the past could even get made in today's climate. I can't imagine anyone being able to get away with making some of the Mel Brooks films for example. The protestors would be lined up around the block and everyone would be screaming and wringing there hands about how horrible and insensitive they are, etc.

I guess it would just be nice if folks could have a bit of a sense of humor about themselves, but I guess those days are a thing of the past.

I've seen many comedies and had many hearty laughs that didn't require any specific race, sex, religion, age, etc to be discriminated against.

I agree with @tirediron that those were viewpoints that were considered "acceptable" at the time, but that didn't make them "right". Slavery was acceptable at a time, but that doesn't mean it was right.

 

[tirediron]

...I agree with @tirediron that those were viewpoints that were considered "acceptable" at the time, but that didn't make them "right". Slavery was acceptable at a time, but that doesn't mean it was right.

See that's the thing; "right" and "wrong" is purely perception and social conditioning. What is right today, may well be wrong in 100 years. Slavery is considered "wrong" today, but in the Roman Empire of 100 BCE, it was not only "right" it was essential.

 

[waday]

...I agree with @tirediron that those were viewpoints that were considered "acceptable" at the time, but that didn't make them "right". Slavery was acceptable at a time, but that doesn't mean it was right.

See that's the thing; "right" and "wrong" is purely perception and social conditioning. What is right today, may well be wrong in 100 years. Slavery is considered "wrong" today, but in the Roman Empire of 100 BCE, it was not only "right" it was essential.

Ehhh... I feel like we're discussing a very slippery slope here... As a mod, would you like me to respond to this or would you rather I simply say, "I respectfully disagree"?

 

[robbins.photo]

Can you imagine the hue and cry if someone tried to pitch the script for "Blazing Saddles" today?????

Lol.. he'd get run out of town on a rail. And it's a shame too because really when you watch the movie you realize they are actually making fun of racial intolerance and bigotry...

But the knee jerk reaction would result in the movie never seeing the light of day.

 

[robbins.photo]

I've seen many comedies and had many hearty laughs that didn't require any specific race, sex, religion, age, etc to be discriminated against.

Well I think we might be working on a very different definition of "discrimination" here too - I've seen more than a few comedians make fun of people of my ethnic background and I don't feel "discriminated" against. In fact some of the stuff is pretty funny. Guess it just depends on how willing you are to laugh at yourself.

But like tirediron mentioned, probably best to just agree to disagree and move on.

 

[limr]

Whether male or female, it seems many antagonists in superhero movies could make major amounts of money if they put their mind to it, but, instead, they always want power to control the world. If only they realized that money is power is control.

I guess the thing that makes me a little sad is that there is just no way a lot of the great movies of the past could even get made in today's climate. I can't imagine anyone being able to get away with making some of the Mel Brooks films for example. The protestors would be lined up around the block and everyone would be screaming and wringing there hands about how horrible and insensitive they are, etc.

I guess it would just be nice if folks could have a bit of a sense of humor about themselves, but I guess those days are a thing of the past.

While I understand your point and do think that sometimes people get offended at something that was supposed to be satire, I also think that it's wrong to say that we never used to be offended but now we are. I think that there were plenty of people who were offended and insulted and cut down on a regular basis but just had no power to say anything. For the most part, if someone did say something, the best case scenario is that they were dismissed for being whiny and overly sensitive. In the worst case scenarios, they became the target of violence.

Yes, people can take it too far these days when they don't understand context, but don't mistake silence for an absence of injury.

Can you imagine the hue and cry if someone tried to pitch the script for "Blazing Saddles" today?????

IMO, its even more of a shame that so many people condemn the past while looking at it with today's viewpoint and social conventions. Things that seem so socially abhorrent now were in fact perfectly appropriate in their time. It might seem wrong to us now, but it was right at the time. I have no doubt that in 50 or 100 years, our progeny will castigate us for some of the actions we see as perfectly normal and correct.

You are talking about cultural relativism. You say we are condemning the past based on our current values. In fact, what often is the case is that people are condemning those who are continuing those same practices that we no longer find acceptable. They don't just "seem" wrong to us - they are wrong to us. It may not be fair to judge people in the past using our modern standards, but it should work the other way: don't judge today's people based on cultural values of 50 years ago.

 

[waday]

So, this is a bit off the current topic, but I had the realization that Pokemon is now on Netflix. And, I started watching it, again, since, umm, 1998. I can't get the theme song out of my head.

If you never heard it, you can listen to Obama singing it:

 

[limr]

I've seen many comedies and had many hearty laughs that didn't require any specific race, sex, religion, age, etc to be discriminated against.

Well I think we might be working on a very different definition of "discrimination" here too - I've seen more than a few comedians make fun of people of my ethnic background and I don't feel "discriminated" against. In fact some of the stuff is pretty funny. Guess it just depends on how willing you are to laugh at yourself.

But like tirediron mentioned, probably best to just agree to disagree and move on.

Caveats: Of course, we need to have a sense of humor about ourselves. We need to understand context, satire, the underlying meaning and intention of the speech...all of these things matter. The words themselves aren't the only thing; it's the who (and to whom), the how and when and where the words are said.

But...it doesn't all depend on how much we are willing to suck up. It also depends on the speaker to not be an arsehole.

 

[limr]

So, this is a bit off the current topic, but I had the realization that Pokemon is now on Netflix. And, I started watching it, again, since, umm, 1998. I can't get the theme song out of my head.

If you never heard it, you can listen to Obama singing it:

I refuse that earworm, thankyouverymuch

 

[robbins.photo]

Caveats: Of course, we need to have a sense of humor about ourselves. We need to understand context, satire, the underlying meaning and intention of the speech...all of these things matter. The words themselves aren't the only thing; it's the who (and to whom), the how and when and where the words are said.

No argument there. Sadly though nowadays folks don't seem to bother with any of that. They seem to pretty much pull out the I'M OFFENDED signs in a heartbeat with the slightest provocation.

But...it doesn't all depend on how much we are willing to suck up. It also depends on the speaker to not be an arsehole.

I guess it would just be nice if folks could say, wow.. what an arse, and move on in those cases.

 

[tirediron]

As a mod, would you like me to respond to this or would you rather I simply say, "I respectfully disagree"?

You're welcome to respond; I'm here as a member, not a mod, and I'm certainly not going to take advantage of the fact that I have some extra privileges just because we don't agree on something.

 

[limr]

I guess it would just be nice if folks could say, wow.. what an arse, and move on in those cases.

If it makes you feel better, I have absolutely no problem calling someone an arse and then moving on

But yes, I agree that in individual cases, this is what people should mostly do. It's when the issue is systemic that it should be addressed.

 

[robbins.photo]

I guess it would just be nice if folks could say, wow.. what an arse, and move on in those cases.

If it makes you feel better, I have absolutely no problem calling someone an arse and then moving on

But yes, I agree that in individual cases, this is what people should mostly do. It's when the issue is systemic that it should be addressed.

Again, no argument - but I guess I'd just like to see folks save the umbrage for those times when it's actually deserved, instead of going hog wild every time they hear something they think someone may at some point be offended by...

Ahh well. Such be life I guess.

 

[tirediron]

I guess it would just be nice if folks could say, wow.. what an arse, and move on in those cases.

If it makes you feel better, I have absolutely no problem calling someone an arse and then moving on

But yes, I agree that in individual cases, this is what people should mostly do. It's when the issue is systemic that it should be addressed.

Again, no argument - but I guess I'd just like to see folks save the umbrage for those times when it's actually deserved, instead of going hog wild every time they hear something they think someone may at some point be offended by...

Ahh well. Such be life I guess.

Of all the peeves, my pettest is the person who gets offended on behalf of others, and especially when the "injured" party thinks it's funny. If the insult/slur/dig/whatever is directed at me, and I'm not bothered, than no else should be!

 

[pixmedic]