Poor taste and too soon humor

[JarodRussell]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g42EG7LD1UY[/yt]

77 years after 1500 people died in a terrible tragedy, it was okay to make fun of the victims in a mainstream comedy.

In the year 2088, will it be okay to make a Ghostbusters film where the Twin Towers reappear with the 3000 victims going to work?

Or the most recent Malaysian airplane disappearance/possible crash.


Why is it that humor can be "too soon", but after a while, it is perfectly okay?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Because people who knew the people who died are themselves now dead.

 

[JarodRussell]

Because people who knew the people who died are themselves now dead.

I would understand that, but you also get offended reactions by people who are not related or didn't even know them.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

It might have something to do with empathy because you understand there are people who could be hurt by the joke.

 

[JarodRussell]

It might have something to do with empathy because you understand there are people who could be hurt by the joke.

So you don't think children and grandchildren of Titanic victims would be hurt by a joke portraying them as dead people?

 

[Trekker4747]

Maritime accident =/= terrorist attack.

Making a 9/11 joke would be as tastless as doing a Pearl Harbor joke.

There's a difference between the circumstances behind the deaths on the Titanic ( as well as a degree of romanticism to it given the period it was in, who was in board, the actions of those on board among other things) are very different than the circumstances of the deaths o 9/11.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Even the Onion, of all places, treated the 9/11 attack with some degree of seriousness, so that should tell you something. In fact I think this is the only serious article the Onion has ever had:

American Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie

I guess a big difference is, the Titanic was an accident. 9/11 was a deliberate attack. That alone makes some kind of difference. You can joke about accidents a lot easier than about terrorism.

 

[1001001]

What's the old saying?

Comedy = Tragedy + Time

I think we all have our tender spots, stuff that we don't find funny, but that doesn't mean other people can't.

 

[Melakon]

. . .In the year 2088, will it be okay to make a Ghostbusters film where the Twin Towers reappear with the 3000 victims going to work? . . .

I certainly hope that by 2088, Hollywood isn't so creatively bankrupt that it's still churning out sequels to ancient 20th century comedies.

I suspect it will be a few more years before the events of 11 September 2001 are considered dependable laugh riot material for mindless teen comedies.

 

[Kirby]

It might have something to do with empathy because you understand there are people who could be hurt by the joke.

On an anniversary of the Titanic sinking, I told a joke on this bbs about some cargo that went down with the Titanic (Hellman's Mayonaise) and took crap for it from one person. You never know who will be touchy about what, so I typically just leave that stuff alone. For the record though, a lot of people liked the joke.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

It might have something to do with empathy because you understand there are people who could be hurt by the joke.

So you don't think children and grandchildren of Titanic victims would be hurt by a joke portraying them as dead people?

Not as significantly, no. We're talking about people who have, at best, distant memories or never knew their grandparents.

I also have to take a step back because I realized there was a gap in your thought process. It's important to distinguish tragedies that affect the people immediately connected to it and more national tragedies. Something like the September 11, 2001 attacks are in the latter category. People felt hit by it even if they didn't know a single person killed. That makes it more difficult because the people hit by the joke is much larger (even if we get to the point where no one who knew someone who died that day is still alive, which we haven't, the number of people who were impacted indirectly and might be hurt to a lesser extent are significantly greater).

It's also worth trying to find a situation where something is uncomplicatedly funny. I don't think we're at that point with the Titanic just yet. But there still is a sweet spot where the humor of being edgy stings just few enough that it isn't in poor taste.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There is exactly one 9/11 joke that I have found funny. Again, I gotta go to the Onion.

Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves In Hell

Then again, that doesn't make fun of the attack itself - just the jackasses who perpetrated it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, you can get away with those kinds of jokes.

Anyway, this is somewhat on topic and I need less of an excuse to post it:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJqEKYbh-LU[/yt]

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I had fun singing "The Titanic" song ("It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down") at camp. I'm pretty sure all or almost all of us did.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I remember when the space shuttle Challenger blew up - I heard my first shuttle joke within 5 minutes of it.

 

[Gaith]

There is exactly one 9/11 joke that I have found funny. Again, I gotta go to the Onion.

Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves In Hell

Then again, that doesn't make fun of the attack itself - just the jackasses who perpetrated it.

Here's an edgier Onion joke for you, from '08:

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays


... I laughed.

 

[JarodRussell]

On a similar note, and going into the war direction... I've watched Hot Shots 1 and 2 today. In the first one they make fun of Saddam lying next to a pool drinking a cocktail in his nuclear power plant when the big bomb drops on him. In the next one, he has a full role as idiot villain. I found that hilarious, even back then when Saddam was still alive and kicking. While I was laughing at a lightsaber fight between Saddam and the President, thousands of people suffered a terrible regime. And later, thousands suffered a terrible war, and still are suffering the aftermath.

Somehow I can't picture a spoof movie be made today with, let's say, Putin or Kim Jong Un. It would be considered too controversial, wouldn't it?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Somehow I can't picture a spoof movie be made today with, let's say, Putin or Kim Jong Un. It would be considered too controversial, wouldn't it?

Probably not.

 

[JarodRussell]

Good point, but I never heard of that one. And it seemes to get mostly good reviews.

Now I understand that puppet thing in Stargate.

But then again, 2004 was already 10 years ago. Whew.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I remember there being a novel, a black comedy, published a few years after 9/11, and it angered me to see that something like it had actually been published as it made light of those who suffered. Awful.