(no subject)

[lollardfish]

Can anyone more knowledgeable than I point out any examples of the Vilification Tennis show doing productive social satire - that is, making fun of something in order to demonstrate its impropriety or nonsensical nature?

I'm seeing excuses that I shouldn't be offended at their upcoming show because it's productive social satire.

I think it's just an excuse and the show isn't about satire, it's about getting laughs by being as mean as possible. They are really good at it. They get a lot of laughs. I think they're kidding themselves about the satire, but I'm not that familiar with their shows.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

"but did not feel that the show either raised awareness or presented satire (neither does Mark, above)."
Easy there, I said nothing of the sort.
I said my job is to make people laugh, not contemplate the meaning of life.
Please do not put words in my mouth.

The closest example of anything i have done that may fit your criteria would be the Feb show. Our show was "A Salute to Black History Month".
I did the show in black face.
I did it for 2 reasons.
1- its funny
2- The easiest way to destroy someones hatred for anything in specific is to make fun of the way they think. (Ask Mel Brooks how he feels about making fun of Hitler)
I did not do it to be mean, hurtful, racist, or anything even close to that. I did it to be funny.

Also I have to agree with Jen in pointing out something to you and the others that are screaming and yelling about the upcoming show. Have you seen it yet? Was it hurtful? Was it mean spirited? i would suggest to you and the others that are up in arms with pitchforks in hand to wait and see.
If it is then by all means feels free to be a critic and publicly admonish the cast.

Mark L

P.S. I am also not doing the Nov show.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

How did insulting other people in blackface help destroy hatred?

Brooks did fantastic satire.

I am not complaining about the show. I am complaining about the publicity, title, and articulation of the theme. It does enough damage.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Here's a more direct question, Mark. You and my wife are friends. You met my son this summer; he giggled at you in the cage. The title/theme of this show made my wife weep with anger and sadness.

Do you care?

If you don't, so be it.

[(Anonymous)]

Do I care? No, not really. I do not let words cause me pain.

I would empathize, if say your wife and your self had been out front of the movie theater picketing Tropic Thunder in 2008. Maybe if you guys had written Ben Stiller or the movie studio. BUT as you said when the other groups got up in arms you didn't get involved.
The term is SO OBVIOUSLY taken from a movie and worse yet, a long conversation and side plot in said movie. If you never said or did anything when it was in a movie why exactly should I care now that the phrase is being used in a production put on by 15 people in Minneapolis to an audience of 80? If one word offends you and your wife to the point of tears then I would say you are in for a very long and painful life.

My 8 year old daughter has cancer. Leukemia to be exact. I understand what it is like to be protective for your child.
Want to know why your son giggled at me this summer? It's because I am funny.

Mark L

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

I know about your daughter. Her grandparents are good friends of mine. I've been thinking about her since you started posting.

The pain of this is that, unlike Tropic Thunder, it's coming from inside my wife's long-term core community. To see people who she's known for so long entirely blind to our situation is a painful betrayal, even though unintentional.

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

Hello Mark. I knew your answer to the question and wish I had been around earlier for this chat.

I didn't see this movie because I was told it used the r-word and did in fact write a letter complaining about it to the paper. I cringe to think how incoherent it must have been given my lack of practice writing such things, but I tried.

Believe me when I say I don't expect you to care. I have ceased to wonder or care if other people think I'm uptight or too delicate or deluded on this subject.

I'm hoping to make the world slightly nicer for my son. If over the space of his life I can explain one less time why some jerk called him a name and make my sons life a little more pleasant I will be pleased.

I have stopped complaining about this unless it's right in front of me. I've moved on to bigger fish.