In the world of humor, comedians push the boundaries of taste. They confront uncomfortable issues head on. Today is no different. Daniel Tosh’s television show, Tosh.0, is one of the most popular programs on basic cable. In the show, Tosh gives a scathing commentary about viral videos found on the Internet. Tosh claims, “I’m not a misogynistic and racist person, but I do find those jokes funny, so I say them.” As a result, many of his punch lines are racist, sexist, or homophobic.
http://http://tosh.comedycentral.com/video-clips/web-redemption---cartwheeling-goalie
In one of the episodes, which ran June 30, 2010, Tosh featured a clip, the Cartwheeling Goalie. During the video, Tosh interviews a goalie, known for a viral video where he performs cartwheels before penalty kicks. Throughout the clip, Tosh belittles soccer. In one scene, he suggests the goalie try out for a more masculine sport, American football, and, in another, Tosh parodies the famous celebration when Brandi Chastain scored the game-winning goal in the 1999 Woman’s World Cup.
But, is this ok?
Comedy provides an outlet for taboo subjects to be discussed. Bill Maher, host of Real Time, explains, “There are a lot of issues you need to tread carefully on, but sometimes the best disinfectant for a messy topic is sunlight, and it's comedy's job to be that sunlight.”
Personally, when I hear a joke that goes too far, I think to myself: is that how that sounds? It makes me more aware. By forcing us to confront the elephant in the room, comics like Tosh may be doing us a favor.
Right, it similar to Eric La's Onion discussion during the disability unit. It's hard sometimes to determine if people are satirizing the people who discriminate or those who are discriminated.
ReplyDeleteAlso, here's a note from Rachel, whose comment to Eric wouldn't post:
ReplyDelete"Agreed. I think I heard the ultimate one the other day when we were just starting this unit and thought about bringing it up, but it's too distasteful for this class. Comedy does open up unconversational topics, and there's no line in that profession when you're on national television like tosh."