After reading 'The Simpsons' engenders a firestorm of criticism after dismissing complaints over stereotypes, I was going to respond in the comments. However, my observation started to get long enough that I thought it would be better served as a diary.
In act three, Lisa turns to directly address the TV audience and says, “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” The shot then pans to a framed picture of Apu at the bedside with the line, “Don’t have a cow!” inscribed on it. Marge responds: “Some things will be dealt with at a later date.”
Followed by Lisa saying, “If at all.”
The Lisa line is appropriate. Today I was listening to FM radio, and the song “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits came on. The following part was completely cut out:
See the little f----t with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that's his own hair
That little f----t got his own jet airplane
That little f----t he's a millionaire
I just had to censor the above lines to avoid being flagged by the moderation software, and this was a direct quote. I can’t even find the unedited original music video on YouTube. As I recall, this video won a ton of awards back then.
I understand that there are people listening who were not around in 1985 who wouldn’t get the full context (it was a social commentary on how a lot of the 80s bands featured in MTV videos seemed to be made up of effeminate or androgynous males) and would complain. There are some who were around at the time who didn’t like then line back then, either. I won’t dispute the validity of their complaints; they’ve got a point, just like the Native Americans who take offense to Chief Wahoo or the Redskins monikers.
For the record, I hate the clipping of the song; mostly because it’s such a glaring defacement to what is one of the best songs of the 80s. Mark Knopfler’s unmistakable guitar riff is one of my favorite musical passages, and always makes my day. But I can listen to my original CD/MP3 in the privacy of my own car or home; the public airwaves are not a place for “f----t.” Too bad they seem appropriate for broadcasting ad infinitum Donald Trump’s “grab them by the p---y” comment.
What the real issue is here is shock value and how it’s evolved over the years. That is the heart of the Lisa Simpson quote, and why it is the appropriate response.
Humor, by it’s very nature, is offensive to someone. Every joke contains something that someone else will find offensive. “Pollack” jokes were a big thing 40 years ago; so were black, Jewish, Irish, Oriental, Portagee (I grew up in Hawaii), and any other ethnic group that wasn’t white. But Caucasians didn’t escape it totally; Richard Pryor built a large part of his comedy routines by lampooning white people; numerous comedians have followed in his wake, including some whites.
The numerous pseudonyms used to refer to Trump on this site are offensive to those who support him; the majority of us reading this site regard them as appropriate, given our political bent. Yet those of us who consider ourselves progressive are also guilty of the sin of distaste when it comes to culturally appropriate terms; how many of us shudder when we hear the N-word used in a popular rap song?
That is shock value. If an action makes you flinch, or object, or protest, it’s done its job. How effective it is depends on the reaction to it. It’s how books like Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” changed our view of pesticides; it’s how Martin Luther King shook up the white establishment; it’s how Lenny Bruce, Pryor, George Carlin, Bill Maher, and countless other comedians built their careers; it’s how shows like “All In The Family,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Star Trek,” “Will & Grace,” “Roseanne” and more shook up the TV landscape; it’s how “60 Minutes” begat the cable news networks of today; it’s how Rush Limbaugh and his successors rile up the base. And when magnified through the free-for-all press that is the Internet, it becomes an explosive weapon.
Used properly, shock value can be a catalyst for positive change. Showing how hateful the ethnic stereotypes espoused by Trump and his base is a good thing; we’re all on this earth together and belittling another’s race, culture and religion doesn’t bode well for the survival of our species. But the opposite side of that coin is the stock-in-trade of the fear mongers; if they can’t scare you with fear of the Other, they don’t make money and feel good about themselves.
So where do we draw the line? This is our struggle. We can censor “The Simpsons” or popular songs on the radio; boycott The Dixie Chicks or Laura Ingraham for saying things we find politically incorrect; or call for the changing of long established names and logos for our sports teams. But if we forget where we were, aren’t we guilty of Newspeak?
It would be nice if we could achieve the utopian society achieved in “Star Trek.” But even the enlightened Federation has its issues with culture conflict. The only thing that we can do is keep in mind that we must try to do better, using the past as an example of what to change while not forgetting why we were changing in the first place.