I consider myself very open minded but I did get uncomfortable with her act, as opposed to Lisa Lampenelli's material, which is also peppered with race jokes but somehow not as mean spirited. I just got the sense from Silverman's work that she wasn't completely kidding (and I do like her).
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I saw the film last night, even though she is funny her choice of racial humor is not necessary. I'm what I consider an open-minded african-american but if we continue to poke fun and use stereotypes of any people, we continue to make little progress in race relations. This may not seem to be important to some, yet it is very an important issue for many.
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She's using it almost as a satire. she's exaggerating it in such a way that it's painfully obvious how ridiculous it is. People being outraged at this is exactly why she did it, because there are people that seriously say such things and it's completely ridiculous.
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she certainly wasn't making jokes only about Blacks.
Read the first IMDB review - I think it hits her approach right on the head. Think of her as prefacing everything with "can you believe there are morons who really think this way?" Since her schtick is as a totally clueless, spaced out, spoiled priveledged white girl, I automatically take everything she says as her saying that the POV she is expressing is stupid.
Dave Chappelle doesn't poke fun and use stereotypes?? Is it ok for him? there is no way everyone will stop, you know why? because it is funny to a large population of people. as long as there is an audience for these types of people, and if they are as funny as she is, than it won't stop. this is a hilarious movie especially if you are not a politically correct robot.
shareTo be fair, Dave Chappelle was annoying too.
shareWhat do you mean "her people did kill Jesus after all." Who are "her people" and what do pseudo-events of 2 millenia ago have to do with this individual today? You sound like a moron. Now go back to church and pray for a brain.
shareI think the point of her humor is to in some ways point out racist and prejudiced ideas. She's not saying she believes these outrageous things but instead is making fun of the people who do. Her approach may be hard for some people to understand but the whole "acting as if she is serious" thing is what makes her so funny.
"Thanks for your help YOU STUPID HOTEL MANAGER"!
Agreed. This would be evident if you'd seen The Aristocrats -- her deadpan of "Joe Franklin raped me" was freakin' priceless!
shareAt the same time, it's sort of analagous to violent movies that aim for a message of anti-violence . . . presenting that violence, or those racial stereotypes, as entertainment still validates them and even glorifies them in some way, regardless of the aim of the comedian or the filmmaker, and even regardless of whether or not those artists succeed in conveying those principles of anti-violence or anti-racism.
So of course some people are going to be offended and say that Sarah Silverman is a racist, as they have a right to do. It doesn't mean that those people are stupid or even that they can't see what most of us assume that she's trying to do; sometimes you can recognize that in someone and still, at the end of the day, find what they are saying offensive. Well, those opinions are perfectly valid, because yeah, there is a lot of "racist" content, according to the dictionary definition of the word, and that's just a risk that you take when you decide to do this kind of comedy.
In my opinion, the MORE dangerous thing is people getting belittled for expressing a perfectly valid reaction to this material. It's their right to think that way, and, let's face it, it's not like they're short on evidence to support their argument, so I don't think they deserve to be called "a bunch of goddamn retards," etc.
Regardless, they are dangerous, and wouldn't want anything less then to shut all the comedians up for good, make it illegal as well as immoral to do racial stand-up, effectively bringing to a crashing end freedom of speech. Of course this is already happening, so I am not sure of how much importance to the advancement of tyranny these people are.
"You have been assimilated, resistance was futile!"
I don't think it's fair to say that all of them are dangerous. You can be pissed off or offended by something and not want to take away the right to say something offensive. Hell, I'm pissed off and offended by things on a regular basis (although usually not by comedians) and I am strongly for all kinds of civil liberties and would NEVER consider trying to get someone to stop saying offensive things because I believe it is his or her right to do so - I just disagree with him or her.
shareWell, yeah, we're all like that, lol, what are you trying to say here? The fact is when people make a point to try to shut others up and even use litigation against speech, its a big problem, and VERY FAR REMOVED from how you view it.
Voltaire said something like this: 'I may disagree fully with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'
Its paraphrazed from my mem but its one of my favs.
"You have been assimilated, resistance was futile!"
UGH...LISTEN, THEY'RE JUST JOKES. I'M SURE ALL OF YOU HAVE SAID AT LEAST ONE RACIAL JOKE. PLUS, HER JOKES ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE OR STRETCH THE TRUTH. PEOPLE ARE NOT SUPPOSE TO TAKE COMEDIANS SERIOUSLY ALL THE TIME. I'M AN ITALIAN AMERICAN AND, THANKS TO THING LIKE THE SOPRANOS, I HEAR A LOT OF STEREIOTYPICAL JOKES. SURE IT GETS ME A LITTLE MAD, CONSIDERING THAT THE ROMANS WERE THE MOST CIVILIZED PEOPLE OF THERE TIME AND MOST THEIR BELIEFS STILL STAND TRUE TODAY AND THE RENAISSANCE STARTED IN ITALY AND MANY GENIUSES LIKE DaVINCI WERE ITALIAN, BUT I DON'T MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN BE MADE FUN OF ABOUT, EVEN IF THE JOKES ARE FALSE.
shareYou're comparing apples and oranges. It's a false analogy to think of using ethnic humor to turn stereotypes on their head with using violence to send an anti-violence message (which is still possible to do). When violence is used so the viewer is meant to enjoy the spectacle of the violence itself, it's hypocritical to say the movie's anti-violence (at least for the purposes of entertainment). However, by showing the ignorance of racists by, key word here, ACTING like a racist, serves to turn ethnic humor on itself. It's a trick akin to the central justification for horror--it's by confronting false horrors, and turning them on their head that we better cope with those of the real world. The point is not to enjoy the suffering of the characters but to learn a life lesson. Likewise, Silverman talks about stereotypes, sometimes using them in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, not to reinforce them but to deflate them. Deflation is a common comedic technique especially amongst Jewish-American comedians who have a very specific and wonderful comic tradition.
shareI understand what you are saying and the purpose that this humor serves, and I agree with you. I just don't think that people who are offended by it should be shunned or ridiculed. The paradox (if that's really the right word) of all satire is that, in order to make fun of something, whether it's a film genre or a way of thinking, you have to follow some of the rules of that thing. Parodies of musicals are still musicals and still follow lots of the rules of musicals. Parodies of racist thinking have examples of racism in them, and if someone is offended by those examples, and fails to see the humor, that's a valid reaction. And I see your point about the difference between anti-racism and anti-violence in movies and comedy, but I still don't think it's a false analogy. Just as using racist humor in a tongue-in-cheek way eventually turns it on its head because of our increased awareness of the absurdity of those stereotypes, some violent movies can come out anti-violent in the end by eventually making the viewer aware of the absurdity of enjoying violence. They're not identical situations but I do think that they are analogous, especially since humor is often tied to violence kind of like it is tied to racism.
shareI think they should be both shunned AND ridiculed, and possibly even sterilized.
People contributing to the criminalization and slow death of irony ought to be stamped out. I'd rather protect irony than a few thousand morons.
she's not racist .it's humor. her bits are supposed to make you uncomfortable ... thats the point . silverman is mean spirited ... thats her whole act and it works . lisa lampinelli is a hack ... she's warm and everyone can enjoy her . she has 'cute ' punchlines that token minority friends can enjoy . comics like silverman need MORE exposure . if you felt 'uncomfortable'during her act , you are not open minded .
sharein the trailer you could see she was taking the piss out of racist preconcepts
i uon't think she is racist...though she is very cute
I don't believe she is racist by any means... I tell dead baby jokes, but it doesn't mean that I would kill babies, think it's funny to see a dead baby, or even think that dead babies are funny. The jokes on the other hand ARE... I also have to be careful of who I tell them around... I get that option... you get the option of seeing or not seeing her movie or even buying into her stereotypical jokes or not. Doesn't mean she racist just because she doesn't pull any punches in her jokes. The more BLANTANT humor is pointed in the direction of these stereotypes, the LESS power they have. So what if she looks like she's serious about em... that's what makes em funny. Screw censorship, I'm tired of everyone moaning cause their feelings are hurt. Get over it or don't go see the movie. That's probably why it didn't make wide release. You basically have to be actively searching to see this movie. It's rare to see anyone put so much on the line with such a movie with all the lawsuits that get thrown around and I commend her for it even if I don't really agree with everything she says. Just my opinion, not trying to get into any pissin contests... it's simply not worth it.
shareI know I'm a little late here, but I find the phrase "actively tired" amusing. Beyond that, if you can't find her character satirical, I have no idea what you're doing watching this movie (this is not directed at ablesms, just at those who don't have a clue as to what Silverman's message is).
shareSuch threads killed christ..
shareWell, truthfully there isn't anyone who ISN'T racist. Every single person, even the most altruistic, have preconceived beliefs about anyone they meet. Unfortunate, Unfair, but true and it can't be helped. Which actually also brings up the point that steretypes are based on minor truisms, so things like jews being greedy, blacks being cheap, asians being good at math, so on DID come from somewhere.
So the question isn't is she racist, it's whether or not she's more racist than people in general. The answer I think, is no, and she just uses this controversial material to get more notice. I find her very funny, and one of the reasons is BECAUSE she uses such edgy material its surprising.
In the end we all have to understand that any one person is more than the loose generalities that label their race/religion/ethnicity and we grow more by laughing at the "differences" in people than by pretending they don't exist at all. That's just my 2 cents, hope no one's offended but that's how I think it works.
Cheers,
Greg
I think shes funny in the way South Park is sometimes. The combination of cute and offensive. But there is a bizzare innocence in her bile spewing that makes it fantastic.
shareShe thinks up and delivers this humor because she finds it funny, pure and simple, and alot of other people find it funny too. Just because you find something funny doesn't mean you believe it. Hers isn't the kind of act where you laugh, and say, "thats so true," but, if you have any sense of humor, you do laugh, and if you don't your probably one of these losers crying racism and saying they felt uncomfortable. Life is too short to feel uncomfortable, grow up.
shareAll the bits in bold are partially true. Are they true for all people of those races? Of course not, not even close, *that* would be a racist conclusion. But are they true for a significant minority? Yes, that's just the way things are. After all, that's how a lot of racist sentiments get started -- they're rooted in the truth.
I don't deny that stereotypes are somehow based on actual observations that our brain has made at some point in time - although, of course, once those beliefs are established, our minds are much more open to examples that prove them than they are to examples that disprove them, which should make us question their validity. However, your claim that those stereotypes are still "true for a significant minority" could still be considered racist, because it implies a belief that race accounts for differences in character or ability between people to some extent. That doesn't necessarily make your statement wrong, it just still counts as racist. In order for you to be not a racist according to the dictionary definition of the word, you have to believe that race has nothing to do with differences in character or ability, period.
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the point is to provoke what you are doing here now. create discussion. she's very sophisticated in a way because she doesn't shy away from the material. she allows it to imbue her as to make it believable. that sweet face coats it in innocence (which is why Andrew Dice Clay sucks). be offended. it will work wonders for your brain.
sharego back to calling into AM talk radio shows decrying liberals for everything and patting yourself on the back for being a great american for supporting the war that this week, with the death of 1 leader, is perceived as making a difference.
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Only living to die