Jump to content

"'Animal House' At 40: 'Toxic Showcase of Racism, Homophobia, and Jokes About Sexual Assault"


phdhorn

Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

The same Rock and Seinfeld who have failed to reach audiences in the streaming era? I'll be sure to ask Barney Fife about how crime scene DNA is processed too.

Both drama and comedy are actually edgier than ever. Just not that many people consume comedy from stand up. The viral video is replacing it as an art form. 

Huh?? Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is streaming content and it has been wildly successful. Let me know the next time Seinfeld, Rock, Chappell, Gaffigan, etc have trouble selling out shows. Like I said, stand-up ain't dead, but it may be dying a slow death due to political correctness.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Lhorn said:

I didn't read every post.  The take that Richard Pryor couldn't do his own 1970s act today (were he alive) is idiotic.  He could do it and many other black comedians do similar every day.  Katt Williams uses the Nword more than Pryor.  That black comedians can still get away with using he N word is NOT proof that PC has not encroached on comedy - that's my point about Key and Peele.

Guys like Nick Dipaulo can't get booked in many places and clubs get boycotted for booking him.  He's not overtly racist but is quite right leaning.  PC absolutely affects comedy.  If you are saying that carefully done, similar material can still be done, I don't disagree with that, but it's a much more dangerous climate for a comedian these day with social medial and PC.  One wrong joke can end your career.  

In the 70s, what white comedians were getting on stage and using the n word and meaning it?

And what does "career" mean to you? Nothing is stopping anyone from putting out whatever they want.  Its even easier now than in the 70s because production and broadcast costs can be as low as you want them to be. You cant make people watch your shit though. If you want to cater to racists, you're better off going the Rush or Hannity route. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Art Vandelay said:

Huh?? Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is streaming content and it has been wildly successful. Let me know the next time Seinfeld, Rock, Chappell, Gaffigan, etc have trouble selling out shows. Like I said, stand-up ain't dead, but it may be dying a slow death due to political correctness.

Which one of those acts has been forced to change their show to be politically correct?  

Pryor's own problem was himself. He ended his use of the n word.  Same with Chapelle. He killed his show because he went too far and it fucked up his mind.  Nobody made them. People were still laughing with them.

A gay comic could get away with using gay slurs too. 

Keep in mind that Always Sunny is basically an extremely non-PC form of Seinfeld type comedy. And it works currently but wouldnt have in 1990.

Tell me what a comedian has gotten away with in the past that you believe couldn't occur now.  And when you find an anecdote, tell me why you want them to get away with it now.

Edited by FondrenRoad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

In the 70s, what white comedians were getting on stage and using the n word and meaning it?

 

Ugh.  This is a reminder to me to avoid the political board.

You are being intentionally obtuse.  I'm not talking specifically about just using the N word.  I'm talking about edgy, racial material which would have been laughed at in the past as a form of dark humor - taboo, but still funny nonetheless, yet today would get you a social media shit storm.

 

I'm completely fine that you don't accept my opinion that PC has invaded comedian, as I don't accept your opinion.

I guess I would ask you your opinion on the article posted above that shows top comedians also view PC as a pitfall of their profession.  You know more about standup than Seinfeld I guess?  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Lhorn said:

Ugh.  This is a reminder to me to avoid the political board.

You are being intentionally obtuse.  I'm not talking specifically about just using the N word.  I'm talking about edgy, racial material which would have been laughed at in the past as a form of dark humor - taboo, but still funny nonetheless, yet today would get you a social media shit storm.

 

I'm completely fine that you don't accept my opinion that PC has invaded comedian, as I don't accept your opinion.

I guess I would ask you your opinion on the article posted above that shows top comedians also view PC as a pitfall of their profession.  You know more about standup than Seinfeld I guess?  

More accurately, I dont give a shit about standup, and I don't consume comedy in the form of standup, and I dont care about the opinions of people longing for a heyday when more people consumed their product. I used to like standup, and I didnt quit consuming it for content reasons. I quit because there is other comedy to consume which I find more entertaining. 

It may even come as a shock to to you to know that if anyone were gonna get me interested in stand up again, it would have to be a non-pc set.  Even then, I'd rather watch a smartly made non-PC series or movie.

Moreover, this thread is about a movie, at a time when similar non-pc movies as the OP come out almost yearly. 

Edited by FondrenRoad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

Which one of those acts has been forced to change their show to be politically correct? 

Well, here's one for example, which I posted earlier...

Quote

2. John Cleese
The former Python has been particularly outspoken in his views against PC culture. As he put it in an interview with Bill Maher, Cleese dismissed political correctness as “condescending,” saying “It starts as a half way decent idea and then it goes completely wrong and is taken ad absurdum,” and explaining how he stopped making race-related jokes after audiences were angered by jokes about Mexicans in his routine. As he put it “Make jokes about Swedes and Germans and French and English and Canadians and Americans, why can't we make jokes about Mexicans? Is it because they are so feeble that they can't look after themselves? It's very very condescending there.”

 

7 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

Tell me what a comedian has gotten away with in the past that you believe couldn't occur now.  And when you find an anecdote, tell me why you want them to get away with it now.

I think John Cleese explains pretty eloquently above why he should be able to "get away with it." As Seinfeld says, it's "anti-comedy":

Quote

Seinfeld said college students don't understand racism and sexism. "They just want to use these words: 'That’s racist;' 'That’s sexist;' 'That’s prejudice.' They don’t even know what the fk they’re talking about.”

When Cowherd asked Seinfeld if he thinks being too PC is hurting comedy he said it is. In another part of the interview the comedian said, "I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that. But everyone else is kind of, with their calculating—is this the exact right mix? I think that’s—to me it’s anti-comedy. It’s more about PC-nonsense.”

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is just people falsely claiming that their personal opinions mirror those of society. Although, I have to admit I quit reading after someone claimed that stand-up is dead.

 

You think that the movies that you grew up on are better or more socially important than those of a younger generation? Fascinating, groundbreaking shit.

 

And sure there are some stuff you used to be able to say that you can’t now, but there’s also a whole lot of shit that could never be said/shown in the ‘70s that is acceptable now. Times change, people whining about the times changing never do.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Revenge of the Nerds he straight up rapes that girl
Sure, but a reasonable person knows that. I feel like that is the crux of the issue. Comedy often shines a light on the fleeting moments in a person's mind where they wish they could say or do something, but know it is wrong and keep themselves in check. I think the real disconnect is that the ultra PC police out there almost mirror the mindset of the ultra religious. "Not only is an act or statement wrong to do or say, but even the thought of it alone is horrible and you should be punished for having it." We, as flawed individuals, sometimes have horrible internal dialogue. We, for a fleeting moment, think awful things that we absolutely would never say or do in reality. We have, snap out of it, and remind ourselves that it is awful. And, just like in hardcore religion, anyone who claims that they never have those thoughts are lying to themselves. Of course Muslims and Protestants think of adultery from time to time. Of course they occasionally think "I wish something bad would happen to that person." "I wish I could fuck that girl." But comedy, in general, is a caricature of those thoughts. Just like all caricatures, it highlights the absolute worst of a given topic while at the same time disarming it.

That's not to say that we should tolerate every piece of hate speech as just jokes, but we should be reasonable people about what is and isn't the true feelings of the deliverer of the message. Do we sit here and honestly believe that the movies of the 70's and 80's were telling boys and young adults that rape is okay or is it really a caricature of the outcasts of society wishing they could sleep with a beautiful woman, but they could never do it without trickery or deceit? Of course not. A lot of the comedic voices of that era were flawed individuals, but they also normalized a lot of what is now thought of as progressive ideas.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, FondrenRoad said:

What is the Cleese joke in question?

I don't know, dude, it doesn't say. You asked me to give an example of someone who had to change their show to be politically correct. I gave you an example: John Cleese says he had to stop making race-related jokes. I am sure there are countless other examples out there. The Salon article includes quotes from 10 comedians commenting on the issue (not counting Seinfeld) who I assume have had to make changes to their acts, since they seem to care enough about it to complain.

If you think you know more about it than they do, that's cool. But I'm going to give them more credence since it's how they make their living.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Underdog said:

You gay, bro?  That scene's hilarious cause it was unexpected and out there.  Do any of the limpdicks on here get offended over the "Greg, is it supposed to be this soft?"  scene?   

I couldn't care less if today's audience doesn't find AH funny.  It's funny to me.  A young 20-something coworker of mine watched BS a couple of years ago and loved it but was amazed by its content and surprised that sort of stuff flew back in the 70s.  

Would Revenge of the Nerds be made today?  Bullying, sexual assault, homophobic, racist. 

I didn't say I didn't think it wasn't funny, I said I didn't like it.  The cutaway was just too clunky from the rest of the gonzo-style parade scene.  my god, one fucking minor critique after I finished what I think was a rather fair and pro-AH assessment.  I laid out a really well explained diatribe against the original author.  I mean, we can literally contact the author and tell them that the anti-gay stuff is bullshit...it doesn't actually exist in the movie.  They just wanted to throw up a bunch of triggers and see what sticks.  I love the movie and I defended it in my post and laid out one issue I had more with moviemaking than anything else.  Didn't say it wasn't funny, said it didn't fit in the shooting style.  

If we really want to talk about being offensive...Animal House clearly hurts Vegans.  Watch Bluto walk the cafeteria line and inhale processed meats, observe organic vegetables being offered as nothing more than glorified sex toys to Ms. Wormer, watch dead bovine meat being treated as a silly hazing prank during rush week during a Food King theft, see a horse being sawed to bits on the dean's office-cum-killing floor, and behold a true animal lover (to the point of fairly questioned beastiality) subjected to brutal meat-eating men suggesting the sandwich he was about to enjoy may in fact be equine meat.

As a proud vegan gentlemen, I for one will not sit here and let this movie badmouth the United Movement of Veganism.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. People still make ungodly offensive shit funny. Louis CK did a SNL monologue that talked about great child molestation must be.

2. As society progresses, what is considered fucked up changes. The kid trying to decide whether to fuck his passed out date wasn’t, in and of itself, a joke. It was a riff on what was borderline acceptable in 1970s. We, as a society, have decided that it really, really shouldn’t be a moral conflict. It’s not a question of whether the joke works; it’s a question of the plot point working with the character. That is somebody who should get the living shit kicked out of him, not somebody the audience an identify with.
I can get past it. But I still recognize it as a moral anachronism. Animal House could still be made, but without the obvious flaw.
For those morning the death of comedy, do you think differently? Do you still think the character can still be a sympathetic one while fucking passed out girls?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tell Kevin Hart playing football stadiums that standup is dead or dying. 

There are more standups making it right now than at any point in history.  Standup is not only not dying, it's never been easier to make it as a comedian with social media and with Netflix producing specials every five minutes.

It's the same with music.  There's just so much more content and so many different people producing content that it spreads the audience thinner for most.

Edited by Tom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, phdhorn said:

Or when John "Bluto" Blutarsky (John Belushi) tries to inspire his frat brothers by asking if it was "over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor." (Hint: It very famously was not the Germans who bombed Pearl Harbor.)

 

The fact that she has to explain that joke tells me a lot about her target audience. 

Edited by Lat22
  • Like 3
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This. He merely thought about it and then made the correct moral decision not to. If he had, I don't think it wouldn't have gone over well even back then. 

Ok. Different example. 16 Candles. Jake puts his falling down drunk girlfriend in the car with a freshman, and tells the freshman he can do whatever he wants to her. Jake is that awesome guy that Molly Ringwald ends up with.

Pinto was conflicted. Not raping a girl was a sign that he was a nice guy. That doesn’t really work for society today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Chuckie Finster said:

This thread is just people falsely claiming that their personal opinions mirror those of society. Although, I have to admit I quit reading after someone claimed that stand-up is dead.

 

You think that the movies that you grew up on are better or more socially important than those of a younger generation? Fascinating, groundbreaking shit.

 

And sure there are some stuff you used to be able to say that you can’t now, but there’s also a whole lot of shit that could never be said/shown in the ‘70s that is acceptable now. Times change, people whining about the times changing never do.

Like what exactly?  Movies? or TV?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Like what exactly?  Movies? or TV?  

Wasn't alive back then, but I imagine sex scenes in regular movies are more prevalent/graphic today than back then. I also have a hard time imagining graphically violent films like The Purges and others being popular back then. Sure Clockwork Orange was very violent but not horrifically graphic, not even the rape scene. Movies with predominantly black casts and production crews sure as hell couldn't have been made or had as much mainstream success as they do today. 

Edited by Helobious
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, TexArcher said:

If you think Key and Peele or Always Sunny push the envelope more than comedy in the 70s, you really have no idea what you're talking about.

Chevy Chase said "nigger" to Richard Pryor on live tv in like 1975, and Richard threatened to kill him, and it was funny as hell.  Compare that to SNL today.

And I don't know why you keep bringing up Django.  Completely different genre.

SNL is completely unwatchable now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Art Vandelay said:

I don't know, dude, it doesn't say. You asked me to give an example of someone who had to change their show to be politically correct. I gave you an example: John Cleese says he had to stop making race-related jokes. I am sure there are countless other examples out there. The Salon article includes quotes from 10 comedians commenting on the issue (not counting Seinfeld) who I assume have had to make changes to their acts, since they seem to care enough about it to complain.

If you think you know more about it than they do, that's cool. But I'm going to give them more credence since it's how they make their living.

It was the one about only 10,000 Mexican soldiers being at the Alamo because they only had 2 el Caminos and Ford truck. Or at least that's the joke I heard him tell years and years ago at a live show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Wasn't alive back then, but I imagine sex scenes in regular movies are more prevalent/graphic today than back then. I also have a hard time imagining graphically films like The Purges and others being popular back then. Sure Clockwork Orange was very violent but not horrifically graphic, not even the rape scene. Movies with predominantly black casts and production crews sure as hell couldn't have been made or had as much mainstream success as they do today. 

I'm 46. There was actually quite a bit more graphic nudity and sex in mainstream movies in the 70s & 80s than in today's mainstream movies. Hollywood was more libertine in general in the 70s, and the raunchy teen sex comedy became a staple of the 80s. Slasher flicks with very graphic violence also became hugely popular in the 80s.

TV is the opposite, however. The adult content & themes in today's primetime network TV shows never could have been shown on TV in the 80s or prior. Seinfeld and Friends were two shows that played a big role in changing that in the early 90s.

Edited by Art Vandelay
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Art Vandelay said:

I'm 46. I think there was quite a bit more graphic nudity and sex in mainstream movies in the 70s & 80s than in today's mainstream movies. Hollywood was more libertine in general in the 70s, and the raunchy teen sex comedy became a staple of the 80s. Slasher flicks with very graphic violence also became hugely popular in the 80s.

TV is the opposite, however. The adult content & themes in today's primetime network TV shows never could have been shown on TV in the 80s or prior. Seinfeld and Friends were two shows that played a big role in changing that in the early 90s.

I held off for 6 years before watching game of thrones. I haven't seen this many other men's penises since my years in the locker room.

Edited by Clob94
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Underdog said:

This was on Network TV in Primetime. 

James Caan is fucking awesome. Sonny was my favorite character in The Godfather and he played it beautifully. He was at the Playboy mansion all the time back in the day living the party life.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Js1 said:

Oh no movies I thought were funny as a kid might not appeal to today’s climate or audience that don’t have dinosaur humor from the 80s. 

Wah wah wah 

lets be honest, the movies that get the most references here on Surly aren’t relevant at all to the under 35 crowd and it makes y’all sad. 

 

I fart in your general direction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Judging History with a current lens is always a recipe for trouble.

I’m sure some fear that this will follow current trends where we can’t talk about any uncomfortable history or topics, instead we pretend they never happen and tear them down. Will it soon be simply racist, sexist and unacceptable to simply watch/enjoy these films by society?  Guilt by association?  Progress doesn’t come with an eraser. 

But comedic movies have fallen off a cliff. Look no further than the “best comedies of the last 5 years” thread. The options are sad and pathetic. Just going back five years further gives you some epic choices not being made now. 

The PC culture has most definitely had a hand in the death of comedies. Too much risk to push the limits when an internet boycott of faux outrage (by many who never see the movie) can bring it down in less than 48hrs. Easier to play it safe. 

What is the best comedy on the last 5 years?

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

If Animal House were made today Surly would fucking hate it but since they watched it when they were kids it's fucking high art and should be revered as genius. Nostalgia is the most destructive force in the world

Why would we hate it, Rex Reed? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Wasn't alive back then, but I imagine sex scenes in regular movies are more prevalent/graphic today than back then. I also have a hard time imagining graphically violent films like The Purges and others being popular back then. Sure Clockwork Orange was very violent but not horrifically graphic, not even the rape scene. Movies with predominantly black casts and production crews sure as hell couldn't have been made or had as much mainstream success as they do today. 

You'd be surprised movie wise, google sex in cinema for the 70s.   It's probably not fair to the 70s to compare TV from back then to today but plenty of groundbreaking shows that were topical.  I mean, Edith got raped on All in the Family, Maude got an abortion at over 40, George Jefferson saved a Racist's life and the bastard would've rathered died than be saved.  Yeah, I'm guilty of romanticising my youth, but since The Sopranos(Cheers & Seinfeld), nothing has really interested me on the television front.  Basically have it on for background noise if not watching sports or news. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Iconoclast Texan said:

James Caan is fucking awesome. Sonny was my favorite character in The Godfather and he played it beautifully. He was at the Playboy mansion all the time back in the day living the party life.

Yes.  Yes he was, great in Freebie and the Bean, also. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would have loved to have been in my 20-30s during the 70s. I have always been fascinated by that decade. Take a look at a picture of what men were wearing in 1964 and compare it to what they were wearing in 1974. Has there ever been that extreme a shift in fashion from skinny ties and lapels to the exact opposite in the 70s? As a recovering addict, I have to say that trying what coke  was like or qualuudes is part of the fascination. The golden age of cinema was in the 70s, closely followed by the 90s. No decades come close to those 2.

Edited by Iconoclast Texan
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

This gal has allegedly broken the mold wide open.  I'm eager to hear her act.  If it is what they say it is, I don't think it's fair to declare stand-up as "dead".  Different?  Sure, maybe.

Hannah Gadsby is shaking up comedy with "Nanette."

Hannah Gadsby "Nannette"

It's excellent, but I don't know that I'd use that description.   It's a mix of good stand-up on LGBT topics tied together with non-comedic, serious opinions on very personal stuff.  Highly recommend for those open to it, but it's not for everyone, and it's not all comedy. 

Edited by Mojo Hand
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Mojo Hand said:

It's excellent, but I don't know that I'd use that description.   It's a mix of good stand-up on LGBT topics tied together with non-comedic, serious opinions on very personal stuff.  Highly recommend for those open to it, but it's not for everyone, and it's not all comedy. 

Well, stand-up has not always been pure yuck yuck.  Lenny Bruce was cut from a different cloth.  Guys like Pryor, Carlin, Hicks, even Lewis Black dealt in some pretty dark social commentary.  I'm hopeful that some smart young talent, like this gal supposedly is, will help redirect as some of those earlier comics did.

I was just barely old enough during the Viet Nam war to get a sense of how dark those times were.  It's my feeling we are right back there again, for different reasons perhaps, but the halcyon veil has not only been lifted, it has been destroyed.  Art is about to get a lot more interesting, a lot more visceral.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, stand-up has not always been pure yuck yuck.  Lenny Bruce was cut from a different cloth.  Guys like Pryor, Carlin, Hicks, even Lewis Black dealt in some pretty dark social commentary.  I'm hopeful that some smart young talent, like this gal supposedly is, will help redirect as some of those earlier comics did.

I was just barely old enough during the Viet Nam war to get a sense of how dark those times were.  It's my feeling we are right back there again, for different reasons perhaps, but the halcyon veil has not only been lifted, it has been destroyed.  Art is about to get a lot more interesting, a lot more visceral.

I hear ya.  She's 40, though, and possibly retiring from stand-up, so it's not exactly a situation where a young talent comes in with something new.  I hope to see more from her, though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's interesting that as off-color, sexist humor has been branded as more offensive, we don't have as much of an issue with gratuitous violence. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was originally branded with an X rating, and it is completely tame by today's standards. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who is actually making all these "OH NO! YOU MUST BE MORE PC!" arguments, specifically?

Jerry Seinfeld (60s) and Chris Rock (50s) vaguely refer to "college campuses", but these fucking guys are old as hell and when have college campuses ever been the venue for old fucks? Why do they even care what college kids want or think? Because they want the cachet of being cool, but they're not cool. It just galls them that there are people alive now who do not like their jokes. They consider it a grand crime that people think they're unfunny and out of touch.

Comedy is just as edgy as it has always been. It always will be.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



×
×
  • Create New...