Just as much as think Margret Cho did a good job using stereotypes in her comedy I happened to start watching an episode of family guy and I thought about how the program uses stereotypes to make jokes. And even more so how comedy shows like that use stereotypes as the basis of many jokes. But, unlike Margret Cho, these types of comedies seem to offer the other end of the spectrum in disrespecting the group, which the comedy is dealing with. I understand these types of programs are supposed to be funny and satirical, but a lot of the subject matter is just plain offensive. Not to mention the characters who display the stereotypes, which the show is making fun of, never seem to leave the rolls they are in. I suppose this adds to the supposed humor, but I cant confidently say that the comedy of family guy would be as well taken by the community being made fun of like the way someone watching Margret Cho could take her jokes. I am very interested in how our generation uses stereotypes in comedy and at what point the joke “crosses the line.” I feel like our generation for the most part, and I am generalizing, doesn’t think as much about how certain stereotypes were used of people to convey really terrible messages of peoples throughout history. The uses of stereotypes in history to represent certain groups have been traditionally malicious. But, I wonder if we even consider this idea when we watch something like family guy.
Just some food for thought http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59buT6ZgumM
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