Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Is Facebook is my racist uncle now?

Ok, I mean that metaphorically. I don't have a racist uncle...that I know of. But I ask because lately the "suggested for you" posts I've been seeing have taken on a decidedly you know, Red State bent. An unsolicited bent, because I don't know what I'm doing in my searches that Facebook thinks I want this. Like, look at this, what even is this:
Suggested for me why? Because I think the carbon they want to reduce is 
atmospheric carbon dioxide, and it's why the west is on fire, so maybe back off?
Et tu Mel Brooks?
It's just been this weird uptick in links to memes and jokes about how we're all a bunch of idiots for believing that Trump lost the election. Like, it's bad enough having to block old friends because they've gone round the bend and started posting this nonsense, but what am I supposed to do when Facebook itself keeps throwing these at me? And I mean, this one:

"We have become stupidly politically correct which is the death of comedy."

-Mel Brooks, noted Fox News
 meme apparently
Is it me or is it weird that conservatives
are suddenly quoting Mel Brooks?
That just hurts. Despite the quote being attributed to Fox News, I looked it up and this is a real thing Brooks said, just not to Fox. In an interview back in 2017 with BBC Radio 4 he said that some of his movies would never be made today because of our politically correct culture. And I mean, who doesn't love Mel Brooks? I do. But that doesn't mean I think he was right about this. Mostly, I think he's just ninety five years old. I'm not questioning his observation, like, of course we wouldn't see racial slurs and rape jokes in a comedy today, but I question whether to not that's really a bad thing.

I think the bean scene is about the only thing
in the film that transcends both time and culture.
Like, Mel Brooks making Blazing Saddles in 1974 is one thing. I'm not like an expert in film theory or anything, and the last person that should be weighing in on what is and isn't racist is someone like me, but I guess I always thought that that movie was ridiculing racists and doing it in a way that was accepted in movies in the 70's. Whereas if some butt hurt 21st century white guy with a persecution complex tried to remake it now, I don't think it'd come off the same. My hypothetical white guy is not, nor could he ever be, Mel Brooks and it will never be 1974 again.

Ok, it's not that old, but they
should have known better.
Political correctness isn't the enemy of comedy. Time is. I think we can all handle dated sensibilities and humor in an old movie. What we can't handle is dated sensibilities in a new movie made by people who should know better. It's the difference between Blazing Saddles and I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry. This is a different time and we're a different culture and one that's pretty raw right now. And I don't think we're necessarily a politically correct culture. Like, the shittiest views I've ever heard espoused have come from politicians. But I think that what he's calling politically correct is what you or I might just accept as a bare minimum for being being a decent human. Look, I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but I really resent whatever quirk of advertising algorithm decided that I'd nod along to something like this. 
I mean no one is out to kill comedy, it's just that what's funny has, you know, moved on. And I'm sure it will continue to move on and years from now, perhaps sooner, things I find funny will be passé and people will cringe at us for our tasteless jokes. 
That is, if they're not to busy fighting over the last bottle of potable
recycled urine in the vast, waterless hellscape we've left for them.

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