Sense Of Humor Deteriorating Over Time?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote]HARTFORD, Conn. — The student-run newspaper at Central Connecticut State University is under fire for publishing a cartoon this week that critics call racist and sexist.

The three-frame comic, titled "Polydongs," features two characters who mention locking a "14-year-old Latino girl" in a closet and urinating on her. It was published in Wednesday's edition of The Recorder, a weekly newspaper distributed free on campus.

"We are outraged about this cartoon, which only dehumanizes women and especially Latino women," said Francisco Donis, a psychology professor and president of the university's Latin American Association.

...

Rowan, 21, was also editor in February when the newspaper was criticized for publishing a satirical opinion piece titled, "Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It," that called sexual assault a "magical experience" that benefits "ugly women."

...

The paper's editors reviewed the cartoon before it was published and determined it was no more offensive than some episodes of "South Park" or "Family Guy," he said, two television shows known for off-color humor.

"I'm not surprised that the faculty have a problem with it, because the humor gap is huge from generation to generation," Rowan said. "Every generation shocks the generation after it."[/quote]

[url="http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,296876,00.html"]Full Story Here[/url]

So I was appalled by this "humor" as I've been appalled by the humor of many others in our generation. The editor tries to make the shift in humor sound like a positive, but I certainly think it's a negative.

I suppose my debate is this: I would argue that our sense of humor as a culture has deteriorated in the last few decades. I'm not sure what's caused that, although I think it can be blamed on a few certain answers, all in media used to spread "humor":

1. The breakdown of family life - modern sitcoms often focus around dysfunctional family life. While I think this was initially meant for people to laugh at how other-worldy the situations and relationships were, I think people began to define family life according to television, resulting now in dysfunctional family sitcoms which remind viewers of the dysfunctions in their own family. The humor shifted from goofy situations to a sort of satire of the real situation, not because the television shows changed too much (perhaps becoming more dysfunctional, not less), but because the family changed.

2. A lack of the sense of human dignity - due to the common social engineering achieved on television, human dignity has been denied repeatedly. Most television shows are now more than willing to portray scenes which do great violence to human dignity by saying that we amount to a collection of sexual organs, that we are to be used by others for pleasure or sordid gain, that we are dispensable, that we are not worth it if we do not have certain possessions, that human persons are no more than exalted animals, or that, in order to be truly special, one must be wealthy, powerful, or popular. Aside from these more covert signs of the times, there are in addition many shows which seem to glorify violence.

3. A sense of entitlement among those in the popular eye (celebrities, news commentators, journalists) - because so many of these people tend to act as though they deserve all the attention in the world (and will often go to great lengths to get it, even doing stupid or sinful things publicly), it has filtered down to the common audience. Not only do celebrities live lives for the whole world to see, but they also seem to think that this entitles them to say or do outlandish things. I think this is responsible for creating a society in which divas, drama queens, shock jocks, etc. are all more than welcomed, and as such, they see humor as far more about attention-grabbing opportunity than about trying to make people laugh for the sake of the audience. It used to be in the old days that a comedian enjoyed making people laugh. Now it seems that it's because they want someone to pay attention.

All these things, of course, focus on a loss of the sense of the sacred, notably of God, in the world. He informs human dignity and the family, and before Him, no one has entitlement.

Any arguments?

[T-Bone _]

Of course, if he published an offensive cartoon that was an affront to the Church, we wouldn't have heard jack-squat about it...

[Dismas]

Nope, you pretty much hit it on the head. Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud - the Unholy trinity.

[homeschoolmom]

Nice that the editors of the paper are shooting for the level of sophistication of South Park.

[Norseman82]

You also have to realize that many college newspaper editors have this childish notion that they need to do something controversial to get attention to make their mark and prove that they are committed to academic and journalistic freedom. I know this personally because I have an extended family member who was one of them (at a Catholic college no less!) and I remember heated debates at the table on holidays (which cast me as the religious nut of the extended family - any good Catholic women want to marry a good Catholic man so he doesn't have to spend future holidays alone?).

Edited September 16, 2007 by Norseman82

[kujo]

Generally speaking, I am not an advocate of political correctness. And about 90% of the time, people who cry racism and/or sexism piss me off; however, that is pretty degrading. That said, I would like to see the context in which this "joke" was made before I make a decision about it.

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1386052' date='Sep 15 2007, 05:34 PM']Nice that the editors of the paper are shooting for the level of sophistication of South Park. [/quote]

I think you underestimate South, HSM. At the surface, most of what is viewed on South Park could be classified vulgar, crude and disgusting; however, if you take a look beneath the four letter words and the scattological humor, you will find that the show is an amazing satire of political and social issues. Furthermore, as I am reading in "[url="http://www.amazon.com/South-Park-Philosophy-Something-Blackwell/dp/1405161604/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2298726-9256921?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190055886&sr=8-1"]The Philosophy of South Park[/url]," issues of more philosophical nature (i.e.- free will, morality, the nature of humor, etc.) are commonly dealt with. Again, in "[url="http://www.amazon.com/South-Park-Conservatives-Against-Liberal/dp/0895260190/ref=sr_1_3/102-2298726-9256921?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190055985&sr=1-3"]South Park Conservatives[/url]", the authors make the point that it is the union of the off-beat humor and the stark social commentary that makes South Park such a powerful force in this generation.

I definitely understand people being offended by the profanity and stuff on South Park. But I think it's pretty short-sighted to assume that it is unsophisticated because of it.

[scardella]

Well, if Brian Regan is any indication, his commitment to clean jokes has not had a negative effect on his comedy. He's probably one of the best contemporary comedians I've heard.

I think part of the nature of comedy is that it requires one to be at ease/have his guard down when listening to it in order to appreciate the humor. (Perhaps that's often why delivery makes the difference between a flat-liner and roaring laughter.) If the person is tense or judgmental, then the comedic effect will be lost on him, because he's intently analyzing what's being said.