OT -- Re: random cover of a range

[John Reimer]

Hello Bill,

> On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 1:02 PM, John Reimer <terminal.node at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Hello Walter,
>> 
>>> John Reimer wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Walter, I've heard a lot of arguments for defending the expression
>>>> of "art", but this one's a doosie.
>>>> 
>>> Ever watch Monty Python? I asked a brit about the accents they use
>>> in their skits, because there are many different british accents. He
>>> laughed and said the accents were a parody of the british upper
>>> class accents.
>>> 
>>> I suspected that, not being  british, I was missing half the jokes
>>> <g>.
>>> 
>>> There's also Spongebob Squarepants. It's ostensibly a kid's show,
>>> but at least in the early episodes there are a lot of digs at
>>> Jacques Cousteau's 70's tv series "The Undersea World". What kid
>>> would get those jokes?
>>> 
>> I tend to care a lot about things and think a lot about implications
>> and idea and how they affect people,  including the manner and
>> language used when one expresses oneself to another.  I don't
>> particularly care for a lot of the humour available on television
>> today (I don't watch it anymore, anyway). However, it seems that a
>> lot of people enjoy lampoons because it acts as a balm to their mind
>> to help /avoid/ taking most things too seriously.  I can appreciate
>> that, but I think there's also a caution involved there.
>> 
>> The main problem with many of the new television shows is that, like
>> fashion decides the fad in clothes, someone is deciding for us what
>> is fair game to be laughed at.  The limits are pushed continually.
>> For all the talk about religion's apparent control of people's minds,
>> I think there's a whole lot more to be worried about as people feed
>> on the what the boob tube serves up. With long time exposure, I'd say
>> there is possibly a strong influence on their tolerance for what they
>> consider acceptable behavior.  Humor, of course, is only one aspect
>> of this.   It used to be that the productions in television tried to
>> model the real world.  I think the opposite is now happening to some
>> extent as we derive more relevancy from the fantasies and culture
>> created in the imaginary worlds portrayed to us from television.
>> 
>> Concerning profanity and swearing.  I think many forms of expression
>> should warrant more careful thought.  I don't believe profane or
>> irreverant expression has a neutral effect on hearers.  We've already
>> seen plenty of evidence of that in here.  You may think it's cute and
>> artsy, but I think it does any combination of the following:  creates
>> a language barrier, trivializes the original meaning of certain
>> anglo-saxon words, shows general disrespect in communication,
>> demonstrates poor vocabulary, reveals carelessness in thinking of
>> others feelings, etc and on and on.   It's like throwing dirt in
>> somebody's face and thinking that's a normal way to interact.  We can
>> stamp a "art" sticker on it and call it funny when it is clothed in a
>> comedic role (or any situation really), but this is just as effective
>> as sticking an "ice cream" tab on a pile of manure; there's no way to
>> make it pretty.
>> 
>> It's a very pervasive view that swearing is a non-issue these days,
>> and a person is just being prudish and silly if he disaproves.  But
>> I've been keenly aware of how the same profanity is expressed with
>> ever so much force and rancor when a person is angry. Then it becomes
>> very clear that the words fit the role perfectly with the malice that
>> expresses them (not to say person should swear when he is angry :) ).
>> It's no wonder that the expression of them becomes confusing when
>> they merge back into everyday speech for no apparent reason.
>> 
> Very thoughtful piece there, John.  I agree with you pretty much
> completely.  I think the issues you speak of are particularly
> pervasive in American culture these days.  Can't speak for other parts
> of the world, but things definitely don't seem as bad to me over here
> in Japan.  Then again it could be just that my Japanese just isn't
> good enough to pick up that level of nuance, but I really don't think
> Japanese culture has taken a heavy hit from the sarcasm bucket yet.
> 
> --bb
> 


Thanks for the encouragment, Bill.  You just might regret it later, though. 
;)


-JJR