Discussion for article #227317
Considering Pro-lifers and Republicans want abortion clinics to be closed down …
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Maude anyone? Beuller? Beuller?
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The current sitcom sentiment seems to lie with a virgin getting artificially inseminated and carrying the fetus to term. No sex, just pregnancy, and definitely no abortion.
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Is a heart operation too serious for a sitcom?
Is a vasectomy too serious?
How about plastic surgery? Kidney stones? I seem to remember a classic “Seinfeld” episode where Kramer accidentally flipped a Junior Mint into a guy’s body while the guy was having surgery.
Abortion is a LEGAL FUCKING SURGICAL PROCEDURE!
And, as Steve Martin once said, “Comedy is not pretty.” Just about anything is fair game, and has been.
What, comedy writers are supposed to be concerned that human/ pterodactyl hybrid Phyllis Schafly is going to get her urine-soaked panties in a wad?
Exactly what I was coming here to say. They weren’t afraid to tackle anything on that show. You would think someone in the business making decisions like that would take the time to become familiar with the history of the subject.
Comedy, almost by definition, is part of how we process difficult issues. Going all the way back to the court fool (whose job was to say what no one else dared to), the whole point of professional comics is to allow us to face uncomfortable truths using humor.
I don’t think people in general are dumber, but the corporate ownership of broadcast media is more consolidated, and far more amenable to right wing pressure. That leads inevitably to broadcast media being dumber and less relevant. It also means we’ve got a popular culture even more constrained than that of the old absolutist monarchs.
Abortion isn’t necessarily a surgical procedure, BUT … even as surgery, it isn’t as harrowing, physically demanding or as debilitating as portrayed in contra-literature. It’s time to be accurate about abortion, not combative.
I agree that comedies like MASH, All in the Family, Good Times, etc have effectively addressed serious topics in a sitcom format but most of the rest that try have failed in my experience. And those three shows were very unusual in their format. All of them were really designed and written as comedic social commentary vehicles, not run of the mill sitcoms. The Mindy Project, which I loves, is just a sitcom. It’s silly, simple, lighthearted comedy writing and I think trying to shoe horn a serious storyline about abortion would come off as “A Very Special Episode” failure. Comedy is a great tool to address social issues, but not ALL styles and formats of comedy are.
And I also think the McFarlane’s comments about people having knee-jerk, left/right ideological reactions to any contentious topic is on point. People aren’t necessarily stupider, but certainly more reactionary and partisan.
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It seem as if Ms. Kaling is trimming her sails aboard the USS Fox.
Geez. An OB/GYN who never has anything to do with terminating a pregnancy. Even on a sitcom that’s pushing it.
The whole thing is a sort of weird logical death spiral. Abortion is such a rare topic that you would have to Treat It Seriously, so you don’t even mention it. So now it’s an even rarer topic, so you would have to Treat It Even More Seriously, but you haven’t got the space for that, so you don’t even imagine thinking about mentioning it, so now it’s even rarer than that…
Whereas in real life and anything that even vaguely resembles real life women (who have decent medical coverage) just get one, it’s not a big deal, and they move on.
MacFarlane has struck me a few times as a very smart man who has a limited humorous repertoire.
Agreed re: The Mindy Project. Comedy can tackle the subject well, but it’d have to be the ones which border on dramedy.
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yeah, i like him and think family guy is funny, but comedic range he ain’t got.