Tuesday, August 29, 2006

LEX 18 officials shocked by Emmy Awards’ plane-crash spoof intro

Are you kidding? This is ridiculous. It looks like I'll have to expand my "Stuff that isn't racist" segment to include stuff that just isn't offensive in any way that people somehow twist into something to be outraged by. NBC aired the Emmy awards with a skit that parodied LOST. And some idiots in Kentucky, perhaps trying to live up to some stupid hick stereotype, are outraged since a plane crashed there not too long before. There are a million reasons why this shouldn't bother anyone, but I'll just list a few.

First, there is absolutely no connection between a plane crash in Kentucky and a parody of a plane crash on a TV awards show. None. The only small shred of logic that can be used to be upset by it, by extension would make it impossible for TV shows to depict any tragedies that can mirror real life, since someone watching may have been affected in real life by the fictional tragedy being portrayed. So no plane crashes, certainly no automobile accidents, no cancer victims, no heart attacks, basically nothing realistic. So shows would all have to be some sort of fantasy set in Mr. Rogers' land of make-believe. Can ABC still show LOST this season? After all, they do occaisionally have scenes that flashback to the plane crash, which may trigger upleasant memories for these people in Kentucky. Maybe they can just pull it from any market where a plane has ever crashed.

Second, I seriously doubt that anyone who was seriously affected by a plane crash earlier in the day is kicking back watching the Emmys. And even if they happen to be, they can easily change the channel when the skit comes on that bothers them (much like people not involved in the American Famly Association do normally when they see something on TV that they don't like). Anyone else acting outraged about this is just being an attention whore.

Finally, the Emmys are a national broadcast, and the plane crash in Kentucky, no matter how tragic, is a much more local event. It's impossible for an event like that to cater to the myriad sensibilities of all the local markets that will see it. Again, if something on TV bothers you, just change the channel.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The moment I ran across this story this morning, I knew you'd post on it. The more you broaden the scope of this, the more bottomless the well of subject matter becomes. Have you considered broadening this to include historical examples? I'd love to see a takedown of the yahoos who thought that the second volume of Lord Of The Rings should have had it's name changed to something other than "The Two Towers" in order to avoid traumatizing 9-11 victims.

John Howard said...

Yeah, I almost mentioned September 11th, but really didn't want to get into all the things that would have to be changed because of that. I must have missed those people wanting to change The Two Towers, but I'm glad I did, because if I hadn't, my head my have exploded. Which of course would mean that no one could ever show anyone's head exploding on TV.

John Howard said...

Well, Robert, no wonder you don't fully appreciate Battestar Galactica.

The Disgruntled Chemist said...

Not to mention that all the skits are probably written, rehearsed and in some cases taped days or weeks before the actual show. Most likely the plane crash in Kentucky hadn't even happened yet when that skit was performed.

People are stupid.