I'm really, really tired of the assertion that humor can't exist without offending someone, or when stated by Jack Shaffer as a question: "Can humor exist without routine crossing of the line?"

Yes.

I mean, duh, yes. Go read Calvin and Hobbes. Go watch Juno. Go watch Much Ado About Nothing (and um... close your ears when cruel comparisons are levied at female anatomy. Or when equations are made between virginity and female worth.) I mean Jesus, read my stupid comic strips (and then post comments being like, yo, why aren't more comics online.)

And you know what, I'm trying to pick really carefully here (so no Pixar movies, which we all know are casually fascist,) but if the only criterion is that something be neither racist nor sexist then um... most of the celebrated comic output of the past 100 years is once again back on the table.

(For the record I have ABSOLUTELY NO OPINION AT THIS TIME about whether or not it is offensive to suggest that Mad Bitch is an appropriate beverage choice for Hilary Clinton. I DECLINE TO OFFER COMMENT.)

There are many, many more jokes than just "ohmigod! I'm violating a racial taboo!" and "women in pants make us feel wierd!"

Okay there are not many more. There are like seven. But they're the seven best ones.

Also, unrelated: are the words "shameless" and "self-promotion" robust enough to be surgically separated at this point? Because they're approaching puberty, and they want to start going on dates.


Addendum: What am I saying. It is clearly sexist to call Hillary a mad bitch. Especially with the "Mad" modifier, which suggests she has flipped off the prime minister of a potential nuclear power or attempted to bring a gun into the senate chamber. I'm not very up (um, up at all) on the political happenings of the country in which I live, but it seems to me all she's ever done is wore some pants, referenced her balls, and been slightly more hawkish then her democratic opponent in the primaries.

Labels: justice, KCD

Okay here is one of my problems as a blogger.

I'm not like, current. I don't scan the web each day to be the first to republish and spread interesting information and media.

For example, I JUST ran into this description of Women in Refrigerators, which is a decade old as of last March. I've always had the feeling that women end up unconscious on camera far more then men. Not that men don't get knocked out plenty, but we're just more likely to wake up with them instead of lingering over their beautiful prone forms. (The meeting of Wolverine and Jean Grey in X-men being a notable exception. Hey Jackman, nice prone form!)

Anyways, enjoy the links if you are like me and it takes you a billion years to know about things.

Labels: Emily's Problems as a Blogger, justice, KCD

Yaay to Daniel Engber's commentary on Wall-E.

-EMILY

Labels: justice, KCD, movies, Pixar