Ahh, go *fuck* your intention
June 6, 2009
So the Chaser has been suspended, and the ABC is apologising for the offence, and in one of those oh-so-familiar faux-pology manouvres have pulled the ‘it wasn’t intended to cause offence’ line.
It shits me that intention pops up like this in any case of wrongdoing as if you had to have deliberately set out to hurt, or else be let off with a cookie and a head pat. I’m thinking about intention in law, and I’m wondering whether reasonable forseeability might not be the more relevant test here – was it not reasonably forseeable to the grotesquely over inflated egos of the “Chaser Boys” when they put this skit together to be broadcast on a nationl programme that their poor taste gag was going to cause offence and distress?And that far from being able to dismiss the group upset as ‘not having a sense of humour’, you were gonna have a hard time telling parents of terminally ill kids to “Harden the fuck up”?
Bah, I’m sure not many are of the same mind as me on this one, but I have a really black sense of humor and I think it was a case of comedians making a completely politically incorrect joke, and that’s fine with me.
It’s satire, and when they say the “going to die anyway” line at the end, it’s supposed to be a terrible thing to say… I don’t think they were aiming to get people watching it to go “you know, that’s a valid, well-thought out point, why bother donating?” they were going for “laugh because it’s bloody terrible” which is what they go for most of the time.
I know I’m going to be in the minority, but I enjoy terrible, offensive jokes. I know some hit too close to home for people and can be upsetting, but if you’re sensitive and prefer politically correct jokes then don’t bloody watch the Chaser. Most of their jokes are making fun of something or someone so you can’t just go “it’s fine when they make fun of other things just not when it’s something I’m sensitive about for whatever reason, or feel is just out of bounds”.
What, you’ve never chuckled at a joke that isn’t politically correct before? Never thought “oh, that’s so wrong” while laughing?
The joke itself aside: Maybe I’m just a terrible person, but I prefer to think I’m a realist. I think the Make-a-wish foundation are a positive group, but think there are better causes out there, to be honest. I’d grant dying kid’s wishes if I could but I’d probably start out in Africa where they’re dying by the thousands while lyin’ on grass mats instead of a clean hospital bed.
Finally, I want to mention that as with most of the things that are deemed attention-worthy, the amount of news this has generated, and the amount of response, just makes me dislike the general public even more than I already do. There are terrible things going on in the world; dictators are murdering whistle-blowers, companies are making products out of whatever is cheap and marketing them to us schmucks however they please, the FDA and CIA make deals with corporations, there is prescription drug residue in my water, civilians are being bombed, slaves are working in mines, children being sold in prostitution rings, animals are having tubes shoved down their throats while fully conscious and then being returned to filthy wire cages they can’t turn around in, people are generally just doing EVIL things… and you really want to get up-in-arms about someone SAYING something bad on a comedy show? They’re not actually going out and hurting any kids, they’re not actually *doing* anything to anyone.
You don’t have to allow this comment through and I can understand why you might hesitate to. I just wanted to respond to your post seeming as I had an opinion to respond with. Still love your blog and respect that everyone just has different opinions on things like this.
“We need to fully review the ABC’s approval processes for programs that deliberately challenge public attitudes,” Mr Scott said.
This right here is main problem. The Chaser and shows of that ilk do not “challenge public attitudes” they uphold them. Once upon a time, yeah, comedy shows did challenge anti-progressive politics and mainstream thinking, but almost all of the Chaser skits involve the harassment of women and minorities. These guys are a bunch privileged middle class whiteys who basically get funded to go around acting like entitled douchebags, all in the disguise of “comedy”.
Long comment there Dee. The only things I will say in response are that the post was about intention being used as a minimisation tactic, not about the joke itself. It was in response to the article *on* the Chaser gag, yes. I haven’t seen the gag, and I *do* in fact get that it’s the ‘Oh, it’s funny as it’s not funny’ thing. Personally I find the skit described to me where they go fundraising for a private school boys rowing shed in a poverty stricken country as or more offensive. (And on that I will say that I find a lot of humour that thinks it’s daringly crossing ‘PC’ boundaries is just the same old misogynist/fat bashing/homophobic/racist crap trying to pin itself up as ‘clever’). However, the point wasn’t that *that joke* is the issue – the point is that intention in general shits me to tears, and in comedy that backfires specifically. Think about intention in the law and how big a place it had in rape law for instance (which is slowly changing) think about it in context of the Cronulla incident in New Zealand – when you can turn around and go ‘Well *I* did not *intend* for this to be read as offensive/rape’ and people go ‘Oh, ok, they didn’t *mean to*’ rather than, fuck your intention, perhaps you ought to be thinking about how the other people involved will experience this…and when you’re on a nationally broadcast television show I honestly do think reasonable forseeability is a better test of whether to air the skit.It doesn’t necessarily come down to this joke is ‘more wrong’ but it was certainly easily forseeable that this joke would get the arses of not just themselves but the ABC kicked to oblivion. And you know…I *know* they’re not *really* saying dying kids are funny, but I do think that the parent who are watching their kids die might be entitled in fact to say ‘My child is not a prop for your gag you overindulged little wankers’. I think watching my child die might in fact make me a little prone *not to take a joke in the spirit it was allegedly intended*. You make a great point – there is a LOT wrong with the world. So go target that.Except, oh yeah, that takes thought and skill, easier to go for the cheap gag.
I too like jokes that push boundaries, but I don’t actually think these guys do anymore. I used to buy their paper, and even towards the end I was like ‘These guys need some women on the team’ – they were getting smug and lazy in their humour – a la Wil Anderson and his fallback Pope Jokes, Michael Jackson jokes and Sally Robins jokes…laaazy and no where near as clever as they think it is.
And I have to say that more and more I agree with Linda’s point that they are *not* in fact challenging public attitudes rather than reifying them.
Oh…and I don’t mind that you disagree, just clarifying what my position was. I don’t mind defending something that is cleverly subverting, but they are less and less clever and more and more obnoxious and cheap, and I just have a bug up my arse about intention.
One of very many things that annoy me about the “Chaser Boys” is the way they instantly fold the moment they get into any kind of real trouble over their alleged pranks and unirevue-level skits and start bleating “we never meant it that way”.
I would accuse them of lacking courage to back up their convictions, but watching any given episode of their show demonstrates that they have no convictions. There’s no depth to anything they do, ever.
“It’s satire”
The purpose of satire is to challenge those in power and to highlight, in a humourous way, social injustices, in order to raise awareness and hopefully force the hand of The Establishment towards progression. It’s supposed to work in the interests of the oppressed and the disempowered.
By harassing and ridiculing oppressed classes such as women, children and minorities, The Chaser men are actually *aligning* themselves with The Establishment rather than challenging it.
They are doing the opposite of satire for much of the time.
I’d love for their privileged fauxgressive voices to be kicked out of the public sphere altogether to make room for a similar show in which kick-ass feminists use humour to highlight the “Yay misogyny!” aspect of our society.
Me again! You poor thing, hehe.
Firstly: thank you for your response.
It occurred to me as I was writing my original comment that your point was about the validity of using ‘intention’ as a tool for impunity, not about the gag itself. I do get carried away, though, and had nothing but a possible “I think I agree with what you’re thinking” to say, as I wanted a bit more time to mull over the place of ‘intentions’ in cases of wrongdoing like these. It’s something I have never really thought through before, and frankly I’m a little tentative to voice thoughts on something I know I’m not fully educated on.
I agree that ‘reasonable forseeability’ would be a better assessment. What I have no understanding of, is what legal situations ‘reasonable foreseeability’ is currently considered in, and how heavily it is weighed in said situations.
As I understand it, your point is more that society often treats a claim of ‘good intentions’ as some kind of excuse. Having given it some thought I believe the cases are far and few between where we would not be better off focusing on foreseeability rather than intention. Furthermore, I think it would be a extremely positive step for a society in encouraging common sense and a higher frequency of ‘thinking before acting’.
My mind then goes into the definition of ‘reasonable’… I’m not sure if there’s a constant, legally applicable definition already, or how that would work. If someone claims they did not foresee an occurrence, can we then say “well, you should have”? And isn’t there a part of the brain that is responsible for the ability to determine potential outcomes? If some people can foresee possible results of actions more clearly than another person because of slight differences in physical/genetic makeup then can we really have a set line marking what people should be able to think of? I mean I would say “sure, let me be the judge and I’ll decide what’s an innocent mistake and what’s just plain stupid”, but that’s probably the part of me with all the arrogance which finds people lacking common sense to be infuriating.
I think I’ve demonstrated what I meant by my lack of education in this sort of thing!
If the point of contention, however, is the legal power of ‘intention’ over ‘foreseeability’, I know so little about it I can’t even begin to comment.
I also want to add that I think the Chaser boys’ comedic talent could be better used if they highlighted some important issues now and again. They could add in some poignant commentary quite easily by drawing attention to things that are obviously unfair or wrong… and through antagonisation of those who deserve it… but, it’s not for me to dictate the kind of comedy they should practice.
“They could add in some poignant commentary quite easily by drawing attention to things that are obviously unfair or wrong…”
But it’s the fact that they *don’t* that is the issue here.
“but, it’s not for me to dictate the kind of comedy they should practice.”
Well I have the audacity to think I’m totally within my rights to critique their brand of comedy; I don’t think that’s the same as dictating. I have a post up about it now that spells out my position more clearly, seeing as this isn’t my blog and all.
http://apublicblogging.wordpress.com/
Yeah, I think it’s a fair cop to require comedians to be funny, and to speak up when you find their comedy not to be funny, witty, clever, insightful or satirical.
Crikey published a letter from the father of a child who had benefited from ‘make a wish’
he wasn’t angry. he confessed to having been a fan of the show, but was disappointed that the material was getting stale.
he suggested that they were like used coffee grounds in an espresso machine. After a while, no matter how much hot water you pass through them, there isn’t anything worthwhile coming out.
they have jumped the shark.
…and now a woman has paid the price for it. What a surprise.
http://livenews.com.au/tv/abc-head-of-tv-comedy-amanda-duthie-dropped-over-chaser-skit/2009/6/10/209526