Support NeoGAF

[fastmower]

This is a good political cartoon. Maybe some of you think its in poor taste, but why are some of you guys so incapable of critical thinking?

 

[More Fun To Compute]

And I thought USA is a nation with a long satire tradition.

Well the USA is the world master of everything they invented satire, irony, ironing and satellites.

 

[davepoobond]

this thread is worse than that cover.

 

[Battersea Power Station]

Why do we have to insult Garfield though?

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Its too soon to use dying children to talk about all those dying children. Its like gun control in the US.

I laughed out loud

 

[Barbacoatl]

has OP gone to bed?

He's dissecting social constructs as if they were frogs.

 

[DECK'ARD]

has OP gone to bed?

It's going to take a while to climb out of this hole.

 

[Neoriceisgood]

Satire or comedy usually isn't subtle.

It's not that I was looking for something subtle, I was just expecting something sharper than...

"lol ded kidz meanwhile mcdonalds, how dare u yurop".

 

[fastmower]

this thread is worse than that cover.

The cover actually makes me think....this thread just makes me want to vomit.

 

[Jebusman]

Between this and MRA/feminist skit thread, it just that some people just don't get comedy or satire.

You know, I don't entirely blame them.

We're swinging to a society that wants to condemn hatred, in all forms against all people, and that's a noble goal, but some people swing too far and this is the result.

 

[ghostjoke]

Imagine if when Swift wrote Modest Proposal there was an actual, real life faction active that seriously proposed and endorsed eating babies. You wouldn't be able to look at it and go "that's satire" because the awfulness of eating babies wouldn't be something so universally derided as to be comical. And letting Muslims drown isn't something so universally derided as to be comical

But Charlie Hebdo, while no Jonathan Swift by any stretch of the imagination, is a renowned satirical publisher. Am I meant to just ignore this? Am I to perceive that the works of Charlie Brooker, Stephen Colbert, Bret Easton Ellis, or even Sacha Baron Cohen (which is close comparison) to be enforcing the beliefs rather than satirising them? Some piece of shit is going to see this and think "yup, keep those dirty Muslims out of my good, free, racist countries", but I don't live in that shitty bubble and found the cartoon (with my fleeting knowledge of the current world climate) to be satire. I can't believe there's an actual debate about the subtlety of Cahrlie Hebdo.

In place of a venn diagram, here's an easy to understand list about satire and comedy.
>Here is satire
>Here is comedy
>Here is satirical comedy

These are three separate things.

 

[KHarvey16]

It's not that I was looking for something subtle, I was just expecting something sharper than...

"lol ded kidz meanwhile mcdonalds, how dare u yurop".

We all agree it's sad that that point legitimately needs to be made.

 

[Boem]

It's not that I was looking for something subtle, I was just expecting something sharper than...

"lol ded kidz meanwhile mcdonalds, how dare u yurop".

As many people have said, the aim really, really isn't a 'lol' here.

I'll just quote my man Terry Pratchett from one of his last interviews before I leave this thread:

Do you think you could define irony, I ask him.
“Sort of like iron.”
I deserved that, I acknowledge.
“When you get hit on the head with it, you know it.”

 

[daviyoung]

It's not that I was looking for something subtle, I was just expecting something sharper than...

"lol ded kidz meanwhile mcdonalds, how dare u yurop".

nuff said really

 

[fastmower]

You know, I don't entirely blame them.

We're swinging to a society that wants to condemn hatred, in all forms against all people, and that's a noble goal, but some people swing too far and this is the result.

Hyper-PC culture is scary.

 

[esms]

Oh I get it! The Technomancer's posts are actually satire and we are the ones who are, in fact, not understanding it.

 

[RDreamer]

These cartoons are not making fun of drowning children. The ridicule is squarely pointed at hypocritical Europe (which us Europeans like to think of as a bastion of humanism and civilization) as we callously watch as children drown along our coasts. OP (and probably a lot of people all over the world who will see this) fails at sarcasm.

Saw the OP and then kind of skimmed through the thread a bit confused. I got your interpretation right off the bat.

Shocking? Absolutely. In poor taste? Very much so. But still absolutely brilliant and hopefully eye-opening for some.

I dunno about poor taste. I think poor taste is sitting by while kids are literally drowning, not trying to confront people about that fact.

 

[kirblar]

Between this and MRA/feminist skit thread, it just that some people just don't get comedy or satire.

"As we age, we sadly realize why Adam Sandler movies keep getting made."

 

[Jebusman]

Hyper-PC culture is scary.

Nah. It's just overcompensating for issues that should have been dealt with years/decades/centuries ago. It's not exactly scary, it just needs some time out in the wild for people to adjust and reel it back in to something that allows for everyone to be happy.

 

[deli2000]

People have such low standards for satirical comedy these days. I get it, but it's no Brass Eye.

Hyper-PC culture is scary.

Watch out, the PC police might get you in your sleep.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Hyper-PC culture is scary.

You could call it outrage culture there is nothing PC about it.

 

[joedan]

Talk about thread backfire.

The person who earlier said they now had no sympathy for Hepbdo, is that a reference to if they're gunned down in their office?

 

[DECK'ARD]

People have such low standards for satirical comedy these days. I get it, but it's no Brass Eye.

It's very Chris Morris actually.

If this was Brass Eye he'd be stepping over the dead child while talking to camera.

 

[entremet]

Nah. It's just overcompensating for issues that should have been dealt with years/decades/centuries ago. It's not exactly scary, it just needs some time out in the wild for people to adjust and reel it back in to something that allows for everyone to be happy.

I wouldn't call it scary. But it makes me feel like this:

 

[Barbacoatl]

Murder apologia over vapid sensibilities is scary.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Talk about thread backfire.

The person who earlier said they now had no sympathy for Hepbdo, is that a reference to if they're gunned down in their office?

Not sure what else it could be.

Spoiler

maybe it was satire!

 

[Regulus Tera]

Charlie Hebdo has always been a shitty magazine. This is just business as usual for them.

Which doesn't excuse the shootings a while back. That issue is completely separate from their crass humour.

 

[PdotMichael]

using South Park as example of good satire is the true shocking point here.

South Park is such low tier, whhich doesn't respect the viewers and thinks it needs to explain everything what just happened in the episode.
I guess I think why OP likes it.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

You know, I don't entirely blame them.

We're swinging to a society that wants to condemn hatred, in all forms against all people, and that's a noble goal, but some people swing too far and this is the result.

It's an incredibly ignoble goal because it discourages critical thinking. Being compassionate doesn't equate to becoming a push over, and ideologies that encourage people to blindly generalize in any direction should be treated with a healthy amount of skepticism.

 

[Thorgal]

 

[wildfire]

Someone explain the McDonalds one?

Noone answered your question after you asked but if you actually read the thread you would've seen it beforehand.

My personal interpretation was that Europe is advertising food and prosperity but in reality it's a trap.

The other person says food is so cheap we can offer 2 for 1 kids meals but we won't share with those refugees and let them die at our borders.

With either variation the rebuke is clear.

is this "outrage culture: the thread" ?

Nah Jawbreaker above you pegged this better.

Confirmation bias vs critical thinking: the thread.

Literally shouting "That's the point!" at my screen right now.

You were off base their Seig. Take a breather.

What the hell is the endgame of this thread?

A glorious mod-edit to the title.

 

[samn]

From now on the only political cartoons allowed must have elephants with REPUBLICAN PARTY written on them.

 

[Jebusman]

It's an incredibly ignoble goal because it discourages critical thinking. Being compassionate doesn't equate to becoming a push over, and ideologies that encourage people to blindly generalize in any direction should be treated with a healthy amount of skepticism.

I didn't say it was a well thought out goal, but considering we started from open racism, I can understand why people would want to at least attempt some sort of solution, as bad as it is in reality.

I'm not a fan of PC culture myself, but I grew up literally watching nothing but The Comedy Network/Comedy Central, so I have a slant to pushing the boundaries of good taste in general.

 

[Thorgal]

A glorious mod-edit to the title.

Either that or someone is tag fishing and catching squat .

 

[PdotMichael]

From now on the only political cartoons allowed must have elephants with REPUBLICAN PARTY written on them.

Challenging the reader's viewpoint shouldn't be part of a satire. That's crazy and tasteless.

 

[deli2000]

This strip 'made me think' as much as those dumb Prince Ea videos on Facebook.

For satirical comedy it's pretty basic. Something I would have found profound when I was 15. That's fine, it makes a valid point. But let's not pretend this is high brow genius or something.

 

[Neoriceisgood]

I think what's lost on me here is how the drowned kid "works" for the satire represented here.


Like that image blew up in the media that much so it seems really contrary to the message to use that to "Society ignoring the drowning migrants" ?


I get that they're trying to point a finger at Europe/The government/whatever, but to me that seems so counter ot the point they're even trying to make.

"Hey recognise this extremely popular viral image that you're all ignoring!?"

This strip 'made me think' as much as those dumb Prince Ea videos on Facebook.

For satirical comedy it's pretty basic. Something I would have found profound when I was 15. That's fine, it makes a valid point. But let's not pretend this is high brow genius or something.

This is how I feel, people care because it's Charlie Hebdo, not because there's anything of quality to see here.

 

[Jebusman]

This strip 'made me think' as much as those dumb Prince Ea videos on Facebook.

For satirical comedy it's pretty basic. Something I would have found profound when I was 15. That's fine, it makes a valid point. But let's not pretend this is high brow genius or something.

I don't think anyone is pretending this is incredibly deep and insightful.

But some were/are arguing that it wasn't satire at all, full stop. That's what we're arguing against.

 

[Thorgal]

This strip 'made me think' as much as those dumb Prince Ea videos on Facebook.

For satirical comedy it's pretty basic. Something I would have found profound when I was 15. That's fine, it makes a valid point. But let's not pretend this is high brow genius or something.

as far as i can tell ,no one is saying it is some sort of Satirical masterpiece .

 

[Siegcram]

You were off base there Sieg. Take a breather.

How so?

 

[Regulus Tera]

If there's a line between depicting the definition boundary of Poe's Law, this cartoon sits right on top of it.

 

[Battersea Power Station]

Hyper-PC culture is scary.

It would be scary if it had any effect on anything. But in reality, comedy is always pushing the envelope and satire is always finding ways to be edgier. So, rest easy.

 

[GloriousBagel]

I don't get it, where's the satire?

This is just a fucked up image.

 

[Neoriceisgood]

I'm actually offended at how unprofound I find this.

 

[daviyoung]

so we've gone from "I don't get this" to "I get this so hard. Hey guys, look at how hard I get this!"

 

[Mudcrab]

I think what's lost on me here is how the drowned kid "works" for the satire represented here.


Like that image blew up in the media that much so it seems really contrary to the message to use that to "Society ignoring the drowning migrants" ?


I get that they're trying to point a finger at Europe/The government/whatever, but to me that seems so counter ot the point they're even trying to make.

"Hey recognise this extremely popular viral image that you're all ignoring!?"




This is how I feel, people care because it's Charlie Hebdo, not because there's anything of quality to see here.

Its not that they're ignoring the actual image, it's that they've all seen the image yet continue to say no to migrants while proclaiming themselves good Christians.

 

[entremet]

This strip 'made me think' as much as those dumb Prince Ea videos on Facebook.

For satirical comedy it's pretty basic. Something I would have found profound when I was 15. That's fine, it makes a valid point. But let's not pretend this is high brow genius or something.

Well the fact that people aren't getting shows it's highbrow by default.

You need to be aware of the European attitudes toward the migrant crisis, the Syrian migrant crisis itself, and the recent tragedy involving the drowned kid.

You also need to aware of Europe's favoritism toward Christian migrants.

 

[Aureon]

That is a generous reading of what is otherwise appears to be an anti-Muslim joke of the sort that are frequently told by actual racists.

Uh, what would the racist joke be?

What's the reading that is not "Europe is accepting christians but not muslims, and that's obscene"?

 

[deli2000]

as far as i can tell ,no one is saying it is some sort of Satirical masterpiece .

Apart from the posts saying that Satire shouldn't cater the lowest common denominator. Which this does.

 

[Jebusman]

I'm actually offended at how unprofound I find this.

Honestly that's the thing. These two cartoons, on the whole, really aren't that big of a deal. At all. Right up there with the kind of political cartoons you'll find in a throwaway newspaper, just with a dark twist.

But people are blowing it up, and now it's either all or nothing.