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'Ted 2' dogged by claims of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia

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Seesaw15

Member
they kinda are, they are pretty much "they sleep with black guys hahahahaha" like it is abhorrent.

I don't think the structure of the joke is sleeping with black guys= disgusting. More so that these specific celebrities have primarily gone out with black men in the past. It feels much more targeted at slut shaming the Kardashian's then being racist towards black people. But I haven't seen the movie so It could be both.

Supporting its release does not also mean you believe it's a quality film.

I completely agree. It's just the rhetoric behind the Interview debate was "This is a work of art, this deserves to exist regardless of who it offends."
 

Hylian7

Member
Here's the thing, you actually have to craft jokes like that carefully, or ideally not at all. You can't just say "Haha black people, isn't that funny?"

Another recent movie example of this would be The Hangover Part II. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing that movie in a theater and among it's other problems, was that some of the jokes were downright uncomfortable or offensive, and I wasn't even laughing. I don't think anyone in the theater was. One in particular I remember was a part where they were trying to piece together what happened the night before, and end up in a strip club. They go into the dressing room of it and see all the strippers going back there, then they find out they have penises and are like "Ewwwww, trans!" the whole time after that. It wasn't funny, it was just stupid, tasteless, and offensive with no other "punch" line than "LOL trans people!"

I haven't seen Ted 2, or even the first one, but I'm guessing it seem similar to a scenario like the one above.
 
Not sure why Ted needed a sequel but this one sounds disgusting, giving Ted 2 a hard pass.

Now the question is, what do I do with my blu-ray copy of Ted 1?

-Give it to a friend?
-Sell it on ebay?
-Donate it to charity?
-Or just toss it in the trash?

PiLIeZO.gif
You have to be joking.
 

Slayven

Member
whats your point, Kim K sex joke have to only involve Ray J now? I don't get it. Its topical humor; Pic Something in pop culture and make a joke about it, nothing is more pop than KimK, is that concept new to you? The joke was about Kim more then anything

.

That is what I am saying, joking like Kim K a "white" woman sleeping with black men is a weird or "other" thing

I don't think the structure of the joke is sleeping with black guys= disgusting. More so that these specific celebrities have primarily gone out with black men in the past. It feels much more targeted at slut shaming the Kardashian's then being racist towards black people. But I haven't seen the movie so It could be both.



I completely agree. It's just the rhetoric behind the Interview debate was "This is a work of art, this deserves to exist regardless of who it offends."
Theres that element too.
 

Brakke

Banned
first, with all due respect that is the most ridiculous and regressive logic to humor ive read in a while. If the 1000s of failed race based and sex jokes I've heard from all kinds of comedians are somehow confirmation or suspicion of said comedian's "hidden agenda"? c'mon dude.

It's funny, you put the phrase "hidden agenda" in quotes but it's not actually in any of the text you quoted. In fact this reduction you've done doesn't really have anything to do with what you quoted, either. V bad reading comprehension.
 
I surprisingly liked the original Ted quite a bit, but Million Ways to Die in the West was atrocious so Ted 2 being similarly shit isn't a surprise sadly.

Has anybody brought up Tropic Thunder or even Django Unchained to the people bringing up the 'you couldn't make another Blazing Saddles this day and age' line of argument? Simply having lowbrow humor isn't why critics go after lazy stereotypes in stuff like Seth or Adam Sandler's work.

Cool American Dad got some love in this thread though. Vastly better than post-cancellation Family Guy.
 

kirblar

Member
That is what I am saying, joking like Kim K a "white" woman sleeping with black men is a weird or "other" thing
It's not about her sleeping with them, it's about something specific from the sex tape.

I haven't even seen the video and I know what it's referring to.
 

hypernima

Banned
Someone from the clinic comes in alarmed, but says not to worry. John’s only been doused with the unusable sperm of men with sickle cell. There’s no explanation of sickle cell’s being a blood disease that potentially affects the health of about 100,000 Americans, most of whom are African American. There’s just Ted, connecting the dots enough to say, through his laughter, that John shouldn’t feel bad. “You see that? You’re covered in rejected black guys’ sperm,” he says. “You’re like a Kardashian!”

even if I didn't have sickle cell, I don't see how this is very laughable.
 

~Devil Trigger~

In favor of setting Muslim women on fire
That is what I am saying, joking like Kim K a "white" woman sleeping with black men is a weird or "other" thing


Theres that element too.

No, you didn't get the joke

its not that is "weird" that she sleeps with Black guys. the joke uses the fact that she chooses to sleep with black men to point out that the guy might be covered up with black men's semen..etc... urgh.

srsly jokes, how do they work
 

Slayven

Member
No, you didn't get the joke

its not that is "weird" that she sleeps with Black guys. the joke uses the fact that she chooses to sleep with black men to point out that the guy might be covered up with black men's semen..etc... urgh.

srsly jokes, how do they work

I get the joke's premise, it's just not funny
 
seth mcfamilyguy does something profoundly gross and unfunny, news at eleven.

ted was literally the worst movie I've ever seen in a theater. the only funny part was how hilariously badly made it was.
 

Bloodrage

Banned
How else are they gonna sell these shit films if not with promises of those things, especially considering the terrible writers involved? This thread alone is free advertising.

Didn't see the first and won't see the second. You're welcome.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
White people stereotypes are easy

Mayo
Bumper Stickers
Biking on the road and taking the entire lane up even though youre on a dirt bike on a 45 mph
Mixture of words to sound different like Frappucino
Rednecks and hillbillies
Surfers
Preps
Blue collar north eastern guys
Weird ones wanting to shoot up schools and people
Putting onions on everything
Hummus
Dancing awkwardly
Sleeping in the same bed as their dogs


I could go on and on, but there are definitely white people stereotypes exist because stereotypes exist in our culture.

In the grand scheme of things, I think showboating this film as some type of racist or sexist film is giving it way too much credit, its a shitty comedy film, and really not worth that much time attention. If the critics didnt find it funny, then thats all there is too it, and you can have many reasons for not finding something funny

Idk why people are in such a hubbub over a shitty film made my a person who makes shitty cartoon.

Ok, so show me one white character that is actually defined by those stereotypes for his whiteness. Most of those similar to my nerd example, where no one ever assumes you're prep or a surfer just because you're white, and liking mayo or having bumper stickers isn't exactly a defining characteristic like most of the other racial stereotypes are.
 
Disgusting that Walberg and Ted are portrayed as perfectly well-adjusted, upstanding citizens in this film. Moreso so that when they utter something racist or sexist, they do so with the utmost seriousness so as to drive home to the audience that these two monsters mean business. In the scene where Ted literally compares himself to Kunta Kinte, you can just imagine McFarlane's knowing smirk as he writes the line - "That'll show them darkies", he likely said, probably followed by his Peter Griffin laugh.
 
Disgusting that Walberg and Ted are portrayed as perfectly well-adjusted, upstanding citizens in this film. Moreso so that when they utter something racist or sexist, they do so with the utmost seriousness so as to drive home to the audience that these two monsters mean business. In the scene where Ted literally compares himself to Kunta Kinte, you can just imagine McFarlane's knowing smirk as he writes the line - "That'll show them darkies", he likely said, probably followed by his Peter Griffin laugh.

I always have to wonder if people who make posts like these understand that you can be racist without being Yosemite Sam.
 
Disgusting that Walberg and Ted are portrayed as perfectly well-adjusted, upstanding citizens in this film. Moreso so that when they utter something racist or sexist, they do so with the utmost seriousness so as to drive home to the audience that these two monsters mean business. In the scene where Ted literally compares himself to Kunta Kinte, you can just imagine McFarlane's knowing smirk as he writes the line - "That'll show them darkies", he likely said, probably followed by his Peter Griffin laugh.
Yeah, the film is very likely mediocre but (maybe misdirected and tone-death) attempts at integrating social issues into your humor isn't the same as actual malicious intent.

I always have to wonder if people who make posts like these understand that you can be racist without being Yosemite Sam.
I think it's targeted more at the people acting like Seth's secretly trying to maintain a status quo under the guise of provocative comedy and masks it by his liberalism and not more he just *really* isn't very good with black humor.

I'd say if you compare the height of American Dad with Family Guy after it was cancelled, there's a world of difference with how AD handles issues compared to FG, the former of which Seth stopped writing for after its disastrous first season. AD isn't the world's most progressive show or anything, but there's far more sincerity with what it tackles something like gay rights than FG, even if both fall back on stereotypes.
 
first, with all due respect that is the most ridiculous and regressive logic to humor ive read in a while. If the 1000s of failed race based and sex jokes I've heard from all kinds of comedians are somehow confirmation or suspicion of said comedian's "hidden agenda"? c'mon dude.

Who said anything about a hidden agenda? You can perform a racist or sexist act without intent. Who told you otherwise?
 
I mean, I really have to see the film to know if it'll offend me. Really depends on the intent of the humor. Humor gets a large pass to me. Shit, half the fun of humor is saying things that normally would be considered horrifically offensive.
 

Zerox20

Member
Saw Ted 2 the other night. I went in knowing exactly what it was. Movie felt like a bunch of scenes smashed together . I would say some jokes hit, more missed. Wasn't upset by it, I had my stupid laughs and enjoyment for the evening.
 

BadAss2961

Member
Jokes are fine, as long as those "jokes" are NOT making fun of people's appearances, beliefs, sexual preferences, gender, nationalities, etc.

"Black humor" is absolutely disgusting.
Wow, talk about PC. That shit is going to kill comedy.
 
McFarlanes comedy is ham fisted low brow and repetitive so I'm not surprised that his low brow and unsophisticated efforts offended the people he's trying to sympathize with.

I thought that banned,shitty episode of Family Guy with the Jewish accountant was a spectacular example of how McFarlane isn't a smart enough writer to convey a sophisticated message about anything.
 
right, I don't think its funny either, but its not "racist"

I was never arguing about whether the movie or Seth is funny or not.

It's definitely racist. There is a very old, very hateful practice of shaming women that sleep with black men. The shame isn't that they "sleep around," it's that they mess with black men, and lose their purity and worth by association.

There was a guy on this forum that got banned for calling Kim Kardashian a "mudshark," so that hate is still very much in play, even right here on GAF.
 

Epcott

Member
It sounds like the same humor that one would find in any of McFarlane's shows... Minus generic black guy voice by John Viener.
 
Family Guy had an episode that was one of the most transphobic things I've ever seen.

I think "hey Quagmire, I fucked your dad" was the final straw for me and that show. I'd never liked it all that much, but after that episode I couldn't even bring myself to sit through it.
 

cntr

Banned
Fun fact, guys complaining about "PC" and "outrage": You don't have to either accept all offensive jokes or reject all offensive jokes. You can, you know, use your mind and judge whether it works?
 

Amalthea

Banned
Sometimes I think the only difference between Seth McFarlane and Tim Buckley is that Farlane would have ended something like the miscarriage strip with the guy grinning and yelling "Pow! Right in the kisser."
 

danielcw

Member
Let's not sully the great name of Mel Brooks by comparing him to a hack like MacFarlane.

My favourite movie is a Mel Brooks movie, but I think both guys are pretty close, both in style and quality. Their works often trigger similar emotions in me. MacFarlane's works* have the advantage of being contemporary and sometimes focusing in real life issues, and there is just more of it.

*I hate it, that people act like, everything from Family Guy to Ted 2 is just MacFarlane's work. There are many other writer's working with him. For example: depending on the era of Family Guy, writers like David A. Goodman probably made a bigger mark on the show than him.
Primarely, almost every story and joke that is associated with MacFaralne, is a collaborative effort.

Same goes for many works of Mel Brooks too, for example a lot of Blazzing Saddles fearless humour can be traced to Richard Prior.


And MacFarlane never has done anything that I liked less than "Dracula - Dead & Loving It", boy was I disappointed by that movie :(
Or even worse, the animated series of "Spaceballs"
 

DR2K

Banned
People really need to go into comedies and be able to laugh at themselves and their stereotypes. Life would be a lot easier.
 
Watched it the other day. The majority of the black jokes got big laughs even the repeated black cock bit. I thought it was ok, forgettable and nothing to really fuss over. The reactions are giving the movie more exposure then it deserves.

But obviously the dude has a following. It's hard to shit on comedy quality when he has such a big fanbase. Chappelle show was super offensive and i still rank it as one of the funniest shows ever.
 

Gnome

Member
Seth MacFarlane's whole shtick is being "smart" but telling "dumb" jokes. While it works alright, goddamn has he wore his formula thin.
 

cntr

Banned
When a joke boils down to "Haha, X exists!", the implication is that the object or situatino is strange or deviant or wrong in some way. If I walked into my room and a potato was on it, the joke is that it's unexpected to have a potato on your bed.

That's why most of the jokes here are awful. They're all in the vein of "Haha, black people exist!", or "Haha, trans people exist!". That is, black people and trans people are strange things that you don't expect to find in "real life". And that's why successful offensive jokes rarely rely on this format.
 

Gnome

Member
Fun fact, guys complaining about "PC" and "outrage": You don't have to either accept all offensive jokes or reject all offensive jokes. You can, you know, use your mind and judge whether it works?

I think the level of effort to create the joke matters a lot. When somebody doesn't put any effort into making the joke, it just becomes referential, and when the entire joke starts and ends on simply referencing something offensive that's when it exists solely in an offensive state.
 

Pimpwerx

Member
It's a comedy. It's allowed to be offensive. If we start censoring humor, I don't want to live in this world. PEACE.

Edit: Reading this thread is painful. None of you are funny. You can breakdown the science of joke telling and punchlines all you want, but real comedians know that on the road to being funny, you're gonna offend. It's part and parcel of the whole process. The critiques of decent comedic writing by unfunny, pretentious amateurs is embarrassing.

I'm sorry, but it's real easy to criticize, but I'm not seeing any of you writing something better. I'm not a huge fan of Seth, but he and his writers do a decent job generating comedic scripts that reach a broad audience. Everyone isn't supposed to get every joke. They have broad appeal though.

And I didn't like Ted, and don't plan on watching the sequel.
 
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