Well, let's all thank Tiffany for the fabulous idea to shorten the Blog Paper (or skip it if you just go to the SC debate next Friday in Mark's Pimp-Mobile!)...You can do a 5-7 page paper (instead of 6-8) if you respond with at least 5 sentences below identifying how the clip we watched from Stuck on You (the greatest film ever created in the history of the world) works as an argument. Use some Toulmin or something, would ya? The Farrelly Brothers, who created the film, as well as Fargo and Something About Mary, use humor in a different way then the common, guy trips on a banana peel and bangs his head into the wall kinda way...What did the scene we watched together in class say about "freaks?" Do you think it is possible for humor to heal differences? Was the clip encouraging us to make fun of anyone? Feel free to include references to the other movies mentioned above as well as the clip from today. Visit this site: http://www.stuckonyoumovie.com/index.php for more laughs and a trailer from Stuck on You. Let's explore the "subversive" nature of dark humor...(its ability to promote change and empowerment).
CON JOBBIE LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9 comments:
First Blog!
This is so true Bea! Thanks!
--B. Logger
The Movie stuck on you can work as an arguement, like, Should people treat others different just because they're "freaks"? The answer no, because everyone has their own unique personality that makes them different. For example, like when the guy said that "freaks" shouldn't work in restaurant just because he got their drinks wrong. Now that's totally uncool. Everyone should be treated the same no matter how they look.
ILL: People make fun of others just because their different.
BLAME: The person itself because it's making fun of the one who looks different.
CURE: Trying being in their shoes and see how it feels if others were making fun of you.
BENEFITS: Won't make fun of different people anymore and understands how it feels to be made fun of.
The clip we watched in class from stuck on you can work as an argument because it can create numerous resolutions. First of all, a lot of people would see the twins in the movie and think of them as some kind of "handicap" because of their conjoined state. Resolutions can be made that center around equality and employment, of people that have or are "handicap". I like Pahoua's resolution, that people should be treated the same no matter how they look. I think more of an ill though is that making fun of people can lead to prejudices and bullying. And it really does put the person who is being made fun of down, and they can develop serious issues like low self esteem and depression. And that can lead to violence. I think Pahoua has a really good cure. I didn't like how they were refered to as "freaks" because i just thought that was mean. Not everyone is going to be alike personality wise and physically. Even if they were conjoined, they didn't take that as some kind of impairment. If anything, they could accomplish more than just a "regular" person. I think what the scene said about "freaks" is just be careful how you use that word and what you apply it to. Being different doesnt make anyone some kind of "freak". I think humor can heal differences, but it should be used carefully because it can be taken the wrong way. I dont think it was encouraging anyone to make fun of anybody. I also agree that it was funny how the bully who was trying to make fun of people was actually the one that got clowned on in the end. It should always be that way =).
The answer to who is a freak and who is not lies within the eye of the beholder. People that are not considered the norm by popular society should not be considered freaks and there is not unless. If we are all human, and the premise of the United States is that we are all created equal then the fact that society thinks a person is differnt should not matter. The truth is they should be afforded the same dignity and rights as the rest of us "normal" people. But then who gets to make the definition of what is normal and what is not, certainly not you or me. God makes that decision, before most of our parents are even thinking about us. So if God makes the DECISION that someone should be born and that ultimately, in his eyes, that person has a greater purpose, shouldn't we all respect that? the answer is yes we should. Because the enegry that is spent on putting the "freaks" down could be spent better and in a more useful way to society. I think that instead of calling some people "normal" and others "freaks" (when their is not a clear definition of either) our time should be spent helping our fellow humans, who ever they are. That would cost a lot less than the Karma points you will one day have to repay for your evilness and you would gain a lot more good one. Everyone just wants to be accepted. This is evidenced by awareness programming about disorders, dieases, and disabled needs. This is shown in civil rights discussions, demonstrations, and parades. This is even shown far back in our history when a large group of people hopped on a boat from Europe to America for the right to be who they are.
These are all great comments, Pahoua, Rachel and Tiffany, thanks for giving us such a thoughtful perspective! The whole idea of the word "freak" from the circus side shows that exploited people with abnormalities of some sort is, I think, kind of the opposite of what the Farrely Bros are hoping to do with some of their "dark" humor. Cultural critics refer to this as "rearticulation" or the "taking back of" certain words and terms that were used against a group of people to keep them down. The group that was opressed takes back the word and owns it in a new way...other examples are certain versions of the "N" word, reclaimed withing certain African American communities, the term "Gimp" which is used by certain disabled communities as another way of calling a fellow disabled pal "brother" or "sister," and even the term "fag, which has been reclaimed by the homosexual community and used playfully rather than in a derrogatory sense. --Blog On and Good Luck to the Groups that speak on Thursday!
Carrie--Excellentpoint! I forgot about that use of the word! This is called "connotation" or ambiguous multiple meanings of words other than the primary definition! Good thinking!--Blogesteria Technohead
In the movie Old School (2003)The three main characters Mitch, Frank and Beanie decide to create their own fraternity and relive their glory days once they realize their mundane lives are not so glorious anymore. This movie is humorous because they create humorous fallacies that contribute to the humor in the movie. Old guys don't re-enter college just to party in fraternities. They use losers, old retired guys and nerds as pledges. This is not the norm for fraternities. Re-entering a college fraternity will not guarantee your social life will get better.
In the movie clip we watched in class from “Stuck on You”, the man who called the restaurant worker a freak was basing his claim (that the worker was a freak) on fallacious reasoning. Based on the non sequitor argument, that the worker was a freak because he made a mistake, the man demanded that the “freak” be removed from the restaurant. The restaurant owners humorously turned the tables on the man by pointing out this fallacy. Making a mistake or being a bit different doesn’t make someone a freak. Instead, that’s what makes them human. So the man’s argument was irrelevant because the real freak is the one who is unwilling to accept this fact.
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