OFFENSIVE: Is the current generation overly sensitive towards comments made in the media?
By Crystal Hsueh, Staff Writer
In light of recent controversy over Kevin Hart’s decision to step down from hosting this year’s Oscars, comedian Chris Rock made a comment during the New York Film Critics Circle Awards regarding this generation’s sensitivity to offensive jokes, drawing attention to a popular debate. “If it was five years ago, I could say something really offensive and funny right now, but I can’t do that anymore, so hey!” Rock exclaimed, and he has a point. Many jokes made years ago would not be tolerated on the internet today. However, does that make this generation more sensitive, or simply more aware?
Over the past few years, people on social media became quick to point out what is problematic in the “jokes” that celebrities, comedians, and everyday accounts on Twitter make, often concerning racism, sexism, or sexuality. More and more, people are called out for using racial and homophobic slurs or making comments pertaining to rape culture. While people argue that this generation, specifically millennials and Generation Z, takes everything they read online too seriously, it leads impressionable teenagers to acknowledge what are the right and wrong things to say in today’s society. The age of technology that these teenagers and young adults were born into exposes them to an abundance of information from around the world that helps to inform them culturally, socially, and politically. “I think people are becoming more informed on what is offensive to others, especially what is offensive to minorities. I think it’s a good thing that people realize it’s not okay to joke about someone else’s identity in a harmful way,” Kalysta Garland (12) explained. As society shifts to become more inclusive in gender, racial, and social equality, comedy seems to evolve with it. It begins with comedians such as Ellen Degeneres, who builds her brand around being kind to one another, and Bo Burnham, who although continues to make risky jokes that teeter on the line between funny and offensive, manages to incorporate humor and satire into his comedy while bringing attention to important topics, such as the stigma of the privilege associated with straight white males.
Though it is beneficial to be aware of what is posted on social media or said by comedians and celebrities, there are instances where people bring in issues such as race, religion, gender, or sex in situations where it may or may not actually apply. One circumstance that attracted a lot of attention was Disneyland’s decision to change the part of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction where women were depicted as being tied up and auctioned off as brides. While many people were against changing elements of such a historic ride, others argued that seeing women, even animatronic women, being sold to men is not a scene they want their children to be exposed to. In situations such as these, the distinction between what is considered funny and what is considered offensive may be blurred, so where should the line be drawn? “I think the line is where members of the group who are offended by the joke says it is. Someone who is not affected or harmed by the joke can’t determine whether it is offensive or not, because they are not personally affected by it,” Garland said. On social media platforms where users come from all over the world with different viewpoints and opinions on controversial topics, there is no clear way to decipher between what is deemed as humor and what is deemed as insulting. Perhaps it is time for society to reach a point where race, gender, and sexuality are not used as a punchline.