Is it just me or does it seem as though, for whatever reason, we often times hold comedians to a higher standard than authority figures? When Late Show host Stephen Colbert referred to Vladimir Putin as Donald Trump's "c*ck holster," many were calling for his removal. Even more recently, Kathy Griffin partook in a photo shoot which included a picture of her holding what appeared to be a bloodied doll head which resembled President Trump. She's received a great deal of blowback since the release of that photo, including CNN telling her she wasn't going to be a part of their New Year's Eve show. So where do we draw the line between appropriate and inappropriate, is that even possible considering its subjective nature, and why don't we hold people in power to such high standards?
Whenever a joke becomes a story of controversy, I first ask the question, "What was the intent?" Some claimed Colbert's "c*ck-holster" joke was homophobic. When looking at the full context and analyzing the joke's intent, however, I have a hard time seeing it as such. The Kathy Griffin photo/"joke" is a bit more complicated, however. She said her intent was to showcase an artistic response to the president's comment to former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, when he said about her, "Blood was coming out of her eyes. Blood was coming out of her wherever." Given that, I have a difficult time siding with Griffin, because the photo/joke is not topical, and due to that, the picture is less likely to generate much conversation with regard to the topic, as it is with the comedian herself. If she had partaken in this photoshoot days or even weeks after Trump made his controversial comments, I would have been more likely to, while not loving the image it portrayed, have been understanding of what Griffin was going for with her picture. This occurred almost 2 years ago, though, so it makes little to no sense for Griffin to release the photo now, expect to generate conversation on a topic which has long since passed us, and not expect to receive backlash as a result of it. To her credit, Griffin has since removed the controversial photo and offered what felt like a sincere apology.
Having said all that, while I don't think Kathy Griffin's photo was the best decision she's ever made, I have to again ask, why is it we often times seem to hold comedians to a higher standard than authority figures? What Griffin did was incredibly controversial, but it's not like this was the first time such a thing had occurred. What do comedians consistently do? Push the envelope. Not all of them are into shock value, but many are, so while I didn't much care for Griffin's photo, I also didn't flip out over it. Why is it we often times seem to place more value in symbols and words than actions? I'm not going to deny the potential power of symbols or words. I am after all a writer. In saying that, though, it makes little sense to me to be more offended by a photo depicting a fictionalized murder than a cop killing an unarmed black man or a politician sexually harassing a woman. I don't condone what Kathy Griffin did in this instance, but why was she criticized so harshly and fired for her unseemly picture, yet cops tend to be acquitted when killing unarmed black men and the President of the United States has gotten away with 20+ alleged cases of sexual assault/harassment. Throughout history, comedians and entertainers of all stripes have consistently used shock and attempted to push the envelope to garner attention, provoke thought and discussion, and generate awkward laughs in the process. Sometimes these jokes fall flat and/or go too far, yet at the end of the day, no lives are going to be lost due to them. That's not always the case with authority figures, however, and it's about damn time we hold the leaders of our country to a higher standard than those who get paid to make others laugh.
Whenever a joke becomes a story of controversy, I first ask the question, "What was the intent?" Some claimed Colbert's "c*ck-holster" joke was homophobic. When looking at the full context and analyzing the joke's intent, however, I have a hard time seeing it as such. The Kathy Griffin photo/"joke" is a bit more complicated, however. She said her intent was to showcase an artistic response to the president's comment to former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, when he said about her, "Blood was coming out of her eyes. Blood was coming out of her wherever." Given that, I have a difficult time siding with Griffin, because the photo/joke is not topical, and due to that, the picture is less likely to generate much conversation with regard to the topic, as it is with the comedian herself. If she had partaken in this photoshoot days or even weeks after Trump made his controversial comments, I would have been more likely to, while not loving the image it portrayed, have been understanding of what Griffin was going for with her picture. This occurred almost 2 years ago, though, so it makes little to no sense for Griffin to release the photo now, expect to generate conversation on a topic which has long since passed us, and not expect to receive backlash as a result of it. To her credit, Griffin has since removed the controversial photo and offered what felt like a sincere apology.
Having said all that, while I don't think Kathy Griffin's photo was the best decision she's ever made, I have to again ask, why is it we often times seem to hold comedians to a higher standard than authority figures? What Griffin did was incredibly controversial, but it's not like this was the first time such a thing had occurred. What do comedians consistently do? Push the envelope. Not all of them are into shock value, but many are, so while I didn't much care for Griffin's photo, I also didn't flip out over it. Why is it we often times seem to place more value in symbols and words than actions? I'm not going to deny the potential power of symbols or words. I am after all a writer. In saying that, though, it makes little sense to me to be more offended by a photo depicting a fictionalized murder than a cop killing an unarmed black man or a politician sexually harassing a woman. I don't condone what Kathy Griffin did in this instance, but why was she criticized so harshly and fired for her unseemly picture, yet cops tend to be acquitted when killing unarmed black men and the President of the United States has gotten away with 20+ alleged cases of sexual assault/harassment. Throughout history, comedians and entertainers of all stripes have consistently used shock and attempted to push the envelope to garner attention, provoke thought and discussion, and generate awkward laughs in the process. Sometimes these jokes fall flat and/or go too far, yet at the end of the day, no lives are going to be lost due to them. That's not always the case with authority figures, however, and it's about damn time we hold the leaders of our country to a higher standard than those who get paid to make others laugh.
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