Korean Job Discussion Forums

Easter Clark · Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong

I love Obama, but when I hear things like "The next presidential limo is a caddy," I can't help but smile. Aren't we past the PC BS that has stifled poking fun at other ethnicities for so long--especially when the most powerful man in the world is a man of color?

I'm as anti-racist as the next guy, but c'mon--we need to have a sense of humor about these things. I hope the late-night comedians will keep their edge and not be afraid "to go there." Otherwise, talk shows are going to get more boring in a couple of months.

Postmodernism says that humor towards those who have been marginalized is only acceptable when coming from those who are also in a marginalized group. In other words, it's OK to make fun of minorities if you yourself are a minority. It's OK to make fun of those in the "center" if you are outside of it (i.e., if you are a minority making a joke about an old white man). Those on the fringe can attack those in the center, but the center cannot go outward.

So what happens when one who was formerly marginalized becomes the center? Do the rules change, or are we left scratching out heads?

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

NoExplode · Joined: 15 Oct 2008

Exactly. I predict black late night hosts (welcome back, Arsenio). Obama's election will kill Colbert & Stewart.

Manner of Speaking · Joined: 09 Jan 2003

Doesn't it depend on whether you are making fun of him because he's the President, because he's Barack Obama, or because he's black?

Lots of cartoonists have made fun of his toothy smile, and the way his ears stick out. There's nothing wrong about that, because you're making fun of the person, not the race. Even Obama has cracked jokes about himself. At one recent dinner he stood up and said, "My father gave me the middle name Hussein because he never thought I would one day run for President."

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

I never made fun of George W. because he was white. I made fun of him because he was/is a dull-witted reactionary idiot.

I'll make fun of Obama for whatever idiocy happens to come out of his mouth.

I can totally see how jokes about Obama concerning his race can be done with affection and respect, and be from a person genuinely not a racist, but it only serves to perpetuate stereotypes. That's the danger.

As an Irishman, I don't mind kidding from people I meet about the thick drunken Paddy stereotype. It's almost always done with affection, not hatred. But the image of the Irish 'race' is not being served by these jokes................... Sometime, somewhere, an Irishman might be turned down for a job because the employer might think he'll be a drunk or something.

A bad reputation is a very difficult thing to shake once it's fixed in the societal mainstream. The jokes don't help.

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Probably safest if a black comedian makes jokes and does caricatures of the big man.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

uberscheisse · Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Location: japan is better than korea.

as far as black dudes go, obama's pretty frickin' white. it'd be like comparing eminem to william f. buckley.

Easter Clark · Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were funny long before Bush came to power, and I expect they'll survive.

I still don't get it. Are Cadillacs stereotypically driven by blacks in the US? Is it like one of those watermelon-and-fried-chicken things that don't make any sense to non-Americans?

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Republican political strategists utilized Reagan to effectively propagate the image of black welfare moms driving Cadillacs.

After Obama's win, Bill Maher opined (on Larry King Live) that Obama's personality just doesn't give comedians much to work with (compared to Bill Clinton and George W Bush) but to not go after him because he's black would be racist.

Comedians (like Jay Leno and Dave Letterman) have certainly gone after Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for their perceived faults.

Paji eh Wong · Joined: 03 Jun 2003

khyber · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Compunction Junction

heard an interview with the Colbert Report's head writer on CBC.

Everyone on the show is RELIEVED that they now have a new target (and that they don't have to make jokes about torture anymore).

To think that Obama and the Dems are going to rid politics of all lying, deceit, corruption and ineptitude is completely outrageous. As long as politics continues, don't even worry about TDS or CR; they will be juuuuuuuuust fine.