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Alex is right. The intention is different between Heather/MM skit and David Armand's (Torn) mime skit.
Alex is right. The intention is different between Heather/MM skit and David Armand's (Torn) mime skit.
But, Koko, does that matter when the end effect has the hearing community laughing, for the millionth time, at Deaf people?
No. They are laughing at the mime skit...not at deaf people. I dont' see it that way.
No. They are laughing at the mime skit...not at deaf people. I dont' see it that way.
Read what Marlee had to say afterwards.
Marlee Matlin on 'Family Guy' gag: 'Lighten up, people' | EW.com
Russel Peters did a foul joke about the Deaf. I didn't complain. Why? A lot of the signs he spoke about were true. And he is not unknown for his crude jokes. Free speech allow him to make racial jokes on TV. He wasn't re-inforcing any old stereotypes.
Marlee Matlin is free to do whatever she want...
However Heather was deliberately reinforcing negative stereotypes about the Deaf by mocking their accents. That is insulting. She should never had said that on TV.
Now, the problem with this is that David Armand's was merely a mime act that was taken out of context and was called "deaf karaoke" among the hearing population. You don't even have to go far... it's right in this thread with the YouTube title in the first post AND in the thread title as "faux pas signing."
The original poster should expect such backlash when posting such content on a Deaf forum. If the thread title was different, emphasizing on pantomiming or miming... and posted a different video like this one (with a transcript of the actual lyrics), then people wouldn't see it in a negative way. So take your line out of the water, the boss called-- he want you back at work.
Oh? But what about when people start renaming the video "Deaf Karaoke" or "Deaf man signs 'Torn'--hilarious" and stuff like that? At that point, they are taking the silly humor from the performance, humor which is derived from mockery and hyperbolic imitation, and projecting it on Deafness. Just because you don't see that or think it yourself doesn't mean it's not happening.
Again, there is a very thin line here between making fun of the song and the situation, and making fun of deaf people. The video didn't cross the line, but many people did after the fact.
She said to "Lighten up, people" based on her belief, one I whole heartedly agree with: "Humor should not be censored." And as a professional actress she recognizes that "being made fun of" is part of the business. Being able to take it and dish it out is part and parcel of her profession. She is a professional and she is good at it. The only way Marlee Matlin, or any other person can avoid that kind of attention is to not become a celebrity.
But there is a dividing line of couth here. Purveyors of Family Guy and others like them plays to an audience who go out of their way to spend time and / or money to watch those shows. They don't chase down people who don't like and don't want their humor.
Posting this video here and then telling people to "lighten up" is simply stirring up the pot.
I look past that and see it as another cleaver way of doing mime to go with the song. Though the phrase "Deaf Karoke" is kind of funny in how it's phrased. Kind of like an oxymoron. Something along the line like "deafening silence" or "cruel kindness." I see no "thin line" with the skit itself.
I see humor differently as you do. Just as MM saw humor differently as others have and told them to "lighten up."
Russel Peters did a foul joke about the Deaf. I didn't complain. Why? A lot of the signs he spoke about were true. And he is not unknown for his crude jokes. Free speech allow him to make racial jokes on TV. He wasn't re-inforcing any old stereotypes.
Marlee Matlin is free to do whatever she want...
However Heather was deliberately reinforcing negative stereotypes about the Deaf by mocking their accents. That is insulting. She should never had said that on TV.
Now, the problem with this is that David Armand's was merely a mime act that was taken out of context and was called "deaf karaoke" among the hearing population. You don't even have to go far... it's right in this thread with the YouTube title in the first post AND in the thread title as "faux pas signing."
The original poster should expect such backlash when posting such content on a Deaf forum. If the thread title was different, emphasizing on pantomiming or miming... and posted a different video like this one (with a transcript of the actual lyrics), then people wouldn't see it in a negative way. So take your line out of the water, the boss called-- he want you back at work.
Jews, I don’t know what you’ve done
to the deaf community,
I don’t know if they had land,|and you wanted it,
but I learned-
I learned 3 signs for Jewish people.
And I’m not making this shit up.
Each sign is progressively
more offensive than the next.
The first-|Here’s the first sign for Jewish people.
Now the first sign isn’t so bad.
It kind of makes sense when you see it.
Here’s the first sign of a Jewish person look.
Right?
It’s a long beard and you go well that
makes sense right?
Then they start to get fucked up.
And I’m not making this shit up here’s
the second sign for Jewish person.
That’s fucked up isn’t it?
And here’s the third sign for Jew.
And I’m not making any of this shit up look-
That is some foul shit!
Now... If people haven't seen Russell Peters... here is a part of the skit. CaptVids had the full transcript, but the video was taken down.
Comedian Russell Peters on Sign Language – Captioned | CaptVids.com
YouTube - Russell Peters - Why do Deaf People hate Jewish
Russel's made foul jokes about the Deaf in that video? How so?
Russel's made foul jokes about the Deaf in that video? How so?