(I posted this awhile ago on another forum, and I think that the question is still pretty interesting)
On the Today show this morning, they had author Barbara Coloroso talking about her book The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander, and somebody asked her about violence on television being a factor in schoolyard bullying. On the contrary, she say that what she was worried about was the cruel humor that so many shows have today, shows that are based in comedy that makes fun of others (like South Park or Jackass or things like that) & that kids are picking up that it's okay to taunt and mock, creating a culture where it's worse than ever before. It was in reference to the question something like "Do you think media violence contributes to bullying" and she answered something like "no, but I am concerned about cruel humor, because there are so many shows now that make it seem okay to make fun of people". She didn't mention South Park or Jackass, but both strike me as good examples of cruel humor.
Earlier I had a thread (on the other board I posted this at) about television violence and how I see nothing overtly wrong with it, but I was shouted down by a vocal contingent of folks who are absolutely convinced that television violence IS a major factor in real-world violence. I very curious to see if the same hold for humor - is cruel mocking humor okay, something that doesn't harm people and culture... or is it bad culturally because it is so imitatable & just as bad at television violence and should be just as regulated?
On the Today show this morning, they had author Barbara Coloroso talking about her book The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander, and somebody asked her about violence on television being a factor in schoolyard bullying. On the contrary, she say that what she was worried about was the cruel humor that so many shows have today, shows that are based in comedy that makes fun of others (like South Park or Jackass or things like that) & that kids are picking up that it's okay to taunt and mock, creating a culture where it's worse than ever before. It was in reference to the question something like "Do you think media violence contributes to bullying" and she answered something like "no, but I am concerned about cruel humor, because there are so many shows now that make it seem okay to make fun of people". She didn't mention South Park or Jackass, but both strike me as good examples of cruel humor.
Earlier I had a thread (on the other board I posted this at) about television violence and how I see nothing overtly wrong with it, but I was shouted down by a vocal contingent of folks who are absolutely convinced that television violence IS a major factor in real-world violence. I very curious to see if the same hold for humor - is cruel mocking humor okay, something that doesn't harm people and culture... or is it bad culturally because it is so imitatable & just as bad at television violence and should be just as regulated?
