Time to explain simple literary concepts to the hateful individuals of the internet. Today's lucky winner of being made to look like a complete fool is comedian Nicole Arbour, who defended her "Dear fat people" video as satirical and therefore not meriting the huge criticism it received. What she didn't realize is that satire does not preclude you from all criticism. Satire as defined through a quick google search is"the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues." Meaning you take a particular issue and you treat it in a ridiculous manner to get a point across. A good example of satire that doesn't merit any criticism is the "defined lines" video which shows women treating men in the same objectifying manner women were treated in the "Blurred Lines" video. That is satire because it takes an aspect of the political issue, the objectification of women, and shows that when the genders are reversed the actions are considered hyperbolic and absurd, strengthening the original argument that the treatment of women in these videos are often demeaning (I spent 5 minutes thinking of a word that encapsulates how I feel and had to settle with ridiculous). People were quick to criticize the video as not practicing what it preached because it showed men in an objectified manner, but that was the point of the commentary!
On the other hand Nicole Arbour's hateful video gains its impetus by being molded from the "real talk" genre. You know, the comedian who thinks they're saying the horrible thing that everyone was secretly thinking, but nobody was willing to say. Unfortunately for her, many people did not hold her hateful and disgusting thoughts, so what was supposed to come across as a reality check for her audience came across as a hateful diatribe, which is exactly what it was. Its hyperbolic nature does not change that the author's actual beliefs must in some way be rooted in the belief of this hate otherwise the conceit of the joke would be missing. Trust me no one is laughing because of how incredulous her actions and statements are, instead they're laughing because they partially agree with her fat shaming philosophy. But too bad for Ms. Arbour. Not many people are laughing.
Yet she isn't the only hateful individual who has used the satire shield to prevent themselves from being called out as a disgusting bigot. The Republican party is notorious for making inappropriate jokes and merely writing them off as satirical or hyperbolic. Take any sound bite from Donald Trump and you can confirm this to be true about the Republican party. But why has satire become the venue for hatred? Well haven't you heard? Racism doesn't exist. And since Racism doesn't exist it can only function in an implicit manner. Satire and exaggeration serves as the shield that makes racism/sexism/ableism/etc. implicit and that's why its the literary element of choice for racial bigots. Or sometimes people who pretend they're not racist like another white comedian called Amy Schumer who got a free pass because we all loved her movie Trainwreck so much. But if you want to read about how she fucked up, check this awesome post.
A note on censorship: I personally am against censorship because it is a slippery slope for what is considered hateful and bigoted and what is just an uncomfortable reality. But if a publisher or website such as youtube wants to know if I'd like to see the video get taken down, the answer is a vehement yes. The video is hurtful and harms the self confidence of so many people with weight issues. I myself am obese and can speak to how furious I became listening to the video. But the final decision is with youtube. Do I have to respect it? no, but that's the way it has to be.
On the other hand Nicole Arbour's hateful video gains its impetus by being molded from the "real talk" genre. You know, the comedian who thinks they're saying the horrible thing that everyone was secretly thinking, but nobody was willing to say. Unfortunately for her, many people did not hold her hateful and disgusting thoughts, so what was supposed to come across as a reality check for her audience came across as a hateful diatribe, which is exactly what it was. Its hyperbolic nature does not change that the author's actual beliefs must in some way be rooted in the belief of this hate otherwise the conceit of the joke would be missing. Trust me no one is laughing because of how incredulous her actions and statements are, instead they're laughing because they partially agree with her fat shaming philosophy. But too bad for Ms. Arbour. Not many people are laughing.
Yet she isn't the only hateful individual who has used the satire shield to prevent themselves from being called out as a disgusting bigot. The Republican party is notorious for making inappropriate jokes and merely writing them off as satirical or hyperbolic. Take any sound bite from Donald Trump and you can confirm this to be true about the Republican party. But why has satire become the venue for hatred? Well haven't you heard? Racism doesn't exist. And since Racism doesn't exist it can only function in an implicit manner. Satire and exaggeration serves as the shield that makes racism/sexism/ableism/etc. implicit and that's why its the literary element of choice for racial bigots. Or sometimes people who pretend they're not racist like another white comedian called Amy Schumer who got a free pass because we all loved her movie Trainwreck so much. But if you want to read about how she fucked up, check this awesome post.
A note on censorship: I personally am against censorship because it is a slippery slope for what is considered hateful and bigoted and what is just an uncomfortable reality. But if a publisher or website such as youtube wants to know if I'd like to see the video get taken down, the answer is a vehement yes. The video is hurtful and harms the self confidence of so many people with weight issues. I myself am obese and can speak to how furious I became listening to the video. But the final decision is with youtube. Do I have to respect it? no, but that's the way it has to be.
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