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Homer Will Continue to Strangle Bart on 'The Simpsons,' Says Co-Creator: 'Nothing's Changing' (people.com)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Homer will continue to strangle son Bart on 'The Simpsons,' co-creator James L. Brooks tells PEOPLE: 'Nothing's changing'

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This article is a nice (but shallow) reflection on how our sense of morality has changed. Apu is a blatantly racist stereotype, but we didn’t think of the character that way. It’s disconcerting to rewatch old episodes of sitcoms from as late as the 90s and seeing LGBT-phobia, racism, sexism, and domestic violence as comedic. It feels like watching performers in blackface from the 20s and 30s.

In comedy, there’s a difference between punching up and punching down. Punching down is when you have a character with a mental disorder have that disorder being the source of humor. Punching up is when you’re making fun of the powerful. George Carlin was a master of punching up.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Humor comes from subverting expectations, that's why Bill Burr is so fucking funny for punching down all the time.

also sometimes you've got to punch down