Did SNL go too far in mocking Paterson?

Puppycow

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Paterson’s Office Is Not Amused by ‘Saturday Night Live’ Skit

I didn't actually see this myself, but from the way it's described it seems like the SNL skit mocking David Paterson, Governor of New York, who happens to be blind, was in rather poor taste.

Gov. David A. Paterson’s office criticized a skit on this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” in which Mr. Paterson, who is legally blind, was portrayed as disoriented and buffoonlike.

The governor’s communications director, Risa B. Heller, said on Sunday that the skit amounted to nothing more than cheap ridicule — a surprisingly strong reaction considering that the governor is well known for making light of his vision problems.

“The governor engages in humor all the time, and he can certainly take a joke,” Ms. Heller said in a statement. “However, this particular ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit unfortunately chose to ridicule people with physical disabilities and imply that disabled people are incapable of having jobs with serious responsibilities.

“The governor is sure that ‘Saturday Night Live’ with all of its talent can find a way to be funny without being offensive,” Ms. Heller added.
. . .
Mr. Paterson is known for a having an irreverent sense of humor that is cheekier than most politicians would dare. And he has spoken at length about developing an ability to tell jokes at a young age as a way of making him seem more normal to his peers, who sometimes ridiculed him for not being able to see.
. . .
Speaking to reporters on Sunday night at the Waldorf-Astoria, where he was addressing a group from Yeshiva University, the governor was somewhat circumspect about the skit and avoided mentioning it directly. When asked if it had offended him, he kept any anger or embarrassment in check and deflected the question with an answer about high unemployment among the disabled.

“There is only one way that people could have an unemployment rate that’s six times the national average — it’s attitude,” he said. “And I’m afraid that the kind of third-grade depiction of individuals and the way they look and the way they move add to that negative environment.”

“I run the place that I work in so I don’t have to worry about being discriminated against, I think,” he said. “But the point is that a lot of people who don’t get promotions and don’t get opportunities and don’t even get work are disabled in our society.”
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Personally, I don't find find it funny to mock disabled people. It just seems like it is in poor taste. I want to be made to laugh, not cringe.
 
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Puppycow said:
Paterson’s Office Is Not Amused by ‘Saturday Night Live’ Skit

I didn't actually see this myself, but from the way it's described it seems like the SNL skit mocking David Paterson, Governor of New York, who happens to be blind, was in rather poor taste.



Personally, I don't find find it funny to mock disabled people. It just seems like it is in poor taste. I want to be made to laugh, not cringe.
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Same here.

I think Paterson's response was appropriate.

Here's some links:


Here's the SNL clip:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/48719/saturday-night-live-update-gov-paterson

fWIW, here's a link to NYS Approval Ratings for Paterson and others:
http://www.maristpoll.marist.edu/nyspolls/GV081028.htm

The poll also rates his chances against other contenders for the govt. seat in 2010. It was created by Marist College which I'm not familiar with and I don't know how accurate it is.

ETA: Here's a better known poll:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/favorables/governors_approval_ratings
 
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Eh, I don't think it was that bad. SNL lives on caricatures. When they impersonate John McCain, they give the guy a come-over and he never raises his arms above his shoulders. When they do Obama, it's a squinty, furrowed brow with big ears and halting voice. It's got to be hard to caricature governor Paterson without including the blindness aspect. They maybe went too far at the end by indirectly suggesting that blindness was "freaky".
 
Puppycow said:
Paterson’s Office Is Not Amused by ‘Saturday Night Live’ Skit

I didn't actually see this myself, but from the way it's described it seems like the SNL skit mocking David Paterson, Governor of New York, who happens to be blind, was in rather poor taste.



Personally, I don't find find it funny to mock disabled people. It just seems like it is in poor taste. I want to be made to laugh, not cringe.
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SNL made fun of Stevie Wonder when Eddie Murphy impersonated him. Poor taste is the hallmark of SNL. Apparently you only discovered this when the target is a liberal politician. As far as disabled people being off-limits to parody, that would be considered treating them differently from able people. FDR never wanted any special dispensation.
 
It was funny, which in and of itself should be the most newsworthy thing about an SNL skit in the last three years. :p
 
The classic was when John Belushi joined Joe Cocker on stage durring a song.
 
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I wasn't offended, but not surprised that others were or that this was going to be a "story". Shouldn't advocates for the blind embrace it as a victory that they too can be mocked by SNL just like able-bodied politicians?
 
PitPat said:
I wasn't offended, but not surprised that others were or that this was going to be a "story". Shouldn't advocates for the blind embrace it as a victory that they too can be mocked by SNL just like able-bodied politicians?
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Agree totally!
 
Out of all the things in that skit they choose the blind thing to be offended by? That's like Paris Hilton only being concerned her sex tape makes her look "too fat."
 
If he can't take the ridicule from comedians, what in the hell is he doing in the office of governor? They all get abused for one thing or another. When one plays varsity ball, one gets bruised. That SNL humor is far too often clumsy or just flat is a different matter.

I ought to invite the governor to come play some golf next week, and we'll discuss how he grows a thicker skin. Maybe now is a good time to get him away from those ice storms and cold weather up there, and the risks of going snow blind.

Someone is gonna make a joke about him going into a blind rage about the skit, but I won't cast the first sin. Let Leno do that.

DR
 
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The point behind the skit was merely over-the-top charicature that often can have very little relationship to the person being portrayed.

Best example is Celebrity Jepordy. Those Skits made Sean Connery into a beligerent, hateful crazy old man. They were funny, but never once did I think it to be SNL actually saying that this is the way Connery is.

Similarly, the Patterson Skit was blatantly over-the-top and to my mind obviously a "funny in itself" joke rather than a "funny-because-it's-true" joke.
 
Puppycow said:
Personally, I don't find find it funny to mock disabled people. It just seems like it is in poor taste.
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Oh, get off your high horse.















































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joobz said:
Similarly, the Patterson Skit was blatantly over-the-top and to my mind obviously a "funny in itself" joke rather than a "funny-because-it's-true" joke.
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How much time do you require to process this distinction before allowing yourself a guffaw?
 
Cicero said:
How much time do you require to process this distinction before allowing yourself a guffaw?
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Comedy is an inherently intellectual process. People pick up on irony, subtexts, and whatever and determine whether to laugh automatically, but it's still a part of the comedy, and can be analyzed accordingly.
 
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UserGoogol said:
Comedy is an inherently intellectual process. People pick up on irony, subtexts, and whatever and determine whether to laugh automatically, but it's still a part of the comedy, and can be analyzed accordingly.
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The whole point about timing in comedy is that it results in immediate laughter from the audience. Although automatic laughter can sometimes be nervous laughter by an audience sensing the material is bombing. If you are busy doing an intellectual analysis of what you have just seen or heard, then your brain has been permanently politically corrected. Maybe a Trudeau cartoon requires deliberation before finding any evidance to support a smirk much less a guffaw.
 
Cicero said:
How much time do you require to process this distinction before allowing yourself a guffaw?
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It's at the speed of thought. As a human being, I find it second nature to hear a funny joke and know why it's funny.

Perhaps you have a problem with such rapid thought evaluations?
Do you also find it difficult to chew gum while attempting to claim someone is being too PC?
 
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