tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7526297192668910325..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Weekend RantBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64510229945221860492018-12-31T21:22:24.610-08:002018-12-31T21:22:24.610-08:00Jerry Seinfeld has not stopped playing colleges.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/arts/television/jerry-seinfeld-interview.html" rel="nofollow">Jerry Seinfeld has not stopped playing colleges.</a>For the recordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-92229601534725727002018-12-17T18:47:39.815-08:002018-12-17T18:47:39.815-08:00The James Bond is a drunk article was a joke, Lice...The James Bond is a drunk article was a joke, Licence to Swill: James Bond's drinking over six decades" was published last week as the joint winner of the Medical Journal of Australia's Christmas competition, Janet and Wendy, come on, you can't be that humourless and gullible! I'm Outraged!https://www.blogger.com/profile/08329023172070049233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7949232381526945482018-12-17T11:19:09.344-08:002018-12-17T11:19:09.344-08:00Years ago, my wife and I saw Emo Philips at the Pa...Years ago, my wife and I saw Emo Philips at the Paramount Theatre, Aurora, Illinois. Either because he thought it was the right venue or because it was his real standpoint, he did a couple of anti-liberal jokes. Nobody got offended. They just didn't laugh. The jokes bombed. Which is all the punishment a comedian needs.Craig Gustafsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14503925766039307551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40344796565617806722018-12-16T23:41:33.724-08:002018-12-16T23:41:33.724-08:00PS. Even the term for entertainment containing edg...PS. Even the term for entertainment containing edgy content ("trigger warning") seems frighteningly on point....charlotteallthetimehttps://www.facebook.com/The-Charlotte-Fullerton-Page-166226831178/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23978087710469964922018-12-16T23:27:37.315-08:002018-12-16T23:27:37.315-08:00I can't know what it has been like for today&#...I can't know what it has been like for today's college kids to have had to grow up under the all-day-every-day stress of the very real threat of being freakin' gunned down at any given moment in their classrooms.... <br />I'm not saying this is the reason for their lack of tolerance for entertainment with an edge, but is it any wonder that as whole they're just a tad oversensitive as new adults?charlotteallthetimehttps://www.facebook.com/The-Charlotte-Fullerton-Page-166226831178/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91674172460187746742018-12-16T19:43:22.964-08:002018-12-16T19:43:22.964-08:00Just having a flashback:
Some years back, the the...Just having a flashback:<br /><br />Some years back, the then-incumbent President was getting a real goin-over by a popular TV comedy show, which in its turn was getting considerable flak from its network carrier.<br />The President was Lyndon Johnson.<br />The comedians were the Smothers Brothers.<br />And the network was CBS, which ultimately cancelled the Brothers and their show.<br />Interesting aspect (that only I seem to recall):<br />LBJ, when asked about the kerfuffle, actually spoke <i>in defense</i> of the Brothers, and of comedy in general - Tommy Smothers quoted the President in one of his own self-defense press conferences.<br /><br />True story - and likely one which our current "Acting President" wouldn't believe if you told him (and provided the evidence …).Mike Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14427528138598549103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90367317377860625212018-12-16T19:00:30.810-08:002018-12-16T19:00:30.810-08:00I noticed the same issue with this rant that Brian...I noticed the same issue with this rant that Brian did. You cite a college professor who says that today's students are looking to be offended and then talk about how rebellious your generation was in college. Is it possible your professors said the same thing?<br /><br />Maybe this is how today's students rebel. If it's not familiar to you, maybe that's because you are part of the power structure against which they are rebelling.Erich617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50252171088794164102018-12-16T18:56:41.853-08:002018-12-16T18:56:41.853-08:00Next thing you know they won't air Maude.Next thing you know they won't air Maude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43229040064044119832018-12-16T17:45:22.486-08:002018-12-16T17:45:22.486-08:00SNL writer was at a college campus, I think it was...SNL writer was at a college campus, I think it was Ivy League Penn, and was chastised and ordered to leave because someone was offended by <br />'You know being gay isn't a choice. Imagine a black guy facing racism and he decided I'll just make this worse'.<br /><br />It appears many in the audience were OK with it, but it was the organizer who was being demanding, and none in the group were willing to push back. I would guess this organization will become less popular with students as they skulk away.\MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21079401319726566482018-12-16T15:54:48.377-08:002018-12-16T15:54:48.377-08:00Well said.
--OrleanasWell said.<br /><br />--OrleanasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24357392499834437722018-12-16T13:39:48.853-08:002018-12-16T13:39:48.853-08:00Interesting that David coins the term "libera...Interesting that David coins the term "liberal-preferred speech" when the buffoon in the white house just tweeted about limiting our free speech freedoms, because he didn't like Saturday Night Live last night.Garynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20786950273183159642018-12-16T13:08:21.893-08:002018-12-16T13:08:21.893-08:00Wendy, please let me be clear if I wasn't befo...Wendy, please let me be clear if I wasn't before: I am in no way condoning drunk or impaired driving. The cultural change brought about by MADD and others was tremendously positive. It is a good thing today that drunk driving has a social stigma as well as criminality attached to it.<br /><br />I don't drink myself. I haven't for several years. Just a personal choice.<br /><br />My point was simply that branding James Bond an alcoholic didn't really accomplish much and seems a little silly.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136856533329478197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81994210501839594892018-12-16T11:35:42.902-08:002018-12-16T11:35:42.902-08:00Holy shit! You tell people to lighten up and inste...Holy shit! You tell people to lighten up and instead they write essays. They may have missed your point.FFShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12957594809079628577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12792999076429485322018-12-16T11:06:43.747-08:002018-12-16T11:06:43.747-08:00I just watched the "Kominsky" episode in...I just watched the "Kominsky" episode in question, and the point of the scene was that another white student found the August Wilson monologue offensive and then asked the (only?) black student if it was all right to be offended, or if the objection itself was racist. In other words, political correctness -- a term I hate -- has reached full-on absurdity. <br /><br /><br />Thanks for the recommendation, Ken, a very funny show. (They don't start talking about prostates until the third episode.) Why can't we have nice things like this on network TV anymore?Buttermilk Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07430011403223875192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64486183516671406262018-12-16T09:59:39.300-08:002018-12-16T09:59:39.300-08:00There is currency in being offended, in being a vi...There is currency in being offended, in being a victim. Likewise, there is currency in being the victim's rescuer, the guy who sets things right and demands that others change.<br /><br />These people abuse the goodwill that good people have in wanting to be courteous.Coram_Locinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69417507274201215372018-12-16T09:31:54.285-08:002018-12-16T09:31:54.285-08:00Our local Shakespearean summer festival has been r...Our local Shakespearean summer festival has been reduced to producing American musicals to bring in the US tourists. In an effort to address PC and diversity, they did a production of West Side Story where you couldn’t distinguish the Sharks from the Jets. There were actors from many racial groups on both ‘teams’ and the similar costumes didn’t help. My students couldn’t understand what the conflict was about.Pidgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27386908018959074972018-12-16T09:27:10.855-08:002018-12-16T09:27:10.855-08:00Pitch for a new show for Netflix, or Prime:
A gri...Pitch for a new show for Netflix, or Prime:<br /><br />A grizzly seasoned Hit Sitcom writer who doubles as a major league baseball announcer deals with the unreasonable demands, and the obnoxious self-centered personalities of the young numbskull executives and egomaniac superstars from both worlds.<br /><br />Perfect project for Ken Levine. Wish I had the authority and clout to green light it.<br /><br />Please, nobody be offended by this suggestion.SteveJayCanadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12904859263617551223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59210608393725105212018-12-16T07:31:52.912-08:002018-12-16T07:31:52.912-08:00I’ve not seen the show which is referenced in the ...I’ve not seen the show which is referenced in the blog, but the description seems cringe worthy on it’s face. In context, as part of a method acting event, it would seem that a pass might be given. Also, the notion that someone can stop an event and call out the situation seems beyond impolite. This is anecdotal. Are people trying to say that this is the norm? The fact that the person questioned this, and is at least getting some support for questioning, shows that it is worthy of discussing. I like that we need to talk about these things. One of my pet peeves is that there is so much “gun” vernacular in out every day language. “Jump the gun” “pull the trigger on that project.” These are everyday terms in corporate America. I find myself looking for different ways to express these things. It is rarely the senior citizens moving our progress forward (with the exception of Bernie, Chuck and Nancy)….young people are needed, and in fact charged with this task. Are young people looking to be offended? I think they are looking not to offend. Not to be intolerant. Not to be divisive. Not to subjugate others. It is certainly worthy and in fact necessary of more dialogue….maybe a Ken podcast. By the way, great Cheers references last night on SNL!!! Karan Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17199181878619065686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11902696871127928512018-12-16T07:26:12.902-08:002018-12-16T07:26:12.902-08:00Janet Ybarra: Having attended the funeral of a wid...Janet Ybarra: Having attended the funeral of a widely loved and admired math professor because of a drunk driver in 1972 means I think that particular change is welcome.<br /><br />This week in my Ken Levine's blog Reread I reached the November 2005 posting where he went to see "porn karaoke" and won a DVD starring Stormy Daniels (https://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2005/11/porn-star-karaoke.html). Ken, if you still have it, now you might be able to get good money for it on eBay.<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41304661592770633232018-12-16T07:11:59.710-08:002018-12-16T07:11:59.710-08:00Looking forward to Trump Trigger Warning in front ...Looking forward to Trump Trigger Warning in front of ALL media sources.....so I can turn those programs OFF!<br />Looking longingly forward to doing the PTSD (Post-Trump Snoopy-Dance). DrBOPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179469265158025584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40408114499720158812018-12-16T06:58:53.689-08:002018-12-16T06:58:53.689-08:00My take on this is that this perpetual state of ou...My take on this is that this perpetual state of outrage requires two components: The people who are looking for a reason to be offended, the subjects of the offense who, when they see the Twitterstorm of outrage, feel compelled to respond to it. Outrage is like any other currency; the more of it there is, the more devalued it becomes, and the less impact it has. It isn’t like the days when, if you were pissed off, you wrote a letter to the company/network/business that offended you. That sort of outrage had some value, because it took some effort to get the message to the person. Now? You can be pissed off 25 times a day, and all it takes to express that rage is two thumbs and a smart phone. Worse yet, people respond to Twitter rage; they apologize, they bow before the electronic pitchforks, they promise to become more “woke”. Project this type of response out into the future, and what’s the result? Is it going to be a society where everyone lets the Twitter mob dictate everything, or is it going to be a society where the constant droning of Twitter rage becomes white noise that everyone just tunes out? I hope there are researchers out there who are actually conducting studies on this phenomenon, and trying to figure out things like, does internet outrage actually affect our bottom line? Are all these people who are in a perpetual stage of hissy fit actually causing others to not buy our products? Did people actually stop watching our TV show because a group of Twitter users decided it was “problematic”? It may take another generation to actually figure it out, because a lot of the world’s movers and shakers grew up in a non-social media world, and they equate on line outrage with the sort of outrage that used to be expressed with phone calls and letter writing campaigns. A network gets 10,000 phone calls about an offensive program, and it’s DefCon 1, so 100,000 tweets must be ten times as bad, right? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe time is going to show that internet outrage is just the electronic equivalent of that cranky drunk at the bar who won’t shut his gob when the news is on; annoying, yet ultimately impotent. <br /><br />My biggest fear of this constant “you offended me” theme that drives Twitter, Tumblr, etc is the backlash that it creates. There are a lot of reasons we ended up with Trump, but from my own interaction with people who voted for him, one big reason is the he is the embodiment of the “I don’t give a fuck what you think” mentality. That reaction pleases an awful lot of people who have wearied of the endless “Twitter was outraged today over (fill in the blank).”Aaron Sheckleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76451193015126134272018-12-16T04:25:13.095-08:002018-12-16T04:25:13.095-08:00I don't think the THREE STOOGES would be able ...I don't think the THREE STOOGES would be able to be made in today's environment. They would be accused of corrupting kids into acting aggressively.<br /><br />Question on TV pilots. How comprehensive a series bible do you need to develop initially when making your pilot pitch, and how much is compiled as the series goes along? Also, do you need to have a logline of each episode for the entire first season at the pitch meeting, a synopsis of the first five seasons, so that network execs can where the characters and series will go?MikeKPa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82211644616655504742018-12-16T01:07:22.831-08:002018-12-16T01:07:22.831-08:00Well put -- and appropriately so with the much lar...Well put -- and appropriately so with the much larger typeface -- on your concluding words of: "It's comedy. It's supposed to be offensive. Laugh."<br /><br />I didn't know that Seinfeld and Rock were having to limit their college campus appearance because of members of the overly easily offended language police. It's time people start using calling the term "politically correct speech" for what it actually means: "Liberal-preferred speech."David G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13959859517530531842018-12-16T00:26:32.752-08:002018-12-16T00:26:32.752-08:00I’ve read your blog daily for 12 years. I have see...I’ve read your blog daily for 12 years. I have seen your plays, and I went to the blog’s anniversary party, so I am coming from a place of admiration, but I have a perspective to consider. Is it possible that you are being overly sensitive?<br />Take the story you wrote about of a radio station banning “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. I haven’t worked in radio, but is “ban” the right word? For every song a station plays, they don’t play thousands. They’re not banning those songs. A station controls what gets played on their platform. Instead of calling it a ban, can you see it as a station not wanting to give their air time to that song?<br />It’s still available. Recordings weren’t seized by the government. In the 70’s, radio stations had <a href="%E2%80%9Cwww.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/08/03/the-bee-gees-after-the-fever/0f9d95a1-e813-4199-a815-5c9f6e081a78/%E2%80%9C" rel="nofollow">Bee-Gee Free Weekends</a>. Was that banning the Bee-Gees?<br />Moving beyond that example, you have talked several times on this blog about being accused of racism, like last year’s post after people accused your Emmy review of racism. (Side note: You specifically mentioned that, as blog moderator, you had chosen not publish them. Was that banning them?) In that piece, you said, “[Comedy]’s meant to challenge… to prick pompous balloons… to point out hypocrisy.”<br />Is it possible the commenters see you as pompous or hypocritical and that they are pricking your balloon? To me, those comments are <i>you</i> being challenged, and your response is to tell people to lighten up.<br />You’ve said that reading these comments is difficult for you. Have you faced material harm? You are still able to speak freely. You have your blog. You write plays. Your episodes of television still air. Whatever money you continue to make from those remains in tact. You have a house, your health, your family. The only harm that has come to you is that you have read upsetting material. Why should you not take your own advice and lighten up?<br />Have you considered that the student in the scene you cited from THE KOMINSKY METHOD might be feeling something like what you felt reading those comments? How is asking people to stop voicing their opinions so that you can voice your own without fear of being challenged not hypocritical?<br />You say that trigger warnings on plays are an example of people being sheltered. But trigger warnings just let people know if they might have trouble with the content of a show so that they can choose not to watch. (By the way, if you’re at the theatre sitting next to a combat veteran with post-traumatic stress and flashbacks, do you want to be there when he sees a battle scene that he wasn’t expecting?) Yet, last month, writing about THE HONEYMOONERS, you said, “It is fair to say you personally are disturbed by watching such behavior, don’t find it funny, and would prefer watching something else.” What you described <i>is</i> a trigger warning, and you said it’s fair.<br />Perhaps you weren’t thinking of trigger warnings as related to disturbing content like domestic violence. Maybe you thought people use them to avoid perspecitves with which they disagree. After all, last year you bemoaned that, “People are way less willing to consider viewpoints that might not be 100% consistent with their own.” Sure, that’s a problem. Take it up with the person who in April wrote:<br />“If someone chooses not to watch a particular show it can be for whatever reason that person chooses… Am I OBLIGATED to watch a show starring a character spouting a political point of view I don’t agree with? …I can choose to skip it and don’t have to justify my decision… Must I watch in order to prove I’m an open-minded person? Sorry but NO.”<br />It seems you are OK with not considering another viewpoint but not with <i>other</i> people not considering <i>your</i> viewpoints.Erich617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90924263722332301242018-12-15T23:40:58.056-08:002018-12-15T23:40:58.056-08:00Ann,
I agree with Dave Barry. But it would be an...Ann,<br /><br />I agree with Dave Barry. But it would be an honor to share the stage with him sometime.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.com