It's 1346: the Black Plague, one of the worst pandemics recorded. A virus spreading from Asia to Europe, leaving death in its wake. Estimated to kill 75-200 million people, killing roughly 30%-40% of the population in Europe, with local percentages ranging from 20% in the North up to 85% in Mediterranean areas. Bodies of the deceased were rotting in the streets, families were lost and the stench of death lingered in the air. People were getting accustomed to seeing death all around them...







Cue 2003, Binky the fairy (the Fairly Odd Parents) is spinning on a wheel of fortune-like contraption for nearly a millennium because he unleashed the Black Plague upon Europe, thinking it to be a band.



Similar story in another episode of the Fairly Odd Parents: Cosmo, the local airhead, accidentally made Pompeii erupt as part of his fairy school assignment.

In history, it's been agreed upon that Pompeii's eruption was far from funny. Thousands died. Some by having volcanic debris fall on their head the size of fists, bashing their skull in, some trapped in lava (with a nicely preserves shape of a mother holding her child in agony), some incinerated alive by the hot air or others not being that lucky, instead inhaling the air, causing their lungs to be horribly burnt from the inside, causing an excruciating death. Far from a desirable way to go.

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So, it can be agreed upon that neither of these events were joyful or funny in any way. Yet today, they are used as comic foil in a kid's cartoon.


So, my philosophical question for the day: at what point does it become OK for common folk, and by extent various media, to make fun of historical disasters?
When can we expect a super villain called: The Magic Surfer to create tsunamis for him to ride on, intentionally causing the 2004 Christmas tsunami in Indonesia, killing 250,000.
When can we expect a cartoon character to pilot an airplane, and by his bumbling incompetence be the blame of 9/11 WTC attacks?
When can we expect gas bill jokes about Auschwitz in popular media?
In short: when is it socially okay to laugh at things that were previously considered amongst the most horrible things to happen to man?

Discuss.

quote Keebo

I saw titty nipples, you gun' get banned.

Thread Fragged

You represent everything that's wrong with Loungin' today.
Good job making an ass of yourself!

Good question UW. I honestly could not give a time frame on when something can be considered socially ok to laugh.

I suspect after a few generations, when people are removed enough from what happened.

If you can't laugh, what can you do?

I've kind of got a hypocritical opinion on things like this. In one hand I hate it when people get all serious about stuff; you can't change the past, you can't control the future, so stop worrying and live for today. People shouldn't be oversensitive about things.

In the other hand, I don't think it's acceptable to play on the misery of somebody else. For instance, if I knew somebody who had a family member die of AIDS or something, I wouldn't make jokes about it to them - however my friend's cat died of feline AIDS and I made jokes about that for months.

To be honest, it should always be fine to laugh at past events, horrible or not. I can't stand people who cannot tolerate a small bit of humor, just because it is supposedly "politically incorrect".

No one truly gets hurt by words. Some people just like to bitch about stuff just because they think that they're supposed to be offended by something, and so then they feel the need to stand up for themselves (or whomever/whatever it is). If you are truly so easily offended, then obviously you are the one who needs to adjust, not the rest of the world.

family guy is known for making fun of historical events and they win awards for them.

quote Unknown Warrior

When can we expect gas bill jokes about Auschwitz in popular media?

There's a racial stereotype joke involving Jews running the media in there somewhere.

Approxamately 0.030434329294293472301 seconds after the occurence.

quote Xabi

Dont know tbh

Stephen Gately Died the other week and people made jokes about it, Jade Goody Died and people made jokes about it as did Patrick Swayze

I know Jimmy Carr made one or two,

Spoiler: Jimmy Carr

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Statistically 9/11 Americans wont get this joke

You're comparing the deaths of a few actors to the deaths of thousands/millions of people struck by disaster or human malice?

quote TurMoiL911

quote Unknown Warrior

When can we expect gas bill jok

es about Auschwitz in popular media?

There's a racial stereotype joke involving Jews running the media in there somewhere.

quote Unrefined_Glory

family guy is known for making fun of historical events and they win awards for them.

Family Guy (and South Park, certain News Stations etc) doesn't count as they're meant to be provocative.

Think of it as this: When has a disaster lost enough of its provocativeness to be included in jokes that we could see on Nick Toons or Saturday morning cartoons?

I know, for a fact, that Auschwitz and 9/11 haven't.

quote Chris717

22.3 years before something tragic becomes funny.

God damn it you already said it.