Loosen up, America

Today, many of us get haughty when we notice a potential offense or flaw in the entertainment and cultural sphere and then we fight against such “injustice.” As an opinion columnist, I would say I am pretty well-versed in this process.

We love to (and are taught to) instinctively see a television series promoting an anti-gay agenda or a film portraying the black culture in a highly negative fashion. So, we point this out and feel brave climbing on top of the high horse.

Culture and entertainment should be challenged. If we see something wrong, critiquing it is not inherently wrong at all, but there is also a bravery associated with being able to take entertainment for its face value and laughing at things that may be frightening.

This is especially true for comedy — one of the most abundant sources of conflict within the entertainment industry.

Too often we look at something that is intended to make us laugh as a broad generalization of a group or as possessing some other regressive quality. But comedy has a purpose.

It might point out this generalization as a call for change because it is so ridiculous. Other times, it might simply function as a way to honor someone else and to poke fun at his or her traits.

Recognizing this, putting it behind you and laughing along with others requires, perhaps, a greater strength than challenging what is being said.

To anchor this in the current, Billy Crystal’s Oscar opening has caused quite an uproar around this very topic. His impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. during the “Midnight in Paris” spoof caused the Twitterverse to explode with outrage in only moments. Viewers were furious at Crystal’s choice to perform in blackface and claimed it was a backward and hateful choice.

However, instead of giving in to this interpretation, Tracey Davis (daughter of the former Rat Pack star) has come out saying: “I am 100 percent sure that my father is smiling.”

It takes much more bravery to see the comedy in this joke and meet it head-on than it does to criticize its delivery. You must be confident in your abilities and personality to laugh at yourself and your legendary father.

In a more personal example, a close friend and I were talking in a gender and the media class about her peer presentations lambasting the creators of “Modern Family” for showing a stereotypical view of the gay family.

The content, however, in that series is inherently funny and not intended to promote any marginalization of minority groups.

Once again, there is more moral merit in recognizing the stereotypes as something that does not apply to the group as a whole and laughing about it. There needs to be a point where we realize everything does not need to be analyzed.

Sometimes it is better to simply laugh at the intended joke.

Loosen up, America. It might do you some good.

­— sjowstow@indiana.edu