Political correctness

[MonkeyFunk]

Just read the two reviews for Extreme Ghostbusters, both of which praised the series for having a main character in a wheelchair. This is an interesting contrast with one of the first animation boards I visited (I've since left), where the members bashed the series for precisely the same reason, nicknaming it "PC Ghostbusters". The apparent implication being that no cartoon should ever star a guy in a wheelchair. Because, y'know, that would be too politically correct.

Am I the only one who gets the impression that a lot of all the fuss about cartoons being too politically correct is kind of silly? I mean, this is one case where I definitely agree with the so-called "PC police" over the PC-bashers.

[starlac]

I don't think that EG was going for PC issues, though certainly it could have caused some.

I think today, the PC police usually would be bashing cartoons like EG, for actually having a disabled person on the show at all. After all, it might offend someone with disabilities; such is their so-called collective 'mind'.

For me it is more of a case of there being a positive role-model for people with disabilities to aspire to. There is a distinct lack of strong disabled characters in cartoons and when they are included they generally aren't someone I could readily identify with; mostly due to bad stereotyping.

In his review for "John Callahan's Quads" lupercal talks about the fact that the show's creator is wheelchair bound, so can get away with his jokes more readily than someone who has never known what that kind of life is like. Dark humour is more biting and acceptable when it comes from someone with strong ties to what s/he is ridiculing.

I draw the line with Political Correctness’s editing/censoring of theatrical shorts because they were made with stereotyping: if only because it's like sweeping the mess under the proverbial carpet. And the censoring of cartoon violence where real pain isn’t an issue. When was the last time an anvil fell on a character? as far as I can recall it was back in Animaniac’s/Tiny Toon’s day. It was funny in those shows ‘cause it falls under the same line of slapstick humour.

In fact while I'm against poorly thought out stereotyping as a whole; I can safely say that, AFAIC, Political Correctness can generally get stuffed.

[MonkeyFunk]

I still maintain that political correctness is, today at least, kind of an urban myth. I can think of a few cases where reports of the "PC police" have turned out to be false.

A while back there were reports of schools replacing "baa baa black sheep" with "baa baa green sheep" to avoid offending black people. But apparently some journalists on the radio recently came foreward and admitted that they made it up. There were some teachers who started using green sheep, but only because they'd heard the fake reports and wanted to avoid criticism.

A couple of months back a school removed hot cross buns from the menu; some journalists figured that this was to avoid offending non-Christians and labelled it political correctness gone mad but, as it turned out, the person responsible was just a traditionalist who thought that hot cross buns shouldn't be on sale so long before Good Friday.

And then there was the fuss over the "war on Christmas" over in America last year, which was similarly dubious...

[starlac]

I remember those first two incidents, they struck me as going a bit too far atthe time.

Then again, all it takes is a few pebbles to start an avalanche.