When Does Comedy Cross the Line? Seth MacFarlane's Oscars

Connie Schultz - former Cleveland Plain Dealer Columnist writes on her Facebook:

How do you feel about Seth MacFarlane's behavior at the Oscars?

Writer Allison Wright weighs in. An excerpt: "There’s already been a lot of talk about Seth MacFarlane’s successes and failures as host of the 85th Annual Academy Awards. The Atlantic deemed his racist, sexist humor “banal.” The New Yorker called him out for misogyny, specifically when it comes to the workplace. Elissa Schappell called a spade a spade, writing in Salon: “On a night meant to honor and reward the best performances of the year, MacFarlane let the female Oscar nominees in on a secret: We don’t see the work you’re doing. We’re too busy staring at your tits.” Over at Vulture, Margaret Lyons told us “Why Seth MacFarlane’s Misogyny Matters.” Bitch has five changes the Oscars need to make before 2014.

"I live-tweeted the event, as I am wont to do, and I thought I was diplomatically ruthless, calling attention to disparity and sexism while also celebrating victories, however small. And yes, I did make fun of things like the disproportionate amount of attention paid to Chicago. At the end of the night, I was more upset about The Onion’s wildly out-of-line tweet about nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis than anything MacFarlane did or said.

"But then I logged on to Facebook today. Among the fashion recaps and reminders of the event’s overall unoriginality—jokes about how gay and Jewish the entertainment industry is? Really?—was a friend’s post suggesting those of us who were offended by the blatant misogyny, homophobia, racism, sexism, and other –isms should get over it because MacFarlane is known for this type of humor. We should all just lighten up. I responded that I wasn’t buying it; it’s not okay to be inappropriate and misogynist just because that’s what you’re known for. (Is it ever okay?) So what if people expect you to conform to the lowest common denominator? Surprise us. Rise above. Exceed expectations."

Thanks, Jennifer Mendelsohn, for sending this link.