Modified On August 13, 2012
Here’s the transcript of a radio report on a controversy created when Australian TV comedy sketch team “The Chasers” did a bit about “Make a Realistic Wish Foundation” that helps thousands of children “lower their extravagance and selfishness in the face of death.” Pretty funny, actually… unless you’ve got a kid that’s dying of cancer and you’re watching the show and that particular sketch comes on. Talk about bad timing!
Anyway, folks wrote all sorts of letters and complained to the TV network. And the sketch was cut out of subsequent re-airings (and out of the internet version of the show). Even Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has chimed in to condemn the actors.
One letter writer called for “Suspension of their contact for the year. Go away, get some perspective. Visit a third world country. Visit some hospitals.”
This is what sticks in our craw: Why do folks think that a comedian who makes a joke (an obviously sick one, as this is) is totally unaware of just how offensive the joke is? How moronic does one have to be to think that The Chasers are totally unaware of the misery of folks in the Third World? What kind of idiot thinks that such jokes are made from a lack of perspective?
It is perspective that draws the comedian toward the gag in the first place– he sees the suffering, he imagines the exact opposite reaction to said suffering and then he crafts a joke that will stir an outrageous reaction and, if all goes well, an uproarious laugh. And he does so knowing full well that, for some, the joke might just hit a little too close to home. (As was the case with the parents sitting at home watching with a cancer-ridden tot by their side.)
Of course, the letter writers have the right to write letters and demand an apology and demand a suspension.
But re-education is not what is called for here.
To call for visits to hospitals for a hiatus to gather &qout;perspective” is to demonstrate a lamentable failure to understand just how a black humorist operates and what motivates him.
Comic and writer Dave Bloustein says:
It’s difficult to tell someone they should stay away from any taboos in comedy, particularly subversive political comedy like The Chaser where ideally you want them to tackle golden cows of all shapes and sizes. I guess the problem is with political comedy in particular, you’ve always got to wonder who the target is and preferably you want it to be a powerful target that can be torn down. And I guess the question is, is if the target in this situation is sick children then they’re not necessarily a particularly empowered target.
Yes, but, this isn’t a case of political humor. It’s dark or “sick” or “black” comedy. Calling it political (and designating the dying kids as “targets”) misses the point of the gag. If there is any target, it’s Death. If there is any point, it is to be outrageous while finding just the smallest bit of humor in one of the most tragic of situations in existence. It is, quite literally, laughing in the face of death. A time-honored tradition.