Rank a Bender of Air..

[Thrifty]

I loved the lines directed against the guy from The Daily Show.

"Sir, the rest of the cast of The Daily Show is laughing at you for this."
"What, even John Oliver?  He was in The Love Guru!"

[Lemming Howard]

It was my stinger. The scream, the pebble... it's sublime.

All that just for one tiny rock? I would have expected the ground to have opened up underneath the Fire Nation soldiers or something more impressive.

And it wasn't moving that fast either.  Or maybe they were just warming up.  Don't want to pull any muscles.


I'm happy to say I used most of that "Bender" fight scene as part of the Quiptrax background video to go with the 2 minute intro.  Just waiting now for Piobman's Cover for the RT and QT DVD Combo.

[TTYT]

Just did some CTRL+F'ing.  The word "gay" is in the script twice.  May have been some selective memories.

Well, there were the few times where the British slang definition of "bender" was brought up. I'm assuming you guys didn't know this, but if I recall right, calling a gay person that in the UK is the equivalent of us Americans calling a gay person the word that rhymes with 'maggot' - so that may have upset some people who knew that. Granted, I didn't even know about that slang definition until I looked it up after watching with the riff - but I'd advise against such usage in the future.

[Edward J Grug III]

Also, you know, if you released a Rifftrax that had "only" two questionable, racist jokes - people might take issue with that too.

Not saying these specific jokes are offensive - I haven't heard them - but certainly in the past they have been questionable, and I know I and my wife are getting pretty sick of it, and I doubt we're the only ones. (supported by the fact that a couple of other people brought it up first)

[Conor]

If you or anyone would care to share with me specific things that have upset you in the past, I'd like to hear them.  Feel free to PM me.

[Edward J Grug III]

Unfortunately, I can't remember even my favourite lines from a Rifftrax right after I've watched it.

The stuff Asbestos Bill said on the previous page are exactly the kinds of things I mean though.

For example, just saying someone who is gay is gay is not a joke.

Is it funny to be gay?

[Conor]

I'm not really interested in arguing about whether something is funny or ok to joke about.  I am interested in knowing what has got people worked up so I can understand where they are coming from.  I would agree that "saying someone who is gay is gay is not a joke", but I am curious what this is referring to.  The comment you reference did not identify anything specific either.

I also don't expect you to remember anything specific, I certainly don't.  I hope that you can understand how it would be more helpful for me to know what has gotten you upset, rather than just some rather bold, general statements.

If you're interested in discussing, PM me or start another thread, there's no reason to have this discussion here.

[eegah]

I personally didn't remember the gay jokes in this, but I was recently wondering if the occasional gay jokes in Rifftrax, MST3K, etc. will date the shows in the way that jokes about women and minorities have done with other older stuff. It's obviously not done in a mean-spirited way, but these days people are becoming more aware of the hell that young homosexuals go through and it still might be considered offensive.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

I really don't think the "so gay" or "fabulous" type jokes are against gay people, I see them more in the same light as calling a guy girlish or a girl mannish, (think of the girly scream by the hunky guy in Space Mutiny) are those digs at the opposite gender?  Part of comedy is making fun of people sometimes, although a lot of these "pointing out traits" jokes are usually just filler.  I just watched Eragon and there were a lot of jokes about the sparkly armor, are those considered gay jokes?

[eegah]

I really don't think the "so gay" or "fabulous" type jokes are against gay people, I see them more in the same light as calling a guy girlish or a girl mannish, (think of the girly scream by the hunky guy in Space Mutiny) are those digs at the opposite gender?  Part of comedy is making fun of people sometimes, although a lot of these "pointing out traits" jokes are usually just filler.  I just watched Eragon and there were a lot of jokes about the sparkly armor, are those considered gay jokes?

I think those types of jokes are probably ok. Unfortunately, I can't remember the specific jokes that made me cringe a little recently.

"Knowing" the riffers (from seeing almost their whole body of work), I know they don't mean anything negative by it. But someone watching for the first time may get a different impression and be turned off by it.

[CHF01]

Uhoh... if this keeps up there will be a new standard for Rifftrax MP3 downloads: one 'edited for content' and one without.

[Danecho1967]

I guess one of the riffs that got people upset was "I haven't seen this many flamers and benders since the Lady Gaga concert."

I found it humorous, but not the best line in the rifftrax.

Honestly, I hate the PC thing.  You know, some here may not be old enough to remember it, but there once was a time when people could actually laugh at themselves.  These days, people get more upset with people who offend other people than they do with people who kill other people.

Okay, maybe that's hyperbolic, but not by much.

[Thrifty]

Honestly, I hate the PC thing.  You know, some here may not be old enough to remember it, but there once was a time when people could actually laugh at themselves.  These days, people get more upset with people who offend other people than they do with people who kill other people.

Okay, maybe that's hyperbolic, but not by much.

It's tough to find that middle ground between being a trogolodyte and being a humorless weenie.  I think that the Rifftrax guys do it pretty well, and it's nice that Conor is here soliciting constructive feedback (in the form of specific instances) so they can work harder to stay out of trogolodytic territory.  But a good comedian has to be willing to take that risk.  I'm not saying they have to be racist or crude or ugly; just that they have to have enough guts to walk that line and take the risk that someone might find it funny.

I've been on forums where you would be chewed out if you used the word "crazy" to describe a concept that you found to be ridiculous (this was perceived as being insensitive to the mentally ill) or the word "retarded" to describe something you thought was stupid (this being insensitive to the mentally handicapped).  I told these people to grow a god damned spine and then left.

Also, This American Life used to do an annual show about chicken, which they called "Poultry Slam".  One year they brought on a woman who was furious at the show for its insensitive portrayal of chickens and turkeys.

[Conor]

Well yes, I'm not offering to change anything, and I'm not trying to convince people to "lighten up".  My response will probably just be "I'm sorry you feel that way."  If you were grossly offended by the line about the Lady Gaga concert (which I don't think anyone is claiming to be), then that is certainly my response.  But I agree with what thrifty said, there is a middle ground and I think we do a good job of being in the middle of it.  I even feel we put effort into remaining substantially cleaner than most other forms of entertainment that is intended for adults.

That is why the claims people making surprised me.  But I think if you are tossing around pretty weighty claims such as 'homophobic' we should at least know where you are coming from with them.

[Danecho1967]

For my part, I find the humor very balanced.  Take political references, for instance.  Sure, there's a Ron Paul reference in almost every rifftrax, but there is usually a little dig at someone on the left in there too.  In short, I think there is something for everyone.

I think that, when you consider that a joke comes every few seconds, it's pretty easy to just ignore the ones that you don't find funny, or even the ones you just dont get.  In about 2 seconds, another joke will come along that might have you falling out of your chair.

Furthermore, I think any accusations of homophobia against the guys are unfounded.  They find the humor in the situation and compose something funny to say about it.  That's my two cents on the subject.