I'm really not sure what I want to say here, but I really feel the need to express a different opinion, another angle to the prevailing attitude towards Jam and Brass Eye.
I would like to think that I am an intelligent, politically/media aware woman who appreciates comedy in many forms but also one who accepts that there are some jokes in life that I just don't get.
When Jam first appeared one of the most "controversial" sketches was the one about rape. <Husband: - "Honey, it didn't mean anything, I didn't make love to her, I raped her!"> Now, on a theoretical level I understood that they were trying to challenge people's attitudes to comedy and also society's attitudes to relationships, but I felt so disgusted and distressed by that sketch I had to leave the room (as did a number of other intelligent women I know). As a survivor of sexual abuse I'm really sorry to say that I can't think of one positive thing to say about that sketch. Just thinking about it now has me shaking, feeling nauseous and becoming quite teary.
Why I am even telling you this? I guess because I want to say that it is all very well to push boundaries and to challenge the status quo and most of the time I am completely up for that, but I guess I would like to put forward to idea that for some people these subjects aren't just an intellectual concept but have been a reality at some point in their lives. It is sometimes really hard, if not impossible to disassociate the pain and distress of the event from the "intellectual appreciation of a political point".
I realise that I am reacting <oh, yes and I am reacting> to just one issue/point out of the many that Jam and Brass Eye are attempting to make (and in fact I may well be missing their point entirely), but I think that this experience has unfortunately tainted my ability to appreciate any of the work that they do. I just don't get it! On occasion I have managed to raise a small smile at something particularly silly, but I'm sad to say, they've completely lost me.
As a disclaimer I just want to point out that I'm not having a go at anyone who enjoys the programs, I just wanted to point out that for some of us, what they have to say is not easy or even funny! It's great that so many of you enjoy the show, but I don't think the arguement for or against is as straight forward as people might want to believe. <Oh, and I'm not trying to score your sympathy either, just expressing an opinion>
Peace and Love
<I've nearly deleted all of the above several times and not posted it at all, please be gentle with me> |
