Loneliness as Comedy

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Xpendable

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Have anyone noticed how the media likes to portrait loneliness?
90% of the time is used for comedy. I never understood from where we got the habit of base lonely people and why is so prevalent and accepted. They especially make fun of male loneliness. The Loser or the outcast are always a punching bag for tv shows in general.







First 0:15 seconds




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6REm7BGWrA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll_b3haA1xs
 
It doesn't surprise me that the loser or outcast is portrayed as a punching bag. The lone person away from the herd is often a prime target for abusers, bullies and just general nastiness. It's not right, of course, but it happens a lot. The only way to stop it, in my opinion, is to be a good example.
As I get older, I try to make sure I'm aware of this. Even though I prefer to keep to myself, new people at work might get an extra smile or "good morning" from me so they don't feel like outsiders.

Edit to add: I'm a huge fan of The Onion and to me they are the best satire out there. The video story about the man's friends who don't understand why he's not depressed seems to be mocking his dumb friends instead of the other way around. As with all satire, it must be taken with a grain of salt but I 100% agree that lonely people are often unfairly made the butt of jokes.

-Teresa
 
SofiasMami said:
I'm a huge fan of The Onion and to me they are the best satire out there. The video story about the man's friends who don't understand why he's not depressed seems to be mocking his dumb friends instead of the other way around.

It may be making fun of both. After all, the reasons they give for why he should be depressed are what most real life people would say.
 
Xpendable said:
SofiasMami said:
I'm a huge fan of The Onion and to me they are the best satire out there. The video story about the man's friends who don't understand why he's not depressed seems to be mocking his dumb friends instead of the other way around.

It may be making fun of both. After all, the reasons they give for why he should be depressed are what most real life people would say.

That makes it true satire.

Slightly off-topic but I follow The Onion on Facebook (especially since Jon Stewart quit The Daily Show :( )and they post ridiculous headlines all the time. There are always comments under their articles by people who don't realize it's satire and get really pissed off. They even fooled the Chinese government a few years ago:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/world/asia/north-korea-china-onion/

But to your original point - outright mockery and abuse of lonely people is wrong in my opinion.

-Teresa
 
Well, our subspecies has turned its back on land and is crawling back into the primordial ocean. The worship of the animal side of being human escalates steadily and will reach its peak in about 200 years when our (neighbors') descendants become totally mindless, like gerbils. And forming groups is not only an animal thing, but a primordial thing that's 3.46 billion years old. In fact, it could be even older, as the sun formed when some dispersed gas coalesced. So people who mock not only the lonely but those who keep to themselves are just following with the general trend of worshipping the animal in "man."
 
mickey said:
Well, our subspecies has turned its back on land and is crawling back into the primordial ocean. The worship of the animal side of being human escalates steadily and will reach its peak in about 200 years when our (neighbors') descendants become totally mindless, like gerbils. And forming groups is not only an animal thing, but a primordial thing that's 3.46 billion years old. In fact, it could be even older, as the sun formed when some dispersed gas coalesced. So people who mock not only the lonely but those who keep to themselves are just following with the general trend of worshipping the animal in "man."

That sounds very Spencerian. It raises again the issue of the collective behavior vs the "everyone is different" contrast.
 
Xpendable said:
mickey said:
Well, our subspecies has turned its back on land and is crawling back into the primordial ocean. The worship of the animal side of being human escalates steadily and will reach its peak in about 200 years when our (neighbors') descendants become totally mindless, like gerbils. And forming groups is not only an animal thing, but a primordial thing that's 3.46 billion years old. In fact, it could be even older, as the sun formed when some dispersed gas coalesced. So people who mock not only the lonely but those who keep to themselves are just following with the general trend of worshipping the animal in "man."

That sounds very Spencerian. It raises again the issue of the collective behavior vs the "everyone is different" contrast.

In the social sciences I'm very poorly read, so thanks for the reference. :)
 
mickey said:
Xpendable said:
mickey said:
Well, our subspecies has turned its back on land and is crawling back into the primordial ocean. The worship of the animal side of being human escalates steadily and will reach its peak in about 200 years when our (neighbors') descendants become totally mindless, like gerbils. And forming groups is not only an animal thing, but a primordial thing that's 3.46 billion years old. In fact, it could be even older, as the sun formed when some dispersed gas coalesced. So people who mock not only the lonely but those who keep to themselves are just following with the general trend of worshipping the animal in "man."

That sounds very Spencerian. It raises again the issue of the collective behavior vs the "everyone is different" contrast.

In the social sciences I'm very poorly read, so thanks for the reference. :)

Look for Herbert Spencer. He was a philosopher.
 

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