Flame Damnation

Warrior Flame Pit => High Voltage Flame Forum => Topic started by: caskur™ on June 05, 2009, 03:15:51 pm



Title: Black Comedy - ABC Bans "Chasers"
Post by: caskur™ on June 05, 2009, 03:15:51 pm
In Australia this week a controversy about a comedy section in a popular ABC government run station show has been hotly debated. The subject was winding up viewers using cancer kids, their hospital stays and related charity organizations like the Make a Wish Foundation charity. I didn't see the show and yes, saw the highlights on news shows. I think it was off but then so are plenty of other comedy subjects that prevail and considered "off"....are we becoming too sensitive?....I say YES, we are....the only line that I cannot stand being cross is winding up victims of paedophiles....that is the line I personally draw....everything else is fair game though imho...when comedy involves kids, for some reason people think they are a protected species and I say, no way....laugh at the world, what other choice do we have?

Quote
ABC suspends Chaser for two weeks after dying kids skit

Caroline Overington
June 06, 2009

THE ABC last night suspended for two weeks the satirical comedy The Chaser, following outrage over a skit that made fun of the last wishes of dying children.

ABC managing director Mark Scott said The Chaser's War on Everything would resume screening on June 24.

The decision, made with ABC director of television Kim Dalton, followed the Making A Realistic Wish Foundation skit that went to air on Wednesday night.

[...]

The Chaser team later released a statement saying they were disappointed with the ABC's decision to take the show off the air.

"We were keen to keep making the show, so we're disappointed by the decision and we don't agree with it, but that aside, we'd like to apologise," it said.

"The piece was a very black sketch, obviously too black, and we're really sorry for the significant pain and anger we have caused."

FULL STORY: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25594839-16947,00.html

here is the said controversial stint

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgoQTeuAEc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz6T83PoFk4


Title: Re: Black Comedy - ABC Bans "Chasers"
Post by: Bored Housewife on June 11, 2009, 12:13:00 pm
Would you honestly show this program Chasers amongst your friends, family and colleagues and proport it to be quality Australian media?

Would you sit around and have a good laugh at the expense of the hundreds of terminally ill children in our hospitals?

You support this program, so you obviously would.

This incident is disgraceful and for the first time in nearly 15 years, I can honestly say I am ashamed of an Australian institution I have come to love.

This is not the first Chaser incident that has disturbed me, but the first one that has moved me to implore you to remove this show from your programming.

The weak-kneed and wishy-washy apology you offer to your supporters is not enough and you will no doubt find that out at ratings time.


I used to think the Chaser show was clever, but I now think they have lost the plot.

To do a skit about terminally ill children is not clever. What happened to paying out politicians? Isn't that what the show was originally about?

The whole show now lacks imagination. The fellas on it are all the same - probably never had a family member with breast cancer or a child with a serious illness. I think they are out of touch with real world.

It's too blokey, it needs a woman on the show. I probably won't watch again.


Title: Re: Black Comedy - ABC Bans "Chasers"
Post by: caskur™ on June 11, 2009, 01:19:30 pm
Well I am Australian and even though I wouldn’t laugh at it, it did send up organizations that ask for money and use their kids as their tools. Black comedy is a great tool for irony. The movie “War of the Roses” was brilliant….many men found that really disturbing. They believe she should have forgiven him and taken him back and they are completely oblivious to why she was pissed off with him and wanted a divorce….dohhh..

On another group, I was asked what type of artistic merit did I think it portrayed since I remarked it was black comedy and hence “art”. The fact is, there are many who would say, “why give them money, they’re going to die anyway”…I wouldn’t say it, I wouldn’t even think it….but I have heard people say things like that….I didn’t get all stupid and ban them for it….I just thought, ‘you’re an ****,’ and left it at that….we don’t live in a wonderland world where everything is neat and tidy and pretty…we live on a planet with plenty of hard knocks and ugliness…I didn’t see it as sending up kids…I saw it as a send up of charities….”Red Nose Day” raising money for SIDS, is one such money rorting charity. Many, [but not all] of the babies are accidentally smothered by their own sleep deprived mothers falling asleep and rolling on the babies….it happens, it is tragic but instead of going through the public rigmarole of being dragged through the newspapers or questioned by police, it is hushed up and placed under the banner of Sudden Infant Death syndrome.

The very worst black comedy movie ever made has got to be the sick Aussie flick called “Bad Boy Bubby”….which if I had my way would be banned and the Scottish movie, “Trainspotting” about 20-40 minutes into it, I stepped up and turned it off and I never do that to movies, so for me to actually do that was very telling. If you ban movies though, everyone will want to see it….if you allow it to stay, word of mouth gets passed around about what a rotten movie it is and then it disappears into oblivion where it belongs because no one wants to watch it.