If there’s one word I would use to describe the Oscars, which clocked in at three hours and 35 minutes, it would be “long.” Maybe “boring” would be the second word, but just overall the show drags and that’s how it is every year. I’ve said many times that they need to put the awards for things like cinematography, visual effects, sound editing, and makeup into that other non-broadcast ceremony for technical awards (where they also moved the honorary Oscar award after a 98 year-old dude gave a three and a half minute speech in 2008). They need to tighten it up, get a single theme and stick to it, and get people in and out of there in two hours or less. That’s not going to happen, and apart from 2009, when Hugh Jackman killed it as a host in a kind of “nightclub” theme, the Oscars haven’t been very entertaining.
So this year they hired Seth MacFarlane, known for “Family Guy” and Ted. Of course he made some off color jokes that were edgy and that some would consider offensive. (Which unfortunately didn’t do much to save that bloated mess of a show. What was the theme: musicals meet modern entertainment? It didn’t go together.) Now watchdog groups are commenting on his performance, and many are offended by his jokes about women, people of color, gay people and Jewish people.
Jewish, women’s and family organizations on Monday publicly flung knives at Seth MacFarlane’s off-color Oscar show. Hollywood for the most part stayed true to form and aimed its cutlery at his back.
Post-Oscar Monday found the movie capital coming to grips with a 3-hour-35- minute ceremony that climbed in the ratings but at its best seemed to hide a great year for film behind a flurry of musical numbers, TV memories and Michelle Obama. At its worst, members of the Academy of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said, the ceremony trafficked in offensive humor.
“I think I’m a very liberal guy, but I actually winced,” said Lawrence Turman, an Academy member who is chairman of the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
He echoed criticism that a number of people in Hollywood voiced privately, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid complicating relations with the Academy and the show’s producers.
Mr. Turman, who described the producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, as longtime friends, referred specifically to a joke by Mr. MacFarlane about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Cathy Schulman, a producer who won a best picture Oscar in the past for “Crash” and is the president of the industry group Women in Film, took aim at a song-and-dance routine about female nudity in film. “Among the women I’ve talked to today I would say I haven’t heard from any who thought it was in good taste,” said Ms. Schulman. She expressed particular chagrin that the dance number poked fun at nudity, which is generally a difficult issue for actresses, in connection with performances that were often “wrenching and moving in many ways…”
But the post-mortems here included unease over gay jokes that began with an appearance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, and frank dismay at some of the riskier humor, particularly bits that turned on gags about women and Jews.
“It is offensive, even though comedians have great latitude,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, speaking of a skit in which Mr. MacFarlane, in character as the trash-talking teddy bear from his movie “Ted,” counseled Mark Wahlberg that it’s best to become Jewish and donate to Israel if you want to work in Hollywood. Rabbi Hier, an Academy member and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center here, was seconding an opinion offered earlier in a statement by Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Speaking by telephone Mr. Foxman said he was particularly troubled by the “duration and intensity” of a skit that was likely, in his opinion, to be seen as reinforcing anti-Jewish stereotypes among Oscar viewers around the world.
“It wasn’t funny,” Mr. Foxman said. “It was ugly…”
Julie Burton, president of the Women’s Media Center, an organization that recently released a report on the shortage of female movie directors, said “The sexist tone throughout the show indicates a critical need for the Academy to expand its talent pool of female writers, producers and directors.” Ms. Burton added that instead of celebrating film, “the whole world saw them honoring men and mocking women.”
The Parents Television Council, a group that has been a continued critic of Mr. MacFarlane’s animated “Family Guy” series, was also harshly critical.
“The Academy Awards broadcast contained sexist, misogynistic and sexually exploitative content,” Tim Winter, the president of Parents Television Council, said in a statement. “Clearly, families are no longer a welcome part of the audience.”
Asked whether they regretted having included the number, Mr. Zadan and Mr. Meron, in a telephone interview on Monday, both answered, “No.” Mr. Zadan pointed to the show’s strong ratings, and said, “You hire Seth MacFarlane, you want something to be cutting edge and irreverent.”
Hawk Koch, the president of the Academy, did not respond for requests for comment. An Academy spokeswoman defended Mr. MacFarlane and the show’s producers in a statement.
“If the Oscars are about anything, they’re about creative freedom,” the statement said. “We think the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane, did a great job, and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining.”
Did Mr. MacFarlane want to say anything about how he thought it went?
“Nope,” his publicist, Joy Fehily, wrote in an e-mail.
I wasn’t offended at the jokes about women, but I run a gossip blog for a living. I did get a little uncomfortable by how long that Jewish bit went on, with the CGI Ted and Mark Wahlberg. They could have just dropped a one liner or two but they went pretty far with it. The thing is, this is Seth MacFarlane. Have people even seen one episode of Family Guy? He’s known for being really offensive, that’s his thing, and in his mind he probably toned these jokes way down for the Oscars.
Again, to me the real probably was how long and boring this was. It was also inconsistent. There was a tribute to musicals which was cool but didn’t go with the superlong tribute to Bond clip montage. (Credit for Kaiser for reminding me of that.) There were some really clever presentations in which the celebrities had some faux banter, but that only happened in about the first quarter of the show and it gave way to straight presentations for the duration. (I actually thought at first that Kristen Stewart was playing a character when she presented with Daniel Radcliffe.)
Maybe the issue is that the Oscars tried to appeal to the younger generation by having MacFarlane host and tell kind of risque jokes – for the Oscars. If you listen to any other current comedian that stuff wasn’t that out there. Then they tried to appeal to the more conservative folks with song and dance numbers. None of it went together and apart from some rare bright moments (JGL and Daniel Radcliffe dancing for one) it wasn’t particularly entertaining. This is nothing new and is how the Oscars always go. Except this year they offended people.
In the end it might not matter, the ratings for The Oscars this year were really high, and it was the most-watched “entertainment telecast” in three years. It beat out The Golden Globes and The Grammys this year, and earned ratings that put it in the top 20 Oscars of all time. So MacFarlance could be asked back.
Photo credit: WENN and Fame
I guess I’m alone in thinking it was pretty funny? But I watch Family Guy and American Dad and generally laugh at really inappropriate things, so I’m definitely the minority here. I enjoyed Seth as a host. The Oscars are always boring in general though, because yup- they’re way too long and there’s way too many awards for things I don’t particularly care about.
By the way, how gross was it that almost all of the technical award winners were old white guys with extremely long, unkempt hair?
I thought it was hilarious.
The Oscars celebrate films, if you want to watch a show about actors, watch the SAG.
The show was not funny, it was offensive. He went too far.
But the people who hired him must have known that going in. They were clearly looking for something edgier when they hired him. It’s not Seth’s fault for doing his job the same way he does his job every other day- in fact it was pretty cleaned up. They wanted some shock factor. If they wanted the show to be a classier event, they should have hired someone different.
I’m with you. I thought it was pretty funny, but I was a bit intoxicated. This was pretty toned done for him, though. I laugh at inappropriate stuff too, even when I’m sober. It’s a bit embarrassing when it happens in real life though, because I can’t hold back laughter. It’s a problem sometimes.
Seth did a good job I liked the jokes. People who found him offensive needs to get over themselves. It’s called jokes people. Americans are way to sensitive about this type of humor. I think people just have to have something to complain about. Jeez people step into the present; it’s not 1965
You know, it’s really problematic that women who don’t want to see themselves constantly degraded and objectified in media are constantly told to just “get over it”. Or accused of not having a sense of humor.
That’s called derailment. Being edgy is fine. But it is a problem that the crutch for so many white male comedians is to degrade women as part of their comedy.
…but what if the comedian degrades EVERYONE, should women be immune to that because of their gender?
I get really agitated when my feminist stance gets called to question because I don’t think that everything is symptomatic of sexism. Am I just not “feminist” enough for the feminist movement because I don’t perceive jokes about women to be inherently misogynistic? Not that they CAN’T be, but I think it undermines the true definition of misogyny-the impact and the detrimental effect that it can have-when we start accusing people of misogyny based on a subjective interpretation of a comedy routine.
There are so many women getting abused, raped, beaten and murdered in this world every day. I think we should be addressing the real problems first and foremost.
Stuff like this is really just a distraction.
Oh my gosh OriginalKitten–I am in love with your comment. You have perfectly stated what I’ve been feeling since the broadcast. Well said! 🙂
But, Kit, the casual misogyny leads to the worse abuses, or at the very least allows us to take abuse claims less seriously because we take women less seriously.
Original Kitten, I think I’m in love with you. You always have the most amazing and intelligent comments! They should have a reply button that just says “what OK said”.
@OrigKitten
I don’t see the point in seeing his tame jokes in relation to the worse abuses out there. I wish we could focus on the matter at hand, that Seth’s jokes are simply a bit nauseating. Although you don’t discriminate, that is as you say, when he degrades EVERYONE doesn’t make it humorous or less unacceptable. I like cheeky jokes myself, but his jokes just expresses a condescending and stereotypical view of the ones he referres to. One example is his joke about the actresses who have the “flu” just paints the image of women being pathetic dieters.
If we must look at it relatively to the misogyny you mention, I think it only reflects how easy society is on those who are condescending to women which may set the tone on what’s acceptable for how women are perceived and treated.
Hey thanks guys!
@Chordy & unoriginalmarie-It’s not about citing greater atrocities in the name of feminism, it’s about context, perspective and focusing on what is REALLY damaging to women. In addition to this, we need to collectively agree that what is or what is not perceived as “offensive” is entirely subjective. If we don’t agree on that fundamental principle, then we shouldn’t bother discussing it. “Offensive” is almost always a perception-based notion.
Listen– historically, comedy is an art form that isn’t known for making political correctness a priority-it’s at the core of the comedic tradition-anything for a laugh. Like other forms of performance art, a comedian is very directly and immediately rewarded for a successful act. If it’s good, people laugh and clap. If it sucks, you can hear crickets chirping, or worse, booing and heckling. So it’s in the best interest of the comedian to be FUNNY first and foremost— courteousness and respect might have to be sacrificed in order to get the response they want. That being said, I think there are always limitations to this. I think jokes about boobs are pretty harmless whereas jokes about rape could be damaging. Again–it’s all context but at the end of the day, it’s still entirely subjective. What offends you may not offend me. If you want to talk about sexism in comedy, I’m personally more offended by the fact that the industry doesn’t hire more funny female writers and as a whole, doesn’t seem to perceive women as that funny at all. To me, the boob jokes are pretty harmless. Men have been making immature jokes about the female anatomy since the beginning of time and are unlikely to stop anytime soon.
When discussing sexism in entertainment, why doesn’t anyone bring up romantic comedies?
They consistently reinforce female stereotypes and play to the lowest common denominator. They all too often represent women as desperate, clinging and entirely lacking in common sense. Yet women eat this shit up like it’s chocolate cake and never seem to question it.
At the end of the day, I have a lot of female friends that love rom coms-they don’t see anything offensive about them and their perception doesn’t invalidate my feelings nor does it mean that they’re not feminists because they like movies starring Kate Hudson. It’s all entertainment and I understand the impact of pop culture within the societal structure-but as women, we only empower these forms of entertainment and give them more of an impact on the feminist viewpoint by throwing the misogyny card out at every turn.
EDIT: Gold star for anyone patient enough to have read that. Believe it or not, I was trying to be brief :/
@Kit – Well written! I always like your thoughtful replies. I get what you’re saying, but also, the question presented was “was the oscars telecast sexist/misogynist?” and the answer is YES! Now, it’s just one teensy moment in a loooooong history of sexism in the world that gets far worse than Seth McFarlane’s boobs and anorexia jokes, but I do think it’s fair to have the conversation when it’s brought up and analyse where the sexism is and how it works. It also makes humor better, because then we can move beyond tropes and have some real fun!
When did McFarlane make fun of straight white males during the Oscars? I only caught the shots at women, gays, Jews, and other minorities.
I should preface my comment with the admission that I generally don’t like Seth McFarlane’s sense of humour. Also, I really appreciate OriginalKitten’s posts here and almost entirely agree with them.
My issue though is mostly with the argument that he poked fun at everyone so it’s ok. I saw plenty of jokes about women, gays, minorities, etc but I can’t think of any jokes at the direct expense of straight white men. I will say that I didn’t find all of those jokes unfunny, but I think there is a problem when someone from a position of power in society is continually picking on those who don’t have access to that same power. Not to mention, joking about an orgy in Nicholson’s basement seems particularly tasteless to me in light of the related history…
To play devil’s advocate to my own post though, I didn’t really have a problem with the boobs song (I think the taped reactions are what made it funny though, not Seth) and I have actually read that he has one of the most diverse writer’s rooms in television (for example, Nahnatchka Kahn, the creator of the sadly cancelled Apt. 23 is a former writer for American Dad as well as an out lesbian of Indian-descent).
I guess Seth confuses me. He seems like a decent guy in reality, but his humour always seems immature and repetitive to me in a frat-house way. In any case, I think Amy and Tina are a great example of how comedy can poke fun at people and be extremely funny without being offensive.
And now I’ve written a novel. Sorry guys!
It’s called jokes?
Well, jokes are supposed to be funny. He was boring.
@unoriginalmarie
How many times have we, on this website and other places, called out “bitch please!” when some actress claims that she doesn’t diet or exercise in order to maintain her figure? Seth wasn’t talking about all women, he was talking about the Hollywood women in that room with him who would probably do anything to avoid how they *really* fit into those tight little dresses.
You see a lot of old, long haired white dudes at the Oscars because a lot of the high end techies in the industry are old hippies. I see it with my father in law and his fellow cinematographers/practical fx crew types all the time. Bonus…they always have the best pot.
I thought it was funny and enjoyable. I think he did a great job. He is who he is, and we got some off-color stuff. But I laughed all the way through the boob song. It wasn’t about making fun of women or their work, it was just humorizing (that’s not a word, is it) nudity in film. I don’t think an awesome lady like Charlize Theron would agree to pre-tape her bit if she thought it was sexist.
People are also really stretching to say he made fun of eating disorders or domestic violence. To me, those people sound absolutely ridiculous.
I thought the best parts of the show were the “inappropriate” parts. Come on people…lighten up.
I thought Seth was funny and did a great job. I’m a woman and wasn’t offended by anything in the show. I just wish there had been more sock puppets!
I liked it. I feel Seth MacFarlane is always very tongue in cheek. The song about nudity didn’t offend me. We did see their boobs. And mostly because that’s a good way to get an Oscar (or be attractive and ugly it up for a role). He isn’t seriously just like ‘yay we saw boobs!’ I think its more intelligent than that, cloaked as something trite and easily digestible. A lot of his humor is his disdain for our cultural stereotypes and social commentary.
The boob song, to me anyway, seemed to mock men for being one-track minded more than it did women. Our boobs are awesome and men can’t help but be obsessed with them. That being said, I don’t really find Seth funny, which is odd because puerile humor and blasphemy are among my favorite forms of comedy.
I thought the boob song was funny and the best bit of the night (aside from Daniel and JGL dancing). I do however don’t think it was appropriate for this night though. It would have been great at a less formal occasion. The Oscars, to me, are supposed to be entertaining, but done tastefully. Seth isn’t tasteful so I knew the Oscars wouldn’t be this year, and they weren’t.
I thought he was funny. People really need to lighten up.
Adding to my previous comment, all of us who read/comment on gossip probably aren’t in a great position to comment about Seth being offensive.Here we are reading stories about people’s lives about which we really know nothing and picking them apart. Seth is a comedian! He writes for The Family Guy! Hello?! You have to know what you’re getting into with that. We don’t get to draw our own personal boundary lines about what is “too far”. So hypocritical.
+1
I thought it was hilarious too. Me and a few girlfriends were laughing our arses off.
Really great to hear him publicly call out Fist Brown too.
I thought it was very funny. I hate sexist jokes but I think most of his jokes about women were actually making fun of men through women. It was typical of his humor. I actually find Family Guy much more sexist than anything else he does. He makes fun of women quite a bit on there and it’s always about their looks, weight, domestic responsibilities. That’s why I prefer to watch American Dad because he’s not as involved in it and it is a MUCH superior show.
Per your comment about Seth making jokes about men through women, I thought that the joke about 9 year old Quvenzhane Wallis being too young for Clooney in 16 years was a diss against Clooney and his normal dating practices rather than a knock against Wallis. Also I love Seth for mocking Harvey Weinstein and his penchant for young actresses. (We’ve all heard the rumors that getting in good with Harvey often means spending some casting couch time with Harvey or wearing those crap-ass dresses that his 30 years his junior wife designs, am I right?) My favorite joke of the night was about Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda being around since the 70s and how they’d remember that the site of the theatre used to be “cocaine trees as far as the eye could see.” I bet Jack Nicholson was cackling about that in the front row.
I’m with you, I watch Family Guy and American Dad too and think it’s funny and hugely inappropriate. This is what Seth McFarlane is known for and to me he toned it down. It is misogynist, it is sexist but again we are talking about Seth Mcfarlane
In my opinion, the “We Saw Your Boobs” thing was kind of funny and not that big a deal. I don’t think showing your boobs in a movie is inherently degrading because I don’t find nudity degrading. Was the joke immature and sophomoric? Yes. But I don’t find it woman hating necessarily.
However, the bit about Jessica Chastain’s character in ZDT was really stupid. “Like all women, she just can’t let anything go”? Really? Not only is it insulting to women, but also, the thing she wasn’t letting go was 9-FUCKING-11. But I guess since it was a woman who tracked down Bin Laden in the movie we should just forgive and forget about this horrible national tragedy which killed hundreds and led to our country getting into a seemingly un-endable and crippling war. That was tasteless.
Also, so was the Abe Lincoln joke.
I agree with everything, but the Abe Lincoln joke. I groaned at it because I knew I shouldn’t laugh, but it was a little funny. I could see why people wouldn’t like it though. I just think his humor was too much for this type of event.
I agree,the Oscars haven’t been what they were for a long time but this year was by far the best one in 3,4 years? Nothing can be worse than that Anne/James disaster….
Seth was funny,and if u compare it to his usual stuff – polite,also the thing I liked the most was that even when his jokes didn’t go well he managed in his role and made it work….so I give him an A+ 🙂
I’m more offended that no one ever says anything about Seth Mcfarlane’s face. The guy is super vain as evidenced by the amount of work that has been done to his face. He must have his plastic surgeon/ dermatologist on speed dial.
He still has the douchiest face in Hollywood.
Michael K from DListed calls him Peter Brady Face (or some more clever variant of that), and now I can’t unsee it.
Someone on my fb called him the “love child of Donny and Marie Osmond” and I have been laughing about it ever since…
I think the guy has mirrors in every room! And he’s most definitely fixated on “being” young…the guy hasn’t met a teen or 21 year old he didn’t want to hook up with.
Sorry, I like cheeky humor with the best of them but this guy is not funny. And to Original Kitten who said as long as he dumps on everyone, he gets a pass on being a sexist misogynist…good point if he actually dumped on everyone. Used to like Family Guy but it’s the same old BS every show now. His biggest problem besides loving himself too damn much is how hard he works at being edgy. If you have to work at it, you’re not edgy, your just offensive.
And while it might seem harmless for him to joke about Jews, there are way too many people out there who don’t get the joke and believe the bull. All it does is encourage rackets. And besides, like everything he does, it’s so old news.
My problem with Seth is that he doesn’t work hard at his comedy. He’s part of the fart and barf crowd…I guess subtle humor isn’t popular anymore because it takes work on the part of the audience and my generation doesn’t seem to want to put in the effort!
Me Three-excellent post!! Plus, Peter Brady wannabe is just NOT funny.
I think Seth Macfarlane proved that the real winners of the evening were Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
+1
Truth! Preach it!
Yes!
He was a smarmy d-bag. You can have fun with Hollywood without being mean-spirited and disrespectful. I don’t suppose the ratings had ANYTHING to do with the best Box Office in years?? That’s right. EVERYONE was tuning into see someone most of the country has never even heard of..his inference about Adele’s weight and how REX REED would be critiquing her performance(implying as Reed did bluntly with Melissa Mc that she’s over weight)was infuriating. The whole anti-semetic Ted thing?? WTF were they thinking? Oh, that’s right, when your “comedy” is aimed at 8th graders, why think???
Nice one!
That was so good, I’m putting it on my facebook page.
Have these Watchdog groups ever watched Family Guy? What did people expect from this guy?
Some people live their lives in a hype -aware, pre-offended state. These groups were just waiting for him to say something off color so they could cry foul.
Yawn.
But the entire show seemed to be a Family Guy episode more than the glamour and classiness the Oscars are known for
Then the problem should be with the organization who invited him to host because they gave him the platform to do it.
If he was capable of another brand of humor FG, American Dad, and Ted wouldn’t have all been identical to each other.
I love the way you put that, Abra. Well said!
Don’t forget Kim K. was there so…so much for a classy event
yeah, people taking offense at a guy who’s humor is well known is disingenuous. I find him funny and he goes after EVERYBODY, there are no sacred cows. People should lighten up and learn to laugh at themselves. Besides, the Oscars (and all of the other award shows to a lesser degree) are just an excuse for Hollywood to fawn over itself. Its just entertainment, they’re not curing cancer.
+1
He stayed true to himself .
Who was the idiot that thought hiring Seth McFarlane would result in sparkly kittens walking across the stage in tutus and making the audience feel warm, fuzzy and unchallenged? I thought the equal opportunity offensiveness was hysterical. People really do need to quit taking themselves so very seriously.
It was a bizarre mix-musicals, offensive jokes, bits that went on way too long. The timing of things was off. The boobs song was just ridiculous. Having the FLOTUS give the last award was awful.
I think people watched because of all the buzz around it, the stars nominated, the films not because of the host. I agree re: FLOTUS. Unless she was there in person – and even then – just didn’t work. Plus she should have said no, done something else if she wanted to, but not best picture.
I found his boob song offensive.
I think it was somehow funny, but not in the context of the Oscars. The night was about talent and he discredited the women who were mentioned and are great actresses. Plus there would never be a joke about men like that! I can’t imagine he would ever had mentioned Fassbender, Neeson and Co!
If you’re an actress who is showing your boobs for money, you don’t get to be mad when someone calls you on it.
I am not a prude, and when it started I laughed at the “we saw your boobs” song… But when he mentioned Jodie Foster in “the accused” it was a mood killer. Really? Ugh
But yeah, I wasn’t surprised. This is his shtick. But not funny.
What if you just don’t feel like showing female nudity is an invitation to degradation? What if said boobs were shown in violent rape scenes like three of the mentioned actresses were? We’re not talking about a bunch of playboy bunnies (not that we should actively degrade playboy bunnies bc boobies make us squicky), we’re talking about a bunch of women who played courageous and interesting roles where the boobs were the last thing we should be focusing on. In the context of the song, I get what he was doing, I just think he didn’t quite do it right, but this whole BURN THE WITCH reaction to boobs is tiresome.
@chordy (it wouldn’t let me reply to you) yes! This!
And what about poor ScarJo? So she deserves to be shamed because her phone was hacked? Her fault for taking pics of herself, right?
What if it’s a scene of a woman breastfeeding?
Is that “gross” and “dirty” too?
I didn’t realize some of the boob’s owners were out in rape scenes. That does make the song way less funny. He didn’t need to mention those ones. If he had just kept to the boobs that were “sexy” elements I would stand behind the song’s humor.
“Plus there would never be a joke about men like that”
This. That would have been the edgy thing to do.
I didn’t find the boob song offensive, even with knowing the context of a lot of those nude scenes. I think Seth figured that that was what everyone was expecting him to do(read: sophmoric humor). Plus Captain Kirk prefaced the bit by saying,” You offended every woman in the audience” with the song and then they pretaped women that he named in the song sitting in the audience looking pissed. I think if he had just come right out and did that number live, it would have been waaaay worse but the way they did it, they were acknowledging that the subject matter was probably offensive from the get-go.
Personally I don’t like MacFarlane’s brand of humour. It’s sophomoric and generally not funny. Years ago, Family Guy was a good show, but now it revolves around sexism and crude humour without any sophistication to it. And including a song about seeing breasts is totally unnecessary and I think it’s rather demeaning to women too.
thank-you! I echo your sentiments.
it makes me wonder about the state of feminism today when women “meh” to this kind of nonsense.
You can count me in there too. It’s frustrating to see so many women basically play into the power of patriarchy that continues to treat women and their bodies like objects by telling those upset to get over it.
Sad.
I think some women don’t want to accept how much some men hate them just because they’re women. And I think Seth McFarlane is definitely one of those men.
I think the media and the political climate of the last 10 years or so have done a real number on the perception of feminism in society, especially among young women. For women in my age group (in university, early to mid twenties) feminism is a bit of a dirty word and calling yourself a feminist is apparently another way of saying you hate men.
Some of my colleagues love anything Seth MacFarlane and they’re also the ones who think it’s acceptable to make gang rape jokes in a student lounge. If you protest, you’re “too sensitive” and need to get over it.
This. I think someone – possibly EVE – pointed out that his go-to response to anything is to accuse someone of being gay. It’s juvenile, and quite frankly, dated.
Ok, let me just say that I was trying to stay away from this particular thread because I was accused of “policing the thread up and down” and “dog piling on each and every commenter who supported him” on that previous thread about him hosting the Oscars — even though I had replied to only four people at that point.
But let me clarify this: I don’t know if that’s his go-to response to anyone, but according to IMDb forums he had a comeback on Family Guy for South Park’s “Cartoon Wars — Parts I and II” and Trey Parker and Matt Stone (SP creators). In the segment, they’d be shown engaging in anal sex in “Point Anal” (Quahog’s fictitious place where FG characters hook up).
Eventually, they — MacFarlane and FG writers — gave up and didn’t film it, but that shows how immature he is, and can dish it out but can’t take it.
“In the DVD commentary for this episode, as a come back to South Park’s “Cartoon Wars” 2 part episode, it is revealed they had planned to insert a joke insinuating Trey Parker and Matt Stone were engaging in sodomy at Anal Point but they decided to cut it early on because it was a “half assed attempt to lob something back” and “it felt cheap” also the fact that “nobody laughed” when it was pitched.”
http://www.tvrage.com/Family_Guy/episodes/550042
My apology for the over-simplification. That said, the employment of the gay man’s chorus of LA as a joke in itself would support such an assumption.
Yup! He did pull out the gay men’s choir and then Captain Kirk told Seth to not be so snarky because Seth himself would join that choir two years later. So Seth got that jab right back.
Totally disagree. What’s demeaning to women is women having no shame and showing their boobs (over and over again, KATE) on film.
Because women should be ashamed of their breasts….
Yeah, women are the worst.
I forgot that having breasts was something to be ashamed of. I mean, it’s definitely not demeaning to insinuate that you should be ashamed to show one of the parts of the body that is distinguished as female. Tell me, is most of Taylor Lautner’s career demeaning to men?
Go back to the Dark Ages where you belong.
I agree with you Jen. If you don’t want to be treated like a sexual object, then don’t display yourself as a sexual object.
On the other hand, if you are one of the women who realizes that your sexiness IS power, then more power to you! 🙂
To each her own, que sera sera, let them eat cake!
I really don’t enjoy Seth or anything he does, typically. That being said I thought he did a good job. It’s a tough crowd and trying to be entertaining for that period of time can’t be easy.
It was the first time in a long while that I wasn’t drumming my fingers waiting for the whole thing to be over. It was good. But I’m not at all sensitive, so I may not be the best judge, lol!
Yes. It was sexist.
Don’t forget that male frontal nudity is practically forbidden, and will garnish the film with a rating of NC – 17. Female frontal nudity is encouraged, often actresses are “pushed” into showing skin and then the actress is reduced to her body parts on the night meant to honor her performance?
I don’t like the double standard and I did not appreciate the bit. It wasn’t even humorous.
It would be one thing if “the boob song” actually skewered the double standard, but it didn’t.
Had he added all the dudes who’d shown their goods (a small list) in comparison, maybe the point would have been made. But no, just the women were pointed out. It made what could have been a sharp satire on Hollywood inequality, just another giggling teen boy joke.
+1
Thank you. No male or transgender nudity in this context was b*%#s@!^. Completely outdated humour.
I think, personally, that that’s what the song was about. Women are used for titillating (really no pun intended) and used by the film industry to make ‘artsy’ or ‘expressive’ films with ‘moving’ or ‘vivid, raw, imagery.’ We see they’re boobs. We see full frontal. Usually these films will be up for awards. I think, even though the song is very(as I said before) trite and easily digestible on the surface, that its a tongue I’m cheek commentary on WHY we’re seeing actresses nude. I think he’s pointing out a problem rather then objecting. That’s how his humor tends to work and either people get it or they’re offended.
sat·ire – [sat-ahyuhr]: noun
1.
the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
Just sayin’ to all those being all butt hurt. Pop seems to get it. The rest of you sound like you’d spazz out because Jonathan Swift really advocated the eating of Irish babies.
Just sayin to all the people who are just sayin about satire, I don’t think you fully understand how satire works. He never got to the part where he exposed or derided any folly. But thanks for including the pronunciation key and OMG JONATHAN SWIFT WANTS US TO EAT BABIES?!?!?!?!
Pop! was illustrating above how the folly was revealed. Actress + tits out = encouraged as high art to continue objectifying while men are forced to keep the trouser snake under wraps and free from objectification. But I’ll forgive because you got the Modest Proposal reference.
The thing is, I’m not trying to deny that was his original intention, he just seemed to miss the opportunity. The thing with Seth McFarlane is that he seems to not understand the nuance of what he’s trying to satirize. He’s capable of getting the joke right, but it seems like more often than not he walks up to it, and right before he gets there he’s like “whatever, I’m tired. We said boobs, right?” And maybe that song would’ve read better if he hadn’t followed it up with sh!tting all over women the rest of the show. That’s why Tina and Amy were better. That’s why Louis CK is better. Hell, even Trey Parker and Matt Stone are way better at getting the satire right. (ps, if you want to see the world’s best rape joke check out early Amy Poehler doing the Spanish Homework skit with Upright Citizens Brigade. It was HORRIFYING and hilarious)
Swift’s satire works because it demands that people position themselves for or against his proposal then after they have done so, demands that they recognize their own hypocrisy when he points out things like the landlords have devoured the parents, and remarks that all his other suggestions have fallen on deaf ears. GOOD satire demands that people look at themselves in relation to the joke (see: Sarah Silverman’s wickedly funny rape joke, or Chris Rock on black people and the n-word.
Seth Macfarlane simply looked for a cheap laugh because he could say “boobs” at the Oscars. It’s apples and Oranges. It’s the difference between Swift and Two and a Half Men.
I like Seth. I think he’s smart, funny and fearless. I have no issues with the women jokes, I feel like he’s an equal offender. If something can be made into a joke, he’ll do it. Regardless of gender,race, sexuality and religion, no one is safe. But I also think some of his humor is making fun of the stereotype as well and the people who believe them. I have no issues with Seth.
+1
Exactly, he’s an equal offender. Was I the only one who noticed, much less laughed at the jokes about Chris Brown and Mel Gibson? I think it was far more telling how few people in the audience laughed at the Chris Brown joke, because (as Mr. Brown has proven) women-beaters are to be forgiven and rewarded, never punished or mocked. But Seth MacFarlane is totally the sexist one here. Totally.
I don’t watch Seth’s shows (time issue) but I liked it. I may have winced a few times. I liked the Jewish bit but then again I am not Jewish and maybe if I were I would feel different. The one about female nudity had me cracking up. I also thought it was hilarious when he said women don’t let things go when speaking of Zero Dark Thirty. I don’t think this is a show too many children will watch. They probably think this is boring. I did not start watching these types of shows till I was a teenager. I don’t know, I think part of the reason more people watched was because of Seth. Maybe. We will see.
I’m Jewish and it was obnoxious. One crack would have been fine and funny, but it went on and on.
Being Jewish as well,I understand the sensivity concerning Jewish joke sense it seems to based off a well known anti-Semitic stereotype that Jews somehow ‘control’ the media. But since I did bother to watch, i cant judge this joke. yet I can see how a joke poking fun at a stupid stereotype could be really funny if done correctly or extremely uncomfortable if executed poorly.
But did anyone really expect anything different from Macfarline? For the record I have laughed while watching Family Guy or American Dad but for me his jokes tend to be repetitive and tiresome after awhile. (Can’t watch more than 2 episodes in a sitting or it no longer is funny to me).
I tend to not find Macfarline jokes offensive but cringe worthy,unfunny or tiresome- yes.
Well, I’m not Jewish and I thought that bit was distasteful especially with Mark Walhberg ( an known violent racist who thinks he doesn’t need to seek forgiveness for/doesn’t seem to really regret what he did) in it.
Until I saw TED I’d never been a fan of McFarland. After this host job–I’m gonna try to start watching Family Guy. I thought he was hilarious.
I’m a new fan of his, for sure.
Family guy in bed via Netflix is a favourite way to chill with my man. We didn’t Like Ted at all though….. I mean over all it wasn’t as cringe worthy as some American rom coms but family guy is way more interesting. Also in family guy there’s a long running thing about how meg is underrated… I don’t really see the show as sexist. Sounds like he just tried to push the envelope at the oscars just to be controversial and it flopped
I think the politically correct crowd needs to SIT DOWN. I am so tired of these groups that do nothing but search for reasons to be “offended”. It’s the new American pastime to be OUTRAGED, and it’s become eye rolling in my opinion.
I think there’s a time and a place for his kind of humor. It has nothing to do with being “pc”. I have no problem with his tv shows or movies. And at other events I think his humor would be fine. I don’t think the Oscars should be that place-it was tacky-that’s my issue with him.
What do you mean with “political correct”? People have the right to be offended if someone says something disgusting like Seth did. This is not a case of 1 million moms protesting against Ellen appearing on a billboard, this is a case of one person going on an on with offensive remarks that nobody laughed at.
+1
People need to lighten the f up geez.
Not really. People need to understand that problems like homophobia, racism and sexism will never stop if there are people who want to perpetuate it by making fun of it. It’s really immature and does nothing for society.
Yes. This attitude is precisely what let’s such humor go from pushing the envelope to outright discrimination.
No, making fun of ourselves and others is part of what allows us to coexist together in a single country. Get over it, get over yourselves and laugh at yourself every now and then. You aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect it’s part of life.
Lighten up and do everyone a favor (again) including yourself.
I am black and a woman and I have to admit that I enjoyed it.For the first time in 10 years I watched the whole show all the way to the end.And btw,I seriously doubt that the actresses were offended by the boob joke, they seemed to like it.And if they don’t then they should stop being topless in almost every movie.It is a little silly at this point that they think just being naked makes them a real actress.
Also this is the reason that no one wants to host the Oscars anymore.If you play it old fashioned and safe like Billy Crystal did last year the critics claim it was boring.If you’re edgy and try to shock people and keep them awake like Seth did you’re offensive.Next year,no host,just pass out the awards and show the clips.Jeez.
Isn’t the telecast theme music or dancing in movies every year?
They should have narrowed the theme to just the 50 years of Bond. Plenty of music, technical innovation and opportunities for walk-ons by the Daniel Craig and the former Bonds to run a thread through the show. To me, cutting the Chicago and Dreamgirls set pieces would have gone a long way toward tightening up the broadcast. You had to keep the Les Mis production since it was at least relevant.
As far criticism of McFarlane, what do you expect? You know what you are getting from him and the reaction from his chief critics are going to be just as predictable.
I thought some of it was funny but there were enough unfunny offensive “jokes” in there to turn me off.
The Oscars should stick to Hugh Jackman types for hosts. I bet Joseph Gordon Levitt would kill it (which has nothing to do with me wanting to see JGL for 3 hours or anything…). But people who really care about movies and are amazing performers.
ITA. Hugh is a class act and such a talented man. After watching this year’s musical numbers, you realize how great what he did was.
People need to get over themselves. They’re all making movies, they’re not changing the world or solving world hunger and they need to be able to laugh at themselves.
I thought it was funny, not perfect obviously, but there is no comedian in the world who can tell a joke without offending SOMEONE.
I find his humor lazy, tired, and unfunny. Joking about eating disorders and weight, seriously? Along with racist jokes and other just plain nasty stuff.
They need to cut many of the awards for broadcast. I appreciate that they want to honor the various important roles in film making. But the show needs to be at least an hour shorter.
I don’t like Family Guy but I thought he had some good jokes at the Oscars. Of course, I laughed at the Abe Lincoln joke so maybe I just have the taste in humor of a street rat. Also, I fell asleep before the Oscars were over so I don’t know if he did much worse after that. The show is too long.
He’s not versatile, he’s been doing the same jokes for years(for those who watch FG).Sure he was sexist-he knows his audience.
This.
A lot of boring same old same old.
They hoped for cutting edge and irreverent but ended up with cutting and juvenile. After sitting through the opening about boobs I had enough of that obnoxious host. Seth spent the rest of the show on fast forward but I’m sure there was no similar skit aimed at men. I guess I saw your dick would be harder to pull off. All I want to know now is what % of the viewing audience is female.
I hate family guy do I wasn’t expecting to like him, but it was worse than I thought. That stupid boob song was even more offensive considering some of the references were to scenes of women being raped and sexually assaulted.
What scenes?? He didn’t mention any scenes… Some people read way too much into it.
THIS!!!! That was what really got me. Oh, and Northern Girl:
Jodie Foster – The Accused
Hilary Swank – Boys Don’t Cry
Charlize Theron – Monster
To top it off, he called out ScarJo over pictures that were hacked off her phone.
She didn’t just play someone who was violated, she actually WAS!
Of course they are. Here we are, two days later, and we are STILL talking about DRESSES and how the women looked wearing them. Nothing about their body of work, naturally. If you stop and really think about it, you should feel tired. But of course this will get brushed off by statements of how fun and innocent it all is.
No, I agree with you. The Oscar award has lost it’s meaning as it is today.
This.
I would think it is entirely possible to appreciate the beauty of a dress and the way the dress fits a body type objectively, without being shallow or sexist as you make it seem. I simply like to look at pretty dresses and weigh their originality. Jeez.
I suppose that the advantage to MacFarlane doing this is that it has brought to light how much this type of sexist, offensive humor has been accepted into the mainstream. Lana’s above point is huge – rape jokes have become de rigeur these days, and women are condemned as prudish if they don’t appreciate it. I’m glad people are finally recognizing it for the nasty, hateful humor that it is, even if it has taken him (and the Onion) going this far for people to notice.
+1
Well said.
I was more offended by Brandi Glanville’ s dress then anything Seth McFarland said…
+1
So much this. What the hell was she doing there anyway? Jesus.
Yeah. Her dress was so tacky. :/
I don’t like that ALL of the blame is being placed on Seth, to be honest.
These types of telecasts are pre written they have to go through producer approval, Academy approval, NETWORK approval.
If it was in bad taste, there were a LOT of people they could have stood up and said something BEFORE it went to air. I was indifferent about him as a host, not amazing, not terrible either, but I’ll be damned if the poor guy has to take the blame for the entire thing. Not cool.
+1000
Absolutely. It’s not like the producer’s gave Seth freedom to do whatever he wanted. And when you ask Seth to host, you get his brand of humor. Of course not everyone is going to love it. But the show is about entertainment and he was entertaining.
Earlier today I watched Piers Morgan and he was reviewing the Oscars with two female guests. One of those ladies was talking dramatically about how sorry she felt for Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts when they were cringing during the boobs-song. She didn’t notice that those were pre-recorded reactions were part of the sketch.
Man, that was embarrassing…
LOL as if they would cringe and be embarrassed. Now THAT is diminishing their work, to believe that they would. All of those roles were roles to be proud of. They filmed them and put them out there. They’re not going to cringe now about it, puh-leeeeze.
Yeah, and it was kinda obvious that charlize wore a black dress instead of a white dress in the reaction shot XD
I found the boob song to be hilarious. It was a great commentary on how awful it is that in hollywood (and in large parts of the country), it doesn’t matter how awesome a actress you are-boobs.
Plus Seth’s ‘shock’ factor is SO vanilla, boring and expected. Getting into a tizzy feels like a waste of energy.
I found the Onion’s tweet calling a nine year old a see you next tuesday, more offensive than anything Seth did.
My husband and brother love Family Guy, Cleveland Show, all of that jazz. I particularly don’t enjoy it because it was beaten into the ground while we were in college (hello every dorm mate making jokes about fighting chickens) but I enjoyed Ted.
I was more pissed at the Onion to be honest than anything else. I make off color jokes all the time (I’m in a gaming group, 1 of 2 females out of 12 and my brother and I are black, the rest hispanic, jewish, white, and korean) and we all poke fun at ourselves. But he (Seth) just seems to beat it into the ground worse than South Park ever could.
Just because you are offended doesnt mean that you are in the right.
Conversely, just because you are NOT offended doesn’t mean you’re right.
Just because you’re annoyed by people who are offended doesn’t mean you’re in the right.
Seth already said that even if he was asked back, he wouldn’t do it again. That could change years down the road but I don’t blame him. He did what he was known for, what everyone knows him for and yet they want to complain when it’s all over? I think it may have been a set up so if ratings weren’t good and dropped even lower, they could just blame it on him and his brand.
I like Seth though. I think he is very talented in many aspects but that is not an opinion shared by all, obviously.
I loved Seth and thought he was great and funny and sexy and heck. I am an independent woman in my mid-thirties with 2 step-daughters and one toddler girl, just for background info. I don’t know why suddenly the media is going all intellectual on everything. Suddenly you can’t make any jokes anymore without bing called a racist, a sexist, etc. Why suddenly were his jokes innappropriate? No one has had any problems with Jewish jokes in nearly every movie for the past century. I loved the boobs joke too. I loved all of them. My favorite was the Family von Trapp joke. First it was Hollywood that took itself way too seriously and now suddently it is all of America doing the same. I only wish he had skewered more people, though it is an awards show so maybe you are supposed to be a little nice.
I thought it was hilarious because it was so politically incorrect. People need to lighten up and stop censoring everything.
I really like Family Guy, and American Dad as well. But Seth just doesn’t translate well as a comedian in real life. Half his jokes fell flat and he still smirked along with most of them. Also, there’s something about him that comes off as smug and self-indulgent.
The watchdog groups really should stop clutching their pearls because the real problem wasn’t that the jokes were misogynistic, etc., etc.–it’s that they weren’t funny enough. Seth went for edgy but came out half-cocked. I could see where the humor was supposed to be, but many of the jokes and sketches just weren’t written or executed that well.
I thought it was too much sexism. Talking about boobs and actresses breasts in dramatic scenes where they are getting raped (e.g Hilary Swank in ‘Boys don’t cry” and Judy Foster in “Accused”) can never be funny. I’m intrested in the other catagories other then just the best director, actress, and so on, which might be because I’m in the business. I really got annoyed about how they snubbed the guy who held the speech for the visual award. At last someone had something important to say, but ofcourse that was to deep for The Oscars, the big celebration of superficial world we live in. It seems it’s more about dresses, makeup, and stupid campaining for the press then for making a good movie.
Sorry for the bitterness!
Hollywood is sexist. I thought the boob song was funny because realistically 99% of the women who take their tops off in movies aren’t doing it for “art” its for attention. I agree that it’s all about the hair, dresses and campaigning now a days. It’s not about talent bit popularity. Sadly doesn’t seem like Hollywood will be changing anytime soon.
I actually found the Zero Dark Thirty joke just as obnoxious as the boob song.
I’ve already made several comments upthread already defending Seth’s performance but reading your comment made me realize something. I think the reason he mentioned those particular performances where their breasts were shown in rape scenes is because those performances won Academy Awards.
Chordy was good enough to point out the actresses and movies for us: Jodie Foster in The Accused; Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry; and Charlize Theron in Monster. What I would find more offensive than the boob song is that these actresses had to bare their breasts in order to win their first Oscar. Out of the three, only Jodie Foster had been nominated before and that nod came from playing a teenage prostitute in Taxi Driver. Halle Berry won her Oscar after being topless in Monster’s Ball (mentioned in the song) and Angelina Jolie won a Golden Globe after bearing her breasts in Gia (mentioned in the song). And if you want to continue in this vein, please note that Shirley Maclaine, Jane Fonda, and Julia Roberts were all Oscar nominated (Fonda won hers) for playing what? Prostitutes!
As a female, I find it way more offensive that baring your breasts or portraying a woman who sells her body for sex are the surest ways to win an Academy Awards nomination. But, sure, all the rest of you, please keep blaming the boob song.
I enjoyed it and I rarely watch The Oscars. I like Seth. Honestly they could have had him sing more and I would have been fine with that. I didn’t care for any of the other stars being up there in the skits. I know its the Oscars but they always play it too safe. Its so pretentious.
I loved Family Guy in my late teens and early 20s, but 10+ years of misogynist jokes (rape, anal sex, commentary on female bodies) gets old after a point. You start to wonder if this guy believes the jokes he’s schilling, and you realize, yes, he does. He believes in this crap and he finds it hilarious.
These so called watch dog groups are a waste of time.Just a bunch of angry, awful people that want to feel important.Why don’t they put their efforts into some sort of charity and contribute something good to the world?Oh right, then they wouldn’t get to be interviewed by Piers Morgan or CNN.And that is what all this self righteous outrage is about isn’t it?Their a joke.
I find him and his type of humor unimpressive. There’s no thought or insight to it – just “ooh, I said [bad word]!” or “ooh, boobies!” It’s unoriginal and boring.
I’ve never watched his shows, but I just have an instant dislike of the guy, something about him bugs the hell out of me so I was never going to be a huge fan of him hosting.
I forwarded through a lot of the stuff with him, but did hear the boob song. At the time I thought it was a mix of amusing/stupid/embarrassing, but read a comment where someone basically summed up how it turned some great performances from very talented actresses into being just about their bodies. They made some good points, and in a very male dominated industry with a lot of pressures on females, it does feel like a step backwards.
What exactly has MacFarlane said that other people have not? He’s offensive because he said it on TV and made everyone face all the issues they like to ignore:
Domestic violence, racism, sexism, ageism, serial dating, and even the lack of a career after an Oscar win. All of these issues are rampant in Hollywood. MacFarlane just highlighted them all in one night and made Hollywood and the audience around the world cringe because they expect actors to be praised and lauded and adored like they’re Gods.
He wasn’t objectifying the women in Hollywood with that “We saw your boobs!” song. IMO he was just throwing it in Hollywood’s face about how sexist the whole industry is, that actresses must show their bodies in order to be considered good in their craft and be taken seriously. Every time an actress is reported to be undergoing major changes for a movie role, the media immediately hails it as ” Actress in a role that might be an Oscar contender and is creating a lot of buzz”.
Isn’t that true? How many articles in the media point out the extremes that actresses have gone through to “get into their roles”? How many articles were written about Charlize gaining weight for her role as Eileen Wournos vs. how many articles were there for DDL as Lincoln? Unlike method actors, the media loves to bring up how actresses have bared their bodies and how that must make them really committed to their craft and they’re now serious actresses. MacFarlane just emphasized what a lot of people have said all along: Hollywood is sexist and so is the media.
The Oscars may have all of these fancy-dressed people and is marketed as a classy affair, but Hollywood is a cesspool of depravity. If you look at all the BIs, the “misquoted” interviews where celebs show their true colours, the many roles that have gone to other less-deserving actors/actresses just because of how they look, etc. and it’s not difficult to see that Hollywood is one of the most egoistic, sexist, ageist, narcissistic, racist, homophobic industries around.
The people being offended at MacFarlane for bringing these issues out there should be offended at the entire system of entertainment where the proverbial casting couch still exists and the double standards for men and women are very much alive.
But of course, MacFarlane is being bashed for being sexist and racist when all he did was point out the irony: you call him sexist and racist when he belongs in a similarly sexist and racist industry? What exactly did you expect? He’s just a product of the industry, except he’s not being paid to put up a front and act.
Do people really think Hollywood is an epitome of values and good manners and kumbaya ideologies?
LOL.
Really liked your rundown on the issue!
Wow…your comment was definitely worth the read.
Good stuff.
Ha!
I liked reading your thoughts on this, but the kicker for me was the very end with the lol ;).
Wow..best comment I’ve read regarding this topic.
Thank you!
That’s exactly what i think of him and his humor.
He even says he likes to hold a mirror to the world and tell it ‘you’re ugly.’
Yeah, you’re completely right.
He totally brought all these issues up in a manner that can’t be ignored.
This is why people are saying ‘lighten up, stop being so pc, these were just funny jokes’.
Yeah, these people totally were provoked to think about all these issues and not just take them as just dumb joke material.Lots of thoughtful discourse on these issues is totally coming from people who didn’t find the jokes offencive, and not from those who did.
This is exactly what is happening here, yep.
Claps for Sachi! Great comment.
Perfect comment!
If they removed the music crap it would be almost watchable. But I absolutely detest musical numbers, and to be honest, songs. I had a lot of crap to fast forward! And I always hated the James Bond franchise, another bunch of stuff to fast forward (I didn’t watch live, thankfully).
And Jewish jokes? Well, is it any worse than the boobs thing, the Rhianna thing (or the Kartrashians if you’re a fan), etcetcetc? Give me a break. It’s about the same.
The best Oscar host so far. His jokes were eye openers and at the same time not irritating.
I thought it was the first time ever that the Oscars were amusing. I “get” that it wasn’t PC, but it was entertaining & many of the stars were in on the jokes, which I thought was great. I did feel badly about the Adele joke, but otherwise I thought it was so funny & I feel like people shouldn’t take their issues so seriously sometimes. I mean, the puppet skit cracked me up & so did the boob one (& Sally Field, etc.), yet there is all of this silly backlash. It’s comedy, People, & sometimes it’s not appropriate, but it makes us laugh!
I loved it but I am a huge fan of anything McFarlane touches.
I actually thought he toned himself WAY down. I was talking with my Mom about the show – she didn’t know who he was – and I was like – you have NO idea how much this guy held himself back.
He’ll be asked to return. Book it. . . or rather book him. . .
For the most part I enjoyed the jokes. But when defending the host/choice of a song about “boobs” by using the term “cutting-edge”. They get a massive eye roll from me.
As for the PTC guy saying families are clearly not welcome as viewers, first I say, we’ll of course that’s what he’s going to say but also, puleese! Most of MacFarlane’s jokes are right up the alley of teenage boys, some were for adults only and a few were totally juvenile so I think that covers family.
I think parents are just embarrassed that their kids “get” the jokes. But honestly? Would you watch the show with your parents? Is this the 50’s? I wouldn’t! And I’m 36. Either because I’d have to explain the jokes or it would be a bit awkward if my mom got them. In any case, not a fun experience.
The sexist jokes were sadly just the usual for Hollywood so I barely noticed. Plus women and fashion are the reasons people watch the Oscars, so ultimately the night is a good one for women in Hollywood. That Jewish bit was really uncomfortable though. I don’t think he’ll be asked back.
I never liked Family Guy because I never thought it was funny, not because I found it offensive.
How many comedians are to be considered sexist if we consider Seth sexist? I think pretty much every comedian I have ever seen has made some joke based on a generalization of women and usually men as well.
I think there’s a big difference between someone who’s job is essentially to get people to laugh versus someone like Rush Limbaugh,who displays a repeated pattern of sexism and misogyny, who delivers “news” and can actually impact the public’s perception of women, including influencing how people vote, thereby directly affecting women’s rights.
I’m sorry-I just can’t get outraged over a comedian’s routine when there are SO many other issues out there that really DO impact us as women. There are bigger fish to fry, ladies.
Well said. I agree completely.
Well yes, most of the comedians are sexist. Does that let them all of the hook? That everybody does it?
And, say, do you talk about ‘bigger fish to fry’ to people who choose to help homeless animals when there are still children dying in Africa?
The idea that MacFarlane’s jokes operate at some meta-level and are meant to provide ironic commentary about social conventions is moronic. He goes for the cheap punchline and has zero nuance.
I’m really insulted by people — especially women — who defend sexist remarks or jokes by telling others to just “get over it.” As if these comedians are not key contributors to the language and imagery of misogyny that permates our culture and influences the thoughts and behaviours of people in small and large ways.
No other maligned minority is having these discussions and quite frankly I think any self-proclaimed “feminist” who takes such a tact is a merely a quisling who is not smart enough to realize she’s a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.
I didn’t find him offensive, I just thought he did a bad job hosting. It was all over the place and too long of an intro. Hugh Jackman is still the best host in recent years.
I’m sorry you guys/gals…
but this guy IS offensive on every level
if you are not a white man
every one of his jokes
is at your expense.
yes, it is important to have a good sense of humor about oneself. i’m sure that after a long day of earning less than our male counterparts many women are tired and disarmed enough to find something funny on Family Guy.
i’ve given him a million chances to amuse and not offend me but this is what UM(uh)RICA finds funny. If the average idiot didn’t find his humor funny Seth would be out of work, his rotten show (s) wouldn’t get the ratings they do.
His schtick is nothing new, hard to believe anyone would even think his hosting the oscars could offer anything better.
Honestly, Seth was bringing up the internalized oppression in Hollywood… At least that’s how I saw it.
I skipped the content of the post and the replies because I’m feeling lazy right now, but my answer to the header is: Eh, it depends.
Anyone familiar with his work was probably expecting a LOT worse, and he did tone it down considerably. I took it all in stride and didn’t look for anything to be all “THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!” at, so I didn’t find it offensive. Here’s the thing: you will find similar material at any comedy club. Comedians tend to go for risque material. If people don’t want to go there, then stick to the Ellen Degeneres/Billy Crystal/Hugh Jackman-type hosts. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I’m not knocking it. I just think these kind of jokes were par for the course.
I want a ” we saw your dick” for next oscars.
Yes!
I just can’t get past his puppy dog face…Peter Brady, indeed.
I think the next host or hostess needs to sit down and watch how the old timers did it, like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. And they need to shorten it up too. I don’t like Family Guy but I do like Seth and so I thought for what little I watched that he did a good enough job. Not a fantasic job but a good enough job.
Unfortunately the Hollywood and American culture has changed . That type of humor today would be seen as boring and out of touch. Billy Crystal is an example. Billy Crystal received far lower ratings than Seth.
“I wasn’t offended at the jokes about women, but I run a gossip blog for a living. I did get a little uncomfortable by how long that Jewish bit went on, with the CGI Ted and Mark Wahlberg.”
I find that reaction typical of women. We’re so conditioned to just take it and take when it’s aimed at us but put pretty much every other group (racism, homophobia, antisemitism) above ourselves. Understandable but sad.
This. Absolutely. Try and imagine a man or a black or jewish person being talked about the way women are… I guarantee you will have quite a surprise.
You know, I’ve heard the whole “well, you just suffer from internalized oppression” counter argument to when women don’t agree with the feminist point of view…
Couldn’t WE counter that you just have a victim complex? I’m not trying to pick a fight here, but if you’re going to tell me the REAL reason that I’m not offended by something, can’t I come back with the real reason that you ARE?
And Ruby – Jews and blacks are the butt of MANY jokes! I can’t speak for the African-American experience, but I do know that self-deprecation is a cornerstone of Jewish humor, so we tend to just have a laugh and move on. We’re too familiar with REAL antisemitism to worry about such minutiae.
“I find that reaction typical of women” – and this statement isn’t sexist?
+1000 There has been and continues to be a war on women worldwide since the beginning of human kind. Right now there is a woman being raped in every country of the world. There are women being killed simply because they are women. And yet, when women get angry over a guy making fun of nude rape scenes of women, it’s like, stop being a prude and get over it. Seriously?! Trust me that people would be up in arms if he had made a joke about gays or (enter race here) as they rightly should. I don’t think the men in the audience would feel comfortable if he had called out all the men who had done nude scenes. It would have been called inappropriate and classless for an awards show like the Oscars. But it is always open season on women.
3 hours? Wow. Amazing, considering that the first academy awards lasted only 5 minutes.
Yes, it was extremely offensive, and perpetuated many forms of oppression on minorities. And yes, the fact that so many people don’t see this and think we should “lighten up” is symptomatic of how very unequal our society is, and how privilege defends itself from any questioning.
Such immature, damaging stereotypes have no place in a respected ceremony with such a wide audience. And to those that say we have no right to accuse McFarlane of sexism and racism if we don’t accuse the whole industry of it – what makes you think we don’t ? I definitely do. I am very disappointed there are not more female directors and executives in the film industry. The oscars really do highlight the problem.
I really think you would enjoy living in a sterile white room with no human interaction. Whoops,I apologize for the racist comment…. I should not have written “white” room. So who will be the judge as to what is racist,mysoginstic or repugnant? There are thousands of different cultures and customs in this world…what is offensive to one group may not be offensive to another group. Besides Seth was the host for a Hollywood event and Hollywood puts out some of the most vulgar,sexist,racist and violent movies in the world. If industry people and movie fans are going to attack Seth then they should attack Hollywood as well.
He can’t please everybody.
I am so sick as both a Jew and a woman of being told when I should be offended.
My people have been through much worse than a CGI bear joking that we run Hollywood.
As for “we saw your boobs…” it was part of a larger joke about the theoretical worst thing he could do as a host. It worked because it was part of a narrative.
I am a Jewish woman as well and agree with you yet I understand why people would be uncomfortable, even offended, because of the basis of the Jewish joke being a long held (stupid) stereotype. MacFarline’s joke was not that bad, even funny depending on who u are. Even the ‘sexist’ jokes could be funny or inconsequential. This is what this comedian does– watch any family guy episode.
Great post katija. Loved that u highlighted Jews have seen much worse this this.
Oh and I like Family guy in small doses– it can be quite funny or at worse tiresome and cringe inducing.
I have an excellent sense of humor about myself. I talk to much. I seem to be incapable of putting lids firmly on things. My hair is frizzy. I have like the world’s stupidest laugh. What I don’t have much of a sense of humor about is that 1 in 3 women globally will be raped or beaten in her life. What I don’t have a sense of humor about is how homosexuals can’t even get married to the person they love. What I don’t have a sense of humor about was the 6 million jews murdered in Nazi Germany. We can address these issues with humor, but we need to reframe our jokes so they’re not at the expense of those who suffer enough. That’s not ironic nor is it satirical. It’s just juvenile an cruel.
I could barely pay attention to the jokes he was telling whether terrible or awesome because of the horrible way he delivered each line… He spoke so… deliberately… he does not have the gift of comic timing! You could tell he wanted to laugh after each line because he was just oh so funny…
That is never an endearing characteristic!
I strongly disagree with CB about shoving the technical awards into a non-televised ceremony. To suggest that sound editors, visual effects, make-up, costume, set designers and esp. cinematographers (!!!!) should not be seen or heard from just to shorten the show is far more offensive to me than some boob jokes. I actually read the credits at the end of films and I really want to see the technical people, who are as important as actors, be publicly recognized. Without these people movies wouldn’t exist and I want to applaud them. If you’re not interested you can go make some popcorn. But please don’t try to exclude these remarkably creative, terribly under recognized, people from the celebration of the movies that they have done so much to create.
I completely agree…if it weren’t for these people there would be no movies. I think the movie industry should find more ways to give these people the recognition they deserve.
I agree. The cinematography, sound, musical score, and editing awards shouldn’t be removed from the show. All of these components, along with costume and makeup are important parts of filmmaking. Plus, removing these categories wouldn’t shorten the show – hell, it would give ABC an even better opportunity to stretch out the show with overpriced commercials.
There are some excellent suggestions on here, especially the bit about referring potential hosts to past hosts like Hope and Carson because while those guys delivered jabs, they weren’t out to annihilate people, which seems to be something some people are clamoring for -personally, I don’t get the contempt and don’t like it. I’ve said this before and I’ll continue to say it – the Oscars isn’t the place to work out the host’s beef – the show is too damn long to be seated there, in uncomfortable gowns/shoes (and likely meal-deprived) and slammed. The GGs is the place for that sort of thing, since there’s meals, drinks, and a slightly more casual vibe.
And yes, the Oscars hosted by Hugh Jackman was the best one in recent years. Not necessarily because Hugh was that great of a host, but the show was produced beautifully. Before they presented a category, they showed a montage containing examples from that year – animated features had a montage of the animated films that came out that year. For costume design, they showed the nominees’ name, their sketches, and a clip illustrating the final product within the film. Screenplay – same thing – writers’ name, a page from the screenplay, with someone reading the bit establishing the scene, and a clip of the actors’ saying the lines or performing the action indicated. That approach was one of the most effective ways the Oscars celebrated film and they should go back to that, along with re-establishing the importance of the movie song. The one thing I didn’t like about the Jackman Oscars was the fact that it was the year the Academy decided to not allow the movie song nominations to be performed in full, especially since they allowed Jackman to perform a song and dance. Songwriters deserve their shine too.
Inexplicable decisions like these is why the Oscars is in trouble. And sorry, Seth M. did come across as sexist with the boobs song, the Zero Dark Thirty crack, and Sally Field (the Flying Nun and Smokey and the Bandit – really?). But to me, the worst part of it is that the women in the cutaways participated in it, which essentially was a stamp of approval to ‘go there’. And before you accuse me of being too sensitive, and frankly, I probably am, I found it just as offensive when Clooney went on and on about Fassbender’s penis during his speech last year (I forget which awards it was), making the headline not about Fassbender’s performance, but his full frontal, and sadly, the audience, like the women who participated in the boob song, allowed the reduction to happen. It’s one thing to mention that here, or within the confines of somewhere frivolous like the red carpet (although it depends on which red carpets, ‘cuz Kids Choice green carpet would be so fcuking wrong), IMO, it’s entirely another thing to do so, ad nauseaum, when someone is your peer and/or competition.
Thank you! Big +1
I know I’m late to the party on this thread, but thank you for saying this. The actors may be the stars of the stage, but they would not shine without the technical people! If anything, they deserve the award show even more than the actors. Mind you, I say this as a member of SAG!
A middle-aged man talking about the naked brea$ts of a 23-year old girl – skeevy!
I felt it was a little racist and sexist and not even that funny anyway.
From watching it seemed like he himself felt out of place, thus the need to laugh at his own jokes, which made the situation even more uncomfortable. I’ve never watched family guy, but I wasn’t rooting against him. He was just boring for my taste. I did think the back handed joke about Adele and Melissa McCarthy’s weight was weak and easy, but the overall production of the show was very flawed as well.
I think people felt like they would be offended by McFarlane, so they felt offended. Maybe that’s too blase, but I got exactly what I thought I would and I thought it was funny.
On a slight sidenote, if anyone is interested, this is an amazing play that really explores the distinction between satiric humor and offensive humor. Watch through:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUEB4PAZMRk
AMAZING! I love humor so much, so I really hate it when people think that just because it squicks, then it’s satire. And your reply above regarding satire was spot on. People use the words “metaphor” and “satire” when they really mean “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Thank you! Watch the play – it really is COMPLETELY brilliant and hasn’t dated a bit. It’s Jonathan Pryce at his finest.
As I said on another thread, Seth’s jokes tread a fine line between poor taste and outright sexism, racism, homophobia and misogyny. I bet a large portion of his fans are bigots who feel like political correctness has been forced on them and they see Seth’s humour as a vehicle to vent their resentment.
This year was the first time I didn’t watch the whole show. I watched the red carpet and the first half hour. Then I switched to a movie. Seth was fine as a host but I am in total agreement with you about the length of the show. I can’t stand the parts that drag on and on. I figured I might as well watch a 2 hour movie then view the recaps on the Internet. It was much more enjoyable actually. And Seth is definitely NOT a pc kind of writer. I love Family Guy so I knew what to expect. To expect him to be buttoned up is silly.
Since Seth was the host I did not watch the show. I do not understand out of all the real talent the Academy had to choose from they chose Mr. Fart humor.
Why didn’t he do a d”’ck song of men who have showcased the goods? Mark Ruffalo, I rewound that a few times, I have to admit. Harvey Keitel. Kevin Bacon. Ewan McGregor. Richard Gere. Michael Fassbender.
And don’t forget Viggo!
This country has some huge sensitivity issues. I am a Jew and a woman and found nothing offensive about his performance. I was laughing hysterically. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then what is left?
I make no apologies for having a low tolerance for people who engage in racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny.
+1000 If anything, our country has become more sensitive about racism but are actually quite comfortable with misogyny. We see it on television and films, we hear women being degraded in mainstream music, and violence against women is still tolerated and joked about to a large degree.
The liberal mindset towards Jews is as bizarre as the day is long. At least, that’s been *my* Jewish experience. These are the people who will insult Israel or tell you that Jews run some secret world banking collective to your face, but then rush to jump to your defense if someone makes a “gold under the floorboards” or bad tippers joke.
I don’t attempt to understand it anymore. I *do* know that the two main female cast members on “Family Guy” are Jewish, and I think MacFarlane’s jokes come from a place of love… and they cracked me up, so firmly Team Seth.
Why don’t the Oscars do it like the BAFTAs get someone like Stephen Fry.. funny and knows how to move the show along.
I have a great sense of humor and will laugh at off color remarks or jokes, but just because you didn’t find a joke funny or thought they were sexist or racist doesn’t mean something wrong with your funny bone. That it taking it a bit too far. Some people like certain humor other not. That is what comedians all will say. YOU hit or you don’t.
I actually think Seth is very talented. Wonderful singing voice. He would do great at the Tony Awards. Some of the jokes were funny others not so much. I know people get pissed that the people at the Oscars are so serious. Well to me it is a serious kind of show. It should be classy. It is not the SAGs or Golden Globes. It is the final Award Show and should be the height of Class and Elegance. I can see why these people don’t want to be ridiculed. Do that at the GG or SAGs. Oscars should be on a different level; it is not a roast. I remember watching it with my family as a child and it was so nice to see all the STARs in one room. All dressed up. I use to get goose bumps. Now they are so concerned with getting the “younger” voter they have lost the elegance of the show. And I think that is why so many ceelbs don’t go if they are not nominated or promoting something. Call that stuck up if you want, but I kind of get it. Hollywood is not the same. And the Elegance is leaving and we are not going to have much left in a few year.
But Seth was OK. Not great. I know that boob song was suppose to be funny. And I would have thought so at the GG or SAGs but not the Oscars. Why no Penis song. I don’t like that the women were reduced to that. It felt too MTV, and it was LOW RENT. Several of the women were not even in the audience, and I was embarrassed for the ones that had to go along with that “joke” Especially on a night honoring their amazing work.
well it is FINALLY OVER.. thank goodness. Now a year to rest up before it all starts over again.
You know what?
If the true purpose of the ‘jokes’ was to point out the sexism/rasism/homophobia of Hollywood, that MacFarlane should be extatic about all the people being offended.
Because the offence, unlike the ‘lighten up!’ thing means that people care about these issues and he nobly got them to pronounce this position, push towards normalizing this set of attitudes, sacrifising himself in the process.
I think what was said about NINE YRS OLD Quvenzhane Wallis was far more disturbing with his overtones of pedophilia linking her to George Clooney and jokes about her “unusual” name. Then to add insult to injury she the Onion tweeted a vulgar word aimed at her. African Americans, women, and children actors are already marginalized in Hollywood and at the Oscars, but to subject a CHILD who fits the “trifecta” is nothing more than a multi-layered attack of racism, ageism, and misogyny sprinkled with “jokes” about HER NAME in an attempt to “other” her from everyone else. But of course, the focus is just on misogyny alone and sadly…I’m not even surprised.
If you didn’t notice, Quvenzhane Wallis was insulted mainly because she is a female, not because she is black. Therefore, this discussion is entirely relevant to the vile words that Seth McFarland and the Onion used to describe this little girl. Her race plays a secondary if nonexistent role in their jokes about pedophilia, sex, and misogyny. African-American women tend to be insulted most of the time by African-American men who degrade them in their songs and music videos. Immature men like McFarland have always gotten off on disgusting jokes about rape, sex, vomit, poop, etc. which is why his cartoons continue to do so well. His jokes aren’t funny at all. I miss the days when classy comedians could make people laugh and think without being offensive. I’d much rather spend three hours watching Billy Crystal over Seth McFarland any day.
Not surprised AT ALL that someone would think racism and misogyny don’t go hand and hand. And did you gloss over the part where I said she’s black, young, AND female? The fact that you mention AA Men and rap music without taking white men and other genres of music into account to discuss them on the SAME LEVEL backs up EXACTLY what I stated earlier. A person being black and a female goes hand and hand and is not separated because you want to simply add “levels” to it. Why dismiss her blackness by placing her sex before that? The mere fact that you think black women are positioned on the same level as white women is laughable. Black women have historically struggled on a completely different level than white women have had to and continue to do so today within their own culture AND within White people’s culture. Or have you completely forgotten that even POOR white women held power over black women for centuries? White women definitely deal with misogyny and have had to struggle, but lets not make pretend or ignore the fact that a woman being born white automatically grants her certain privileges over a women being born black. That writer at the Onion would have NEVER said that about a little white girl and you know it.
I am amazed what a good singer/dancer Seth M is. Pretty talented guy when you add in the announcer voice, drawing (cartooning?), singing and dancing. Wow.
The jokes didn’t bother me as much as having to look at Peter Brady all night (aka Seth)..I could not shake that image..lol
I thought the Sally Field bit was funny.
I thought the William Shatner bit was stupid.
I thought the boob song was stupid and offensive.
I’d say I enjoyed about 25 percent of it.
Seth McFarlane cutting edge??Hahaa..it was awful childish humor!
Seth MacFarlane is an egomaniac who is madly in love with himself. I’m not surprised that he’s single he has a very nasty attitude towards women and it shows frequently on his various programs. He claims not to be homophobic or racist and yet all of his shows contain nothing but homophobic and racist portrayals of people. The Transgendered episode of his show Family Guy remains one of the most offensive things I’ve ever seen. Of course he gave himself a chance to sing, he loves to hear himself talk and sing. He’s incredibly smug and immature.
He looks like the Brady who did the reality show with a much younger wife.
Yeh, the producers knew exactly what they wanted when they hired Seth. The Oscars rarely recognize comedies (and when they do there’s almost always heart & soul in it) – so why did they plan for crude criticism/ mocking comedy? There’s a place for that humour & people should be able to enjoy it freely. But there is something disconcerting about ball gowns, Harry Winston, tuxedos, serious movies … and Family Guy/Ted humour. I really don’t understand the desire to make the Oscars edgy, that’s best done by People’s Choice which even pays homage to humour with its actual awards. What was a delightful surprise was discovering Seth’s other talents – a great voice and a lovely dancer (I could listen to him read the phone book in his own voice). Seth’s trademark humour at the Oscars was like wearing running shoes with a tuxedo: not a crime against humanity and lots of people find it cute, but …
He was just ok, better than the Hathaway/Franco duo. He started fairly well then midway through, his jokes fell flat (Kardashian’s facial hair, Meryl, Lincoln, Jodie Foster) that I was cringing and started to feel sorry for him. I was expecting more from McFarlane.
Was he offensive, sexist, etc? I don’t know what to feel anymore.
If I say no, someone would accuse me of being a frat-boy type Adam Sandler movie loving person. If I say yes, someone will tell me I have no sense of humor and just don’t get satire. I no longer know which one is offensive and which one is satire.
Let’s just say that Seth is better as a cartoon voice than a stand up comic. Some of the jokes were poorly written and maybe Bruce Vilanch had something to do with the script.
I loved it! I thought Seth was great. Everybody needs to get over themselves.
wow, i know i should “get over myself” but i just have to point out that the boobs song used rape scene clips. still think it’s funny?
Seth MacFarlane’s oscar hosting was textbook sexual harassment. These women had a business stake in the outcome of that night and were therefore held hostage to play along with their humiliation to be accepted in the workplace. This was all done during an international broadcast, while others laughed and cheered. Had they not had so much at stake they should / would have walked out. But that’s how sexual harassment works. You are held hostage by your harasser. Maybe next year women can just go to a business gathering without being humiliated. Maybe.The fact that no one, including major media outlets, will not call it out tells you something about the boys club being still firmly in place.