Sunday, June 1, 2008

Vice, Comedy, and 9/11



Check out this "comedic" 9/11 video from VBS.tv, the online broadcast network brought to you by the ultra hip folks at Vice Magazine. They're really pushing the edge at Vice these days with jokes about herpes right next to good ol' "if we don't do 'x,' the terrorists win" repartee. Yep, real cutting edge.

The true crime about this video isn't just that it makes light of the hellish murder of almost 3,000 innocent Americans. The true crime is worse: it's just not that funny. If you're going to joke about September 11th, you better make it funny or shut the f*ck up. A bunch of spoiled, hipster cynics made this video and I wonder if they'd feel as tickled about it if they lost loved ones when the buildings came crashing down.

This sentiment reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry's dentist friend converts to Judaism, which Jerry suspects is a ploy to tell Jewish jokes with immunity. Jerry goes to the dentist's former priest:

Jerry: I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley. I have a suspicion that he's converted to Judaism just for the jokes.

Father: And this offends you as a Jewish person.

Jerry: No, it offends me as a comedian.

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