By Michael Russnow In the aftermath of my review of the Oscars and that of many others who seemed to agree Seth MacFarlane’s humor was often wanting, I thought I’d offer a postscript as to why for most people the John Wilkes Booth joke didn’t work. It had nothing to do with Lincoln being a sacred cow and, no, paraphrasing MacFarlane, who defensively rejoindered sarcastically when his joke bombed, it wasn’t a case of it being too soon since Lincoln’s death. Simply put, along with a host of national critics I found Seth MacFarlane sophomoric, appealing to the basest form of humor, rather than seeking what many might prefer as a cleverer approach, finding unexpected irony while satirizing a situation. And before you point out that the ABC ratings were higher than last year’s, it had little or nothing to do with MacFarlane. The host’s popularity or lack thereof has only a small degree of audience pull. It’s been proven that the highest ratings usually accompany the popularity of the year’s nominees, and most of the 2012 best picture nominees grossed more than $100 million. Nonetheless, in a discussion with a young actor Monday night, he said he found the Oscar host quite funny, including the John Wilkes Booth remark. I tried to explain my point of view, which was that, rather than cutting edge, to me it was cheap, sort of like banana peel humor. He responded that there were many fans of MacFarlane and that there should be room for that sort of humor on the Oscar show, in order to appeal to all segments of society. I should add that, during all this, he was most respectful and accepting of my point of view, as opposed to the personally insulting comments my review engendered from mostly anonymous readers. I don’t mind the sort of argument my friend put forth, but still believe the Oscar show should elevate itself above playground or frat party humor. A lot of tween types find gross situations very humorous, and this extends into the teen years and for some even into their third decade. However, it is also true that life among school-age kids can be hell for those who are dissimilar, with cliques abounding, separating the in-crowd from those it deems wanting. If you’re different, maybe not athletic or pretty or, God forbid gay (yes, even in today’s more tolerant age) life can be pretty horrid. Fortunately, [...]
