I hate America, and no, I am not moving ::SNICKERS AD RANT::

The part that's offensive is the aftermath where they must "quick, do something manly" because apparently, according to Snickers, its incredibly destructive to one's masculinity to accidently kiss another man.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it probably would be a bit disturbing to do that if you were heterosexual, which it is safely assumed the two people in the commercial are (and knowing some of the people around here, they'll find it offensive that I assumed that). Not necessarily resulting in "quick, do something manly," because that's a somewhat unrealistic reaction, but certainly in the "ok, this is awkward" realm. I know if I'm at a concert and everyone is butts-to-nuts in the crowd, I don't really enjoy that, and it is a bit awkward. Fortunately I'm able to circumvent it by doing something manly as soon as the masculine metal band takes the stage, hyuk hyuk.

The commercial was weak because it wasn't that funny to begin with, but that's another topic.

Poking fun at homosexuality - and for that matter any other "offensive" topic - is as perfectly an acceptable form of humor as any. It's when you start believing in and living with those lines of thinking in everyday life that you join the screwheads.

Hey, people are perfectly free to think everything is offensive, even if it clearly was not the intent. Just like every level-headed person is free to laugh at the idiocy of doing so. Come on, when you start seeing lines like:
...the assumption that a candy commercial is harmless and innocuous
Click to expand...
...it's gone beyond the realm of "debate" over what's offensive into just being annoying and abrasive with some ridiculously misguided views.

But, hey, that's ok. These overbearing, oversensitive cry-foul pricks are slowly eroding elements of comedy away, but at the same time they're becoming society's punchline themselves. Not exactly a fair trade, but it'll have to do.
 
The part that's offensive is the aftermath where they must "quick, do something manly" because apparently, according to Snickers, its incredibly destructive to one's masculinity to accidently kiss another man.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it probably would be a bit disturbing to do that if you were heterosexual, which it is safely assumed the two people in the commercial are (and knowing some of the people around here, they'll find it offensive that I assumed that). Not necessarily resulting in "quick, do something manly," because that's a somewhat unrealistic reaction, but certainly in the "ok, this is awkward" realm. I know if I'm at a concert and everyone is butts-to-nuts in the crowd, I don't really enjoy that, and it is a bit awkward. Fortunately I'm able to circumvent it by doing something manly like knocking someone on their ass as soon as the masculine metal band takes the stage, hyuk hyuk.

The commercial was weak because it wasn't that funny to begin with, but that's another topic.

Poking fun at homosexuality - and for that matter any other "offensive" topic - is as perfectly an acceptable form of humor as any. It's when you start believing in and living with those lines of thinking in everyday life that you join the screwheads.

Hey, people are perfectly free to think everything is offensive, even if it clearly was not the intent. Just like every level-headed person is free to laugh at the idiocy of doing so. Come on, when you start seeing lines like:
...the assumption that a candy commercial is harmless and innocuous
Click to expand...
...it's gone beyond the realm of "debate" over what's offensive into just being annoying and abrasive with some ridiculously misguided views.

But, hey, that's ok. These overbearing, oversensitive cry-foul pricks are slowly eroding elements of what is "allowed" in comedy away, but at the same time they're becoming society's punchline themselves. Not exactly a fair trade, but it'll have to do.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']I wonder if there was an outrage when Naruto accidently kissed Sasuke. [/QUOTE]

Naw. Sasuke is totally hawt.
 
KaneRobot, think you're making too many assumptions about what is and is not permissible in comedy, in my view. I don't think sexism, racism, homophobia, and other social ills are appropriate in comedy. I don't think Lisa Lampanelli is funny, I don't find Carlos Mencia funny, and I don't find Johnny Rebel (old racist folk songwriter) funny.

That said, it's not as if minorities and homosexuals are exempt from being made fun of. It's possible to make fun of them without having that underlying claim that "these people are abnormal or less than the average person." This commercial fails to do that. On the other hand, a sitcom, dreadful as they all may be, gets away with that. Will and Grace did so quite well, I feel, by mocking the kinds of relationship and social situation stereotypes homosexuals can be in. That's no different, IMO, than the thousands of prime time sitcoms that condense, stereotype, and mock heterosexual families and groups of friends.

Additionally, "isms" themselves can be the center of biting social commentary masquerading as comedy. Dave Chappelle did that, as did Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles and History of the World come to mind). At the end of the day, I'd argue that it is perfectly fine to mock people of various minority groups, but not to reinforce the various sorts of hateful visions and diminished social standing of groups.

fenderhutz, your last post made two claims:
1) the commercial is not offensive in its content
2) the commercial is not offensive based on who it's being marketed and targeted at. Though I'd vehemently disagree with you that adult males only watch the Super Bowl (with an estimated 90 million viewers, just shy of 33% of the entire US population, that's a foolish claim to make), what you're saying in #2 shows that you can envision that this commercial is offensive. So, is it offensive in its content or not? You say both, but they can't both be true.
 
I didn't find the commercial offensive because, hey, it's just a freaking commercial and it takes a lot to offend me. I do not think there was any intent to offend but you can never predict people's reaction to these things. Plus, 90 million people is a huge audience and you are bound to offend a few people no matter what you air and as nerds on the internet we all know how loud the vocal minority can be.

So far, in addition to the Snickers commercial, I've heard that there was a "malfunction" in Prince's halftime show because his guitar was actually a giant penis and the resulting silhouette on the white sheet behind him was offensive and that the assembly line machine taking a swan dive off of the bridge was offensive because Tony Dungy's son killed himself last year. It could go on and on I'm sure.

I do think that if I kissed one of my male friends in that fashion I'd have a similar reaction - not "do something manly" but just more like in a "damn that was awkward" kind of way. I don't know. I guess I see both sides of the coin but I do think that there is a tendancy to overreact to things just for the sake of it.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I didn't find the commercial offensive because, hey, it's just a freaking commercial and it takes a lot to offend me. I do not think there was any intent to offend but you can never predict people's reaction to these things. Plus, 90 million people is a huge audience and you are bound to offend a few people no matter what you air and as nerds on the internet we all know how loud the vocal minority can be.

So far, in addition to the Snickers commercial, I've heard that there was a "malfunction" in Prince's halftime show because his guitar was actually a giant penis and the resulting silhouette on the white sheet behind him was offensive and that the assembly line machine taking a swan dive off of the bridge was offensive because Tony Dungy's son killed himself last year. It could go on and on I'm sure.

I do think that if I kissed one of my male friends in that fashion I'd have a similar reaction - not "do something manly" but just more like in a "damn that was awkward" kind of way. I don't know. I guess I see both sides of the coin but I do think that there is a tendancy to overreact to things just for the sake of it.[/quote]

I agree with all of that.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Because it presents two males kissing as something completely revolting, disgusting, and shameful. Think of the reaction "quick, do something manly" (and also that it implies that sexual orientation is directly related to concepts of "manliness"), and compare the two guys' reaction to movies in which an "accidental heterosexual" kiss occurs. [/QUOTE]

that really says more about your perception of your own sexuality (and gender roles more broadly) than it does that of the producers/writers

that spot clearly.. CLEARLY makes fun of homophobia itself, and of homophobic people by making them look like idiots

the only people who could see this as anti-gay or homophobic are the ones who are just sitting around waiting for something to be mad about

i find it to be pathetic
 
[quote name='javeryh']I didn't find the commercial offensive because, hey, it's just a freaking commercial and it takes a lot to offend me. I do not think there was any intent to offend but you can never predict people's reaction to these things. Plus, 90 million people is a huge audience and you are bound to offend a few people no matter what you air and as nerds on the internet we all know how loud the vocal minority can be.

So far, in addition to the Snickers commercial, I've heard that there was a "malfunction" in Prince's halftime show because his guitar was actually a giant penis and the resulting silhouette on the white sheet behind him was offensive and that the assembly line machine taking a swan dive off of the bridge was offensive because Tony Dungy's son killed himself last year. It could go on and on I'm sure.

I do think that if I kissed one of my male friends in that fashion I'd have a similar reaction - not "do something manly" but just more like in a "damn that was awkward" kind of way. I don't know. I guess I see both sides of the coin but I do think that there is a tendancy to overreact to things just for the sake of it.[/QUOTE]

The penis guitar stuck out at me more than the snickers commercial, to tell the truth.

I still say there's nothing wrong with being disgusted by homosexuality if you're straight. Not saying that i believe it should be a cultural thing that homosexuality is gross, but to me, yeah, two guys or girls kissing ranks above average on the nauseating scale.

I'm not even going to get into the debate about race being equal to sexual (emphasis here->)preference because it's a whole can of crap that isn't going to do anything but start circular arguements and change nobody's opinion. Not to mention religious views about it being right and wrong..
 
[quote name='jer7583']

I still say there's nothing wrong with being disgusted by homosexuality if you're straight. .[/QUOTE]

agree

ever have a conversation with a gay man about eating
kitty.jpg
?

just watch the expression on his face... pure disgust

offensive.. to anyone? hardly

unless i'm utterly insecure in my own heterosexuality, then i might start to doubt my own convictions and see it as some sort of comment of my choice of which body parts will or won't go in my mouth

and that would just be sad
 
There was a penis guitar?

Oh, and it is wrong to be disgusted purely by someone's sexuality. Being turned off, or uncomfortable with homosexual PDA or a particular act because it doesn't appeal to you is fine, but responding to someone simply being homo- or bi-sexual with "OMG TEH GROSSNESS!!" is really fucking retarded.

And the religious stuff doesn't matter, as it carries the same weight on morality as Snowhite or any other children's fairy tale.
 
I find it incredibly funny that GLAD is being so sensitive over this. It's as if the American public is constantly thinking 'Let's look for anything that seems gay and make fun of it.' I know some gay people are drama queens, but this is a little ridiculous.

Most of America found it humorous because we aren't looking to persecute anyone. When GLAD or the NAACP use the crutch of bigotry at every turn to call attention to their cause, it sets them back even further. It was a harmless commercial, and probably would have been forgotten about in a couple of months. But no, they had to call attention to it and feel discriminated, and people are reminded that you aren't allowed to have a sense of humor anymore because it might offend someone.

Yeah, you're gay. Now do you want to be treated like kid gloves, or do you want to be treated equally?
 
[quote name='jer7583']I'm not even going to get into the debate about race being equal to sexual (emphasis here->)preference because it's a whole can of crap that isn't going to do anything but start circular arguements and change nobody's opinion. Not to mention religious views about it being right and wrong..[/quote]

I'll say it then...(and I am not usually this firm on a position but...)

It doesn't even come remotely close to being comparable to race issues and I'll challenge anyone who says otherwise.
 
I have numerous gay friends, and a sister that is a lesbian. I voted against the gay marriage ban in Virginia, however I still find two males kissing revolting. It is instrinsic. It is inherent. I cannot do anything about it, and I highly doubt it was a product of society instilling in me those feelings.
 
[quote name='PKRipp3r']that really says more about your perception of your own sexuality (and gender roles more broadly) than it does that of the producers/writers

that spot clearly.. CLEARLY makes fun of homophobia itself, and of homophobic people by making them look like idiots

the only people who could see this as anti-gay or homophobic are the ones who are just sitting around waiting for something to be mad about

i find it to be pathetic[/quote]

Agreed
 
Did you really have to say "I hate America" over a candybar ad. I mean, seriously dude.

Anyway, I'm sick of everybody being so freaking offended. At least the gays used marketing pressure to get their way - the fundies are exceptionally more dangerous in the way in which they bend the will of our nanny government to support their theocratic ambitions.
 
[quote name='jer7583']I still say there's nothing wrong with being disgusted by homosexuality if you're straight. Not saying that i believe it should be a cultural thing that homosexuality is gross, but to me, yeah, two guys or girls kissing ranks above average on the nauseating scale.[/QUOTE]

You're avoiding my point. I didn't say you aren't allowed to be nauseated by it. I said that if you're sickened by the notion of homosexuality, you are a homophobe. What's so hard to figure out about that?

As for the comparisons to race, the main difference is in visibility (a person can hide their sexuality but not their race, with few exceptions). There sure as hell are similarities in wanting to treat homosexuals as second-class citizens, however, and I'll hold up the rampant and widespread passage of anti-same-sex marriage bills as evidence of that. While it's not comparable to Jim Crow laws in terms of "separate but equal," it sure can be that behind the scenes (partner rights, insurance, taxes, power of attorney, etc.). Just because they don't have "gay water fountains" doesn't mean that they aren't being kept down by those who find their existence in the United States repulsive.
 
This all just proves that both extreme liberalism and conservatism can be dangerous to freedom of speech. After all, the political continuum is just one big circle, you swing too far to the left, you end up on the extreme right and vice versa.

I think people are reading way to much in to the ad. I actually thought it was funny because it was making fun of the "homophobic" response of the mechanics to "do something manly" by pulling out their chest hair which is obviously a silly thing to do. I don't see how anyone could go so far as to interpret it as some sort of attack on homosexuality.
 
[quote name='javeryh']Yup.

10953772_480X360.jpg
[/quote]

THAT'S supposed to be a penis. He's been using that guitar shape for like 20 years or so, hasn't he?
 
[quote name='evanft']
And the religious stuff doesn't matter, as it carries the same weight on morality as Snowhite or any other children's fairy tale.[/QUOTE]

Want to talk offensive? That's offensive right there. Tons more offensive than showing two straight men being weirded out by accidentally kissing. You should watch your mouth before trying to throw other people's beliefs in the garbage, because it just makes you look like a fool. As far as I'm concerned, any arguements you have about fairness/equality and tolerance for people are negated by that statement.

I suppose that by mykevermin's definintion, that makes me a homophobe, and it doesn't bother me that homosexuality disgusts me. It DOES bother me that that term places me under the category of dumb, redneck, hate filled, backwards, white religious extremist who wants to hang them all high. Are labels really necessary?
 
[quote name='mykevermin']You're avoiding my point. I didn't say you aren't allowed to be nauseated by it. I said that if you're sickened by the notion of homosexuality, you are a homophobe. What's so hard to figure out about that?[/QUOTE]

I fail to see how I'm homophobic if I don't enjoy watching two men in the throngs of thier passion.

Would a gay man want to watch a straight couple? Does that make him a heterophobe?
 
Disclaimer: I did not see the commercial, nor do I really care about it. I'm more offended by the Carl's Jr. commercial with the guys freak dancing with the cows, but only because it's shown during kids' shows.

First, as this article on 365Gay.com states, it's not so much the commerical, but what was on the Snickers website that's got people steamed:

On the Snickers Web site the company offered several different potential endings to the commercial, and it posted video of some of the Bowl players reactions to the kiss commercial.
In that video, one of the producers of the commercial could be heard telling Bears tight end Desmond Clark that it took 50 takes of the two men kissing for them to get it right.
"I hope they got paid a lot of money," replied Clark
Click to expand...

It doesn't take a genius to realize that asking a bunch of NFL players what they think of a couple of guys kissing, videotaping their comments, and posting it on their website is a really bad idea.

This is why Rosie O'Donnell and others are unhappy, not because they had to be told the commercial is offensive. By itself, I think the commercial is mostly harmless.

That said, the commercial goes right back to stuff that is so tiresome. Gay = icky. Gay = uncomfortable. Like, OMG
 
[quote name='mykevermin']You're avoiding my point. I didn't say you aren't allowed to be nauseated by it. I said that if you're sickened by the notion of homosexuality, you are a homophobe. What's so hard to figure out about that?

[/quote]

For example, lets say you have two people who are adults who want to kiss each other on the lips. No problem right? What if they are siblings? I guarantee that if they ran an ad showing Angelina Jolie and her brother kissing (which actually happened a few years ago), a great many people (homosexual and heterosexual) would be nauseated. Should the notion of incest sicken most of us? If so, why should homosexuality or any other sexual practice/preference be any different to other people? Therein lies the dilemma, because as much as sexual issues are made out to be civil rights issues they are more about people's tolerance of behavior (whether they are born with those preferences or not).

I personally think people should live however they see fit provided they are adults. I certainly wouldn't want anyone telling me how to live my life.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']For example, lets say you have two people who are adults who want to kiss each other on the lips. No problem right? What if they are siblings? I guarantee that if they ran an ad showing Angelina Jolie and her brother kissing (which actually happened a few years ago), a great many people (homosexual and heterosexual) would be nauseated. Should the notion of incest sicken most of us? If so why should homosexuality or any other sexual practice/preference be any different. Therein lies the dilemma, because as much as sexual issues are made out to be civil rights issues they are more about people's tolerance of behavior (whether they are born with those preferences or not).

I personally think people should live however they see fit provided they are adults. I certainly wouldn't want anyone telling me how to live my life.[/quote]

I'd say the comparison doesn't really work because being romantically attracted to the same sex and wanting to fuck your siblings are completely different things, as one is obviously a born trait, while the other is more than likely a simple product of development.
 
[quote name='evanft']Homosexuality is a born trait. Wanting to fuck your brother isn't.[/quote]

The desire for a male to have sex with a female is a born trait. The idea of family members being taboo in that regard is born from society. There are people in other parts of the world that do not have taboos in regards to this.
Same thing with homosexuality. In Japan homosexuality wasn't a taboo until Christian influences started taking hold.
 
[quote name='Frogger']I fail to see how I'm homophobic if I don't enjoy watching two men in the throngs of thier passion.

Would a gay man want to watch a straight couple? Does that make him a heterophobe?[/QUOTE]

What I'm bringing up is the being sickened by the idea of homosexuality. Personally, as I said earlier in the thread (I think this gets at your point, too Guile), I fuckin' *HATE* PDA in any way, shape, or form. What it seemed that jer was saying is that the very idea of homosexuality sickens him to the very core - which covers everything from sexual activity to simply having an attraction for a member of the same sex.

I think it's perfectly fine to be bothered by public displays of affection, and I happen to be quite universal in hating all of it. My point has more to do with concepts of sexuality.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']The desire for a male to have sex with a female is a born trait. The idea of family members being taboo in that regard is born from society. There are people in other parts of the world that do not have taboos in regards to this.
Same thing with homosexuality. In Japan homosexuality wasn't a taboo until Christian influences started taking hold.[/quote]

You dodged the issue. You turned incest into "The desire for a male to have sex with a female ". That is not the matter at hand. The matter at hand is whether ickyness towards incest is morally equal to that of ickyness of homosexuality. The answer is no, of course, as one is not an born trait while the other is.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']For example, lets say you have two people who are adults who want to kiss each other on the lips. No problem right? What if they are siblings? I guarantee that if they ran an ad showing Angelina Jolie and her brother kissing (which actually happened a few years ago), a great many people (homosexual and heterosexual) would be nauseated. Should the notion of incest sicken most of us? If so, why should homosexuality or any other sexual practice/preference be any different to other people? Therein lies the dilemma, because as much as sexual issues are made out to be civil rights issues they are more about people's tolerance of behavior (whether they are born with those preferences or not).

I personally think people should live however they see fit provided they are adults. I certainly wouldn't want anyone telling me how to live my life.[/quote]

And I agree with all of that. :D

Of course, living how you see fit still needs some boundaries which is why we have laws in the first place (like it's not OK to murder because someone bothers you) but as far as sexuality and preferences go I totally agree.
 
Yes, the concept of one man being romantically attracted to another is sickening, for me. If that's what they want to do, then by all means, have at it, but I'm not going to spend my time thinking about their feelings and what they do.

And while we're all putting out opinion statements as fact, evanft, I'll counter your flawless argument with "homosexuality is not a born trait" Wow! I can have opinions too!
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']

Yeah, you're gay. Now do you want to be treated like kid gloves, or do you want to be treated equally?[/QUOTE]

you and i see eye to eye on this issue

being an accepted part of the group means you can take a joke and then give it back accordingly

it's like a kid begging to play in backyard tackle football game, then he's allowed to play, is tackled and runs home crying about it

the gays are so gay sometimes
 
I'm not really offended by the ad, but I do think it's pretty childish to say that gay guys aren't 'manly'.
 
THE GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STUPID AND GOOFY!
Schindler's list isn't anti-semitic because it portrays the killing of jews, the nazis are portrayed as bad. These guys are dumb, and portrayed as so.
That was the point.
 
I laughed my ass off when I saw that commercial. Then I saw on the news that it was banned and I got really pissed off since it actully was a great commercial.
 
[quote name='smalien1']THE GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STUPID AND GOOFY!
Schindler's list isn't anti-semitic because it portrays the killing of jews, the nazis are portrayed as bad. These guys are dumb, and portrayed as so.
That was the point.[/QUOTE]We all already know that, but there's a lot of vaginal silicosis going around and the infected can't help themselves.
 
[quote name='VAD3R or Fro']I laughed my ass off when I saw that commercial. Then I saw on the news that it was banned and I got really pissed off since it actully was a great commercial.[/QUOTE]I suspect it has to do with Democrats back in office. When the republicans were running things, corporations knew they could get away with murder, but now they're not sure, hence Turner rolling over to Boston's stupidity and Snickers (Mars?) wussing out quite fast here.
 
[quote name='jmcc']I suspect it has to do with Democrats back in office. When the republicans were running things, corporations knew they could get away with murder, but now they're not sure, hence Turner rolling over to Boston's stupidity and Snickers (Mars?) wussing out quite fast here.[/QUOTE]


Yeah, uh.... no.
 
[quote name='jmcc']I suspect it has to do with Democrats back in office. When the republicans were running things, corporations knew they could get away with murder, but now they're not sure, hence Turner rolling over to Boston's stupidity and Snickers (Mars?) wussing out quite fast here.[/quote]

So wait wait wait.

A goofy candy bar ad = "get away with murder"?
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Yeah, uh.... no.[/QUOTE]There's no reason for capitulation in either case.
 
[quote name='camoor']So wait wait wait.

A goofy candy bar ad = "get away with murder"?[/QUOTE]I don't think that phrase is regional only. Are you perhaps ESL, where you wouldn't understand that it doesn't refer to actually getting away with murder?
 
You could be a Rebuplican if you hate liberal bull feces

Also I think we have so much shit in our ass that we can't see the picture. It's funny. It's not meant to justify homosexuality and descriminate against heterosexuals and say that you certain people of this sexual orientation and color can consume this product, it's supposed to funny.

Unfortunatley you can't change a detail nazi.
 
[quote name='jmcc']I don't think that phrase is regional only. Are you perhaps ESL, where you wouldn't understand that it doesn't refer to actually getting away with murder?[/quote]

Well considering that companies do get away with murder, I felt it was a particularly poor choice of words.

Especially when the entire episode is pointless, idiotic, and just shows that the gays can be just as self-rightous and obnoxious as the rest of special interest America.

Everyone thinks that what they are is sooooo gosh darn special and that they should never be the subject of a little humorous ribbing. Don't tell a goofy joke or I'll boycott your candy, don't speak profanity or I'll hit you up with million dollar fines, don't draw my religious figure or I'll cut your head off. The copius amount of BS is giving me a headache...
 
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