Monday, January 17, 2011

Politically Incorrect Fockers

In this oh-so-politically-correct society, ethnic slurs must be guarded against.

And so, even those books that make us weep with empathy and understanding of the mistreatment of others like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, and some of Mark Twain’s writings, have to be either pulled from library shelves or rewritten.

I’m not saying this to judge whether that is a good, or a bad thing. But what is bad is the media portrayal of babes and young children. They are not misbehaving, noisy little brats.

They are a race of little people, deserving of all respectful consideration. They are, so much more so than wee baby puppies, cute, funny, darling, and the joy of life.

I say this because recently a new show has aired called “The Little Fockers”. I have never watched it and don’t intend to, but I’m assuming it is about children.

The name of the show, of course, has led me to believe that. And I don’t care if the show is witty, funny, or even complementary in every respect towards the tiniest individuals in our society. The name speaks differently. And such labelling should be considered a crime.

But when I expressed my concern about the name of the show, Youngest Daughter, simply said, “Oh, for crying out loud, Mom. It’s just the surname of the family.”

That doesn’t do anything towards excusing it, because as a TV show, that particular family could have any name they wish to have. And obviously there is a meaning intended that is not so nice. And so, if this show is about family, with children, this is an inexcusable slur against children.

And so are so many other shows (and commercials), that concentrate on children being sassy, forever whining, and disruptive, rather than the sweet and precious individuals that they are.

Politically correct is meant to eliminate the unfair judgement and detriment of others. At least, I think that is the case. So let’s have more of it.

4 comments:

joared said...

Not sure if you're referring to that comedy series of Focker movies that began as "Meet The Parents." I saw the first movie in the series and don't recall it being about little children, but grown adult children. I guess what struck me most about the surname was that it was one vowel away from another word used quite freely by some in the younger generation but repellent to the spoken vocabulary of many others. Am sure the vowel choice was deliberate and expect a "Fackers" or "Feckers" surname was rejected.

Alan G said...

I have wanted to give my two-cents worth on this subject for a time now so thanks for the opportunity...

I have seen several advertisements on this particular movie and yes, there are children portraying characters in the film. There is no doubt that this was an intentional euphemism which takes the orginal euphemism, The Fockers, up another level. It's simply a play on words.

It is treated as humor, children and young folks see it viewed as humor, and so the word to which it is directed becomes less and less offensive within society.

First mistake with regard to this particular word was it becoming common place to publically refer to it as the "F-word". If a word is deemed unacceptable language within a society or culture, you don't create an acronym for it instead.

Roberta S said...

Yes, Joared, I am referring to the movies you mention. And I agree the choice of word with one vowel altered was absolutely deliberate. It shows a sick attempt at comedy through ridicule whether the show be about wee babes or grown offspring, or anyone else for that matter.

Thanks for stopping by. I always look forward to your perspectives.

Roberta S said...

Thank you Alan. I am glad you jumped in here and with great enthusiasm I say to your observations..."Amen, and Amen."