Is it Insensitive to Enjoy Controversial Humor?

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”

The+show+started+in+2005+and+is+still+coming+out+with+new+seasons.+%0A

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472954/

The show started in 2005 and is still coming out with new seasons.

Olivia Moody, Newspaper Editor

A few weeks ago, I started watching the show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” mostly because I knew Danny DeVito was featured. 

I knew the show was a comedy, but I did not know that its goal was to basically turn every minority, disability and life form into a joke. In the first few episodes, I tried to ignore the crude jokes and thought that each episode was just a one time thing. I was growing increasingly uncomfortable watching episodes that glamorize drunk driving, anti-semitism, welfare and ableism, and that was just in the first season. 

It took me longer than I would like to admit, but finally after around seven episodes, I had to stop because the guilt of watching the show was becoming unbearable. I kept thinking to myself that the show did start in 2005, but maybe in their later seasons they cease to be so problematic. I also felt guilty because I did find certain parts of the show really funny. 

This made me remember a conversation that I have been pulled into by family members and older people within my community concerning political correctness. Older generations may say that it is stupid for me to feel guilty for just watching a show. Some in my family would argue that if this show is making fun of everyone, is that not inclusivity? 

In this sense, I do not know if I would even consider this just political correctness. I did some research and there is an episode that was banned because the white actors featured in the show did blackface and use slurs that have been discouraged from usage for decades. 

I know that a lot of people say that it is impossible to be funny without making fun of someone or something, but I feel like that is just an excuse for condoning offensive remarks and having no creativity. 

I challenge people to be more mindful of the media that they are consuming, because even if you do not believe the messages that shows like “Always Sunny” are pushing, it is easy to become desensitized to derogatory speech.