An Irritating Truth

The Foundry’s anti-discrimination ad was made with a clear and legitimate intent to pursuade Australians to reconsider their prejudices.

Though confronting, it clearly submits an argument for tolerance, not divisiveness.

A little background information: The ad below was scheduled to appear on the ABC-TV program The Gruen Transfer on May 13, 2009 but due to the shocking nature of the ad, it was not approved for broadcast by the ABC.

They have allowed the content to be used online to facilitate debate and discussion.

The following video includes not only The Foundry’s ad, but also a panel discussion with its creator, Adam Hunt, about the reasons for the ad’s approach.

If you are likely to be offended by issues of discrimination in race, religion, sexuality or body size, please don’t watch.

Due to the controversial nature of the ad, I was unable to embed the video on here, so please use the link below to view, (preferably in a new tab):

http://www.antiprejudicead.net/landing.asp

I’m not really sure how I feel about this ad.

On the one hand, I’m not comfortable with the tradition of political correctness that has plagued the 21st century.

When it comes to prejudice, I am a firm believer that either everything is funny, or nothing is funny.

I think that silencing people who are going to have the thought anyway but stifle themselves so as not to be inappropriate, isn’t putting an end to discrimination – it’s a bandaid solution.

On the other hand, my first thoughts upon seeing this ad, were that the jokes preceding the one about fat chicks were so appalling, I couldn’t even remember what the joke was – and in that, the point of the ad was lost.

Personally, I think this ad failed because the personalities these actors portrayed were deliberately nasty people, as if “nasty people” are the only ones that make racist jokes.

The panel makes a good point: inevitably, four or five beers down, even the most timid people become what we would deem “socially inappropriate.”

The truth is, not all racist/prejudiced comments are made by racists, and I think that is where this ad falls down – we fail to recognise ourselves in it.

Perhaps a better execution would have been to script it in a way where the people making the jokes deliver them in a way they believe to be harmless – (the same way that my dickhead friends deliver absolutely appalling jokes that are so shocking, we have no choice but to laugh).

In delivering the same point, in a more relateable way, perhaps we could begin to recognise that something we previously thought to to be harmless is actually hurtful, discriminatory, and prejudiced whether the intent was there or not.

As a Jew – I was not offended by the joke that was made in the ad, because I knew that the intent was to deconstruct our prejudices, not empower them.

However, I have been the subject of anti-semitic jokes on more than one occasion, and it is upsetting.

I used to date a particularly nasty guy who, when I told him I was Jewish, asked me “don’t Jews usually shave their heads before having a shower?”

I was stunned to silence.

I could not believe that someone who supposedly cared about me, could be so rude, so offensive.

After regaining my voice however – I promptly broke up with him.

Which brings me (finally) to my point – is it the intent of the jokes we find offensive, or the jokes themselves?

I’m going to channel Malcom X here for a second and suggest that perhaps the only way to disempower prejudice – is to laugh:

I’m not sure that we can ever truly remove discrimination, but I think a good way to start is to take a page out of Clerks II, or Dogma, or South Park and be indiscriminately discriminate.

There’s power in satire, and what better to be able to make fun of ourselves, as much as we do of others?

Adam Hunt should not be made to apologise for the strength of the concept.

The idea is good, the execution is flawless, but perhaps the shock factor has distracted from the point of the ad.

I also think that the point of living in a democracy is to read controversial books, or watch controversial ads, and then talk about them.

There is no point in not allowing this ad to run.

Perhaps it should go to air on the ABC.

Perhaps it’s actually a good thing that people are up in arms about this ad, because it’s the only way to make any real progress.

There is no other reaction to be had after watching this advertisement, than to feel complete and utter disgust.

Even people who aren’t that easily shocked said they felt they had been abruptly uprooted from their comfort zones.

And if any progress is to be made in reducing and obliterating discrimination, that is where we are going to have to exist for a while- out of our comfort zone.

Let me know what you think about this ad.

Post your comments below.
An Irritating Truth http://www.anirritatingtruth.wordpress.com