SNL gets hit for "reinforcing stereotypes that are outdated and insulting"

[OnDoutside]

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/andrea-smith-some-of-us-are-deeply-disappointed-at-one-of-our-own-brightest-stars-reinforcing-stereotypes-that-are-outdated-and-insulting-36377684.html

Andrea Smith: 'Some of us are deeply disappointed at one of our own brightest stars reinforcing stereotypes that are outdated and insulting'

In the 18th Century, Edmund Burke famously wrote that, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Fast forward three centuries and I’m borrowing the essence of that sentiment to say, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of casual racism and distasteful disloyalty is for good people to do nothing.” Saoirse Ronan, I’m looking at you.
You’d have to wonder what was going through the talented 23-year-old’s head when she was in rehearsals for hosting Saturday Night Live? In case you missed it - and if so, lucky you - Saoirse took part in an Aer Lingus spoof that managed to insult, belittle and sneer at her homeland all in one fell swoop. Did she genuinely think that suggesting that our national airline’s name sounded like was cunnilingus was side-splitting stuff? Was she slapping her thighs with glee when the scriptwriters suggested that we’re a nation of peasants who only eat potatoes?

It’s hilarious to poke fun at the reminder that a million of our ancestors died because the potato crop failed during the Famine, isn’t it Saoirse? Gas that another million were forced to leave the country too, many of whom ended up in the US, where SNL is recorded.
It wasn’t even an amusing gag. “We’ve got purple potatoes and we’ve got salmon,” an attendant announced. “Sorry I misread that. The salmon is also potatoes.” Groundbreaking stuff.

SNIP

Maybe she cringed as much as the rest of us at the passengers dressed in Aran jumpers and the toe-curling stage Oirish accents on the rest of the cast. Mind you, while dressed as a flight attendant called Colleen, Saoirse’s own accent was bafflingly Oirish too. Perhaps she was as confused as we all were about the dogs that kept featuring in the sketch, although given the calibre of the rest of it, it’s surprising that it wasn’t a set of donkeys or pigs that were trotted out to shore up the abysmal stereotypes.

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/saoirse-ronan-hits-turbulence-as-not-funny-aer-lingus-snl-skit-nosedives-36376258.html

Normally, high-flying Brooklyn actress Saoirse Ronan cannot put a foot wrong.
But TV viewers were far from impressed when the Oscar nominee appeared in a less-than-funny parody of Aer Lingus.
The innuendo-filled skit on the US show Saturday Night Live has met with a decidedly mixed reaction on social media.

The 23-year-old star raised eyebrows when she dressed as an air steward called Colleen, complete with a bouffant hairstyle and a bottle green uniform, in the four-minute sketch. At one point, comedian Kate McKinnon comes on board to tell passengers that they cannot take off because there is a dog on the runway with "sad eyes and the soul of Oscar Wilde".

[smirkymonkey]

1. I didn't get the dog thing.

Do the Irish have more of a weakness for dogs than other European cultures?

At least they didn't make any cracks about drinking and fighting.

[TeamPooka]

3. basically, yes. there are dogs running around all over Ireland and everyone love each one.

Not unusual for a guy to have 8 dogs with him on his farm.
I'm Irish-American and thought the skit was cute.
I figure the cast probably spent all week doing their Irish accents with the host during writing and rehearsals etc and they did the skit just so they could all do them together.
It didn't feel mean.
There was no stereotypical 'drunk" in it so I felt it was harmless.

[OnDoutside]

4. No one in Ireland got it either.

[smirkymonkey]

8. I thought it was kind of amusing as well. I have various European ethnicities

in my background and I don't think I would have been offended if they had done a skit exposing all the stereotypes of any one of them. In fact, I have seen similar things done before on my background and thought they were pretty funny. They weren't mean spirited, they were almost making fun of the stereotypes.

[TeamPooka]

12. SNL did the Mike Meyers Scottish skit for years. They done this type of comedy before

[smirkymonkey]

14. Actually, I loved that skit!

"If it isn't Scottish, It's crrrrrraaaap!"

I also loved the skit, "Phil McCracken - Scottish Therapist".

?itok=jg7iN7jJ

[OnDoutside]

5. No one in Ireland got it either. The biggest problem is that it wasn't funny.

[Fullduplexxx]

2. Lol

[snooper2]

6. LOL, the writer of this article is having a sad

I don't think SNL is a safe space

[OnDoutside]

7. You'd have thought with so many writers on SNL, they could have come up with a skit that was

actually funny. That's really the biggest crime. Instead it smacks of the paddywhackery, lame, horseshit of the 70s.

[Egnever]

9. So now comedy needs to be politically correct?

Lenny Bruce must be rolling in his grave.

[OnDoutside]

10. No, it should at least evolve and be funny. Then again, would you be ok with

non politically correct terms about African Americans or Jewish people ?

[Egnever]

11. Happens daily

Comedy is often about pointing out glaring issues by amplifying them into absurdity.

[Blue_true]

13. Yes, if it is done properly.

Every group has some conduct that should be ridiculed in comedy to show the insanity of that conduct among a broader world. Satire is about taking down sacred cows that should not be sacred to begin with. I was watching the Wisconsin-Ohio State game and got to SNL late, near the end, so I admit that I missed the skit in question - but the idea of lampooning sacred cows that have no reason to be such is a concept that I approve of.

[Rollo]

15. Perhaps the point of the skit was to make fun of the SNL writers...?

It wasn't particularly amusing.

I'm not sure it was all that offensive, just tired.

I spent some time in Ireland in the 90's (on business). Unfortunately it was in November, and perhaps the saddest Thanksgiving I've ever had was in the company cafeteria where they announced in my honor they were having turkey. Well... it was like stamped and formed turkey ham slices... I suppressed and urge to yell, "This is no turkey!". Well, at least they tried. I was really more interested in getting some good Irish lamb stew and hearing some fiddle tunes. Didn't manage to hear either the whole time I was there!. But we did go to dinner at a very nice seaside restaurant near Dundalk and the fish was excellent.

I can't remember eating much in the way of potatoes, either.

Oh, and prior to my visit I read up on Irish history and such. Learned that the alcohol consumption per capita in Ireland is actually well below the European average. Who's higher? Can you say Sweden? Yes, you can... The Irish alcohol consumption is also below that of the USA, as I recall.

It was a nice time despite the weather ("It's a soft rain" my Irish counterparts would assure me kindly. The positive side was that I had all the touristy spots pretty much to myself. Someday I need to go back in the spring or summer.

It's possible that SNL over-thought the whole thing. Like they were mocking people who focus on Irish stereotypes. But it was hard to tell if that was the intent.

As for real Irish humor... while I was there, a columnist for the Irish Independent wrote a hilarious op-ed about some current scandal involving a government minister. At least I found it very amusing. The Irish I mentioned it to in passing seemed bored if not downright irritated by the whole matter. Oh well. I guess I wouldn't necessarily find an Irishman over here kidding me about Trump. Some things just are not funny after a while!

[milestogo]

16. I thought this was going to be about Kate McKinnon's Theresa May imitation.

Too predictable and unsubtle.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

17. Imagine how many trees we could save every year if journalists stopped feigning outrage

Good lord, don't let them see the civil war themed Christopher Walken "Colonel Angus" sketch from fifteen years ago.