Tire wrote:
Douglas wrote:
I'm just saying, the last couple of updates have been constistently edgy. Strong Sad's Lament, lady...ing, TrogdorCon, and this one.
[size=0]I'm just saying... my parent's probably wouldn't be too happy with me if they caught me watching that.[/size]
Lady...ing is barely edgy. Neither is TrogdorCon. Haven't read Strong Sad's lament recently, so I can't comment on that.
I think in an attempt to make Reynolds say something downright silly (a guy? Pregnant?), TBC might have inadvertantly caused some of their fans to do a double-take simply because thinking of "teen pregnant" dredged up a lot of not-too-pleasant things.
Generally, the closer you are to having a teen daughter of your own, the less pleasant the "things".
The edginess with the "teen pregnant" comment is a departure from the usual H*R humor in one
major aspect: rather than
masking a real-world social issue with a neutral or humorous pseudonym (smoking candy?), it's a
direct reference to a social issue with no upside, no matter how you look at it.
Smoking? That's a stoppable, avoidable bad habit with negative health effects.
Drinking? Ditto. (DWI notwithstanding...)
Gawking at hot chicks a-la Strong Bad? Not particularly impactful from a social ills viewpoint.
Diaper biscuits? I'm a parent: I know what diaper biscuits are! That's funny!
But
teen pregnancy? We've just crossed the line into a quagmire of ideas such as too-early/unready motherhood/marriage, violence against children, abortion, Internet predators--or a host of other things you might think of when you think of that phrase.
Again: the more "teen" your daughter, the less funny the comment, and more edgy it seems.
I tend to think of the H*R "crew" as 20-something 7th graders. When I was in 7th grade (showing my age...), drinking and smoking were the "bad things" the "bad kids" did. Fart jokes, burping, barf jokes were all par for the course if you wanted to raise a ruckus (or stink). And all the guys rushed home after school to watch the latest G.I. Joe toy commercial--I mean, adventure!
"Getting teen pregnant" was
beyond any of that; and it wasn't funny when I was in 7th grade.
The amazing irony of all this? I have been contemplating an email to TBC specifically thanking them for keeping H*R
clever-funny, without getting into political, ethical, or otherwise socially unpleasant issues.
Maybe I should have sent it. Maybe I will wait a while.
*whew* Rant over, thanks for listening. Overall, Cheat Commandos still Rock, Rock On!