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The following is the thirteenth in a series of essays written in response to the media analysis assignment described in the January 28, 2000 article on this topic page. An anonymous Colorado State University student analyzes The Man Show's challenge to "the PC attitude."
Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away, people could be sexist and vulgar without fear of lawsuits, which claim sexual harassment. But now, our male dominated society can only be found in books; stories of old. Our once proud patriarchy has been all but replaced by an emasculating PC attitude; so, what is PC? PC stands for Politically Correct. Those of the Politically Correct philosophy believe in increasing tolerance for a diversity of cultures, race, gender, ideology and alternative lifestyles. They believe that Political Correctness is the only social and morally acceptable outlook. Anyone who disagrees with that philosophy is bigoted, biased, sexist, and/or closed-minded. PC is not just an attitude; it is a way of life! PC supposedly offers the satisfaction of knowing that you are undoing the social evils of centuries of oppression. For example, if you are a white male, your ancestors were responsible for practically every injustice in the world: slavery, war, genocide, and plaid sports coats. That means that YOU are partially responsible for these atrocities. Now, it is believed that the time has come to balance the scales of justice for the descendants of those individuals whose ancestors your ancestors pushed down. How, you ask? It's simple. You've got to be careful of what you say, what you think, and what you do. You must mold your life so as not to offend anyone. That means: no red meat, no furs, recycle, be nice to all God's creatures (especially the cute ones like seals and dolphins stuck in tuna nets), and, most of all, treat women with the utmost respect and gratitude which they think they deserve. Do not oppress them, do not mock them, do not degrade them, do not talk or look at them funny, and do not, under any circumstances, refer to them in a sexual manner unless in the confines of your own home. If one breaks the rules of political correctness, he or she (yes, women have to be PC too) may be subjected to a lawsuit or some other legal form of oppression. If you are sexist, racist, inhumane to animals, or if you jokingly speak in one of the aforementioned attitudes, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Unless of course you are a TV personality for a show like The Man Show. In this case, you can break all the rules. You can be sexist and obnoxious. You can subjugate women and laugh about it with your co-host and audience members. You can go out in public and petition to stop women's suffrage. You can constantly cancel a segment called "The Wife's Perspective" and replace it with girls on trampolines.
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Kim Imdieke's Media Literacy topic, please visit the Discussions page. |
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