Transparent Moderation Log & Site Topics - Part I

Originally Posted by unjung

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I think a big part of humour is contrast, things being out of place, flipped. I don't know what that would be called, I'm sure it has a name, but it definitely applies here.

I think it's called conceptual transposition. ****** for short.

If you had family - lots of family - die in the death camps, and your grandfather was in WW2 and has told you a ton of stories about the travesties that he encounterd/endured/witnessed, you would perhaps have a different outlook on these things. Lots of people just talk a lot of **** online, and make ridiculous jokes about very serious things. I told my grandfather about Inglorious Basterds (a movie I loved) and he just blinked a few times and said "that's not what happened, and that's not how it [WW2] ended." It's not that he doesn't have a sense of humor - he does. It's that there are things that, to some people, can never, ever be funny for any reason. People online don't give a **** about that because they're all keyboard warriors and/or have never been checked in real life.

Moo, was your GF in the Soviet army? (not hatting, just curious).

Originally Posted by unjung

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I think a big part of humour is contrast, things being out of place, flipped. I don't know what that would be called, I'm sure it has a name, but it definitely applies here.
I get that. BUT, what I'm saying is... behind the witty transposition, IN THIS CASE, I think there's something more there that should give us pause before saying, "OMG SO FUNNY!" I guess I'm not being very good at articulating this (LONG week), but I also hope it won't take a full Discourse Analysis of that video to get you guys to see why THIS video (not necessarily any and every Hitler-themed joke) is iffy.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

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I think it's called conceptual transposition. ****** for short.
I thought it was contraception, but it may have changed since the new edition of the APA manual came out.

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

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If you had family - lots of family - die in the death camps, and your grandfather was in WW2 and has told you a ton of stories about the travesties that he encounterd/endured/witnessed, you would perhaps have a different outlook on these things. Lots of people just talk a lot of **** online, and make ridiculous jokes about very serious things. I told my grandfather about Inglorious Basterds (a movie I loved) and he just blinked a few times and said "that's not what happened, and that's not how it [WW2] ended." It's not that he doesn't have a sense of humor - he does. It's that there are things that, to some people, can never, ever be funny for any reason. People online don't give a **** about that because they're all keyboard warriors and/or have never been checked in real life.
Interesting point. When "Pearl Harbor" came out, some relatives and I were going to go see it and asked my grandma to go and she basically did the same thing as your grandfather... she said, "good lord, I lived through it once, why would I want to go and see a movie about it?"

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Where I come from, jokes using Hitler or Waffen SS casually are very unusual and often considered offensive. Same goes for the use of words like "nazi" or "ss" as a casual descriptive like is often done here (grammar nazi, soup nazi, etc...). However, after 10 years here, I've slowly become de-sensitized to these and they can make me laugh sometimes if they're not in really bad taste. In short, I can understand being offended.
I have a similar background and have objected to the casual use of "nazi" and similar terms. I find "soup nazi" and "grammar nazi" stupid and offensive. Obviously, not everyone agrees with me.

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

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That's just the thing... you guys are finding the dubbing and the meme funny. I'm not meaning to beat a dead horse/keep this going... but even if it was made innocently not as an anti-Obama/anti-America jab, but just as a way to play with the meme... that it's still a little bit bothersome in what it says? Look at what Hitler's SAYING and things he said he did. He's basically speaking as a person in the Democratic Base, disappointed with Obama. Jokes are jokes, but WHAT are you guys laughing at? I just think that our natural predilection for finding foreign languages dubbed with made-up subtitles funny is getting in the way of something that really isn't funny... in THIS CASE. Let's dub Pol Pot! He's a hoot. Anyway, carry on... I just really want you guys to explain what is funny about it, except 1) it's funny to play with subtitles.
Dubbing Pol Pot would be a work of genius. And there is always Stalin. Note to Manton: The Producers (the film, not the damned musical) was funny precisely because of the way a bunch of Jews shattered a taboo. The film has such a different meaning now.

Originally Posted by NorCal

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Moo, was your GF in the Soviet army? (not hatting, just curious).

For a second I thought you were asking about my girlfriend

Yes, he was a tank commander in WW2. He was heavily involved in his first battle at the ripe old age of 17, and was part of the final push into Berlin.

Originally Posted by unjung

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I think a big part of humour is contrast, things being out of place, flipped. I don't know what that would be called, I'm sure it has a name, but it definitely applies here.

This and because the scene is just so bat-**** crazy. And the one word you can understand is "Stalingrad" so the dubbing has to work that in as well as half the people leaving the room. It has become part of the meme. In this case of the Brown meme it's just saying what a lot of Obama's critics , including his lefty critics, have been saying about him but just so over the top that it kind of makes you chuckle. Same with the TO/Dallas one, I mean why would Hitler give a **** about football? It's just kind of amusing to imagine that instead of Hitler raving about all the evil **** he raved about his was just talking **** about football like anyone else but in that insane over the top manner of his.

I can see why people think Hitler should never be made light of, but that is the humor as I see it.

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

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For a second I thought you were asking about my girlfriend

Yes, he was a tank commander in WW2. He was heavily involved in his first battle at the ripe old age of 17, and was part of the final push into Berlin.


Well, I did always pick you for a GILF lover.

My grandparents had a boarder once who had been a german tank commander ( I know, wrong side). My dad says he had some pretty crazy stories including having his tank shot out from under him in Stalingrad and being forced to walk back to Germany with the remnants of the German forces.

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

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For a second I thought you were asking about my girlfriend

So did I! I was thinking I REALLY missed the joke there.

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

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Yes, he was a tank commander in WW2. He was heavily involved in his first battle at the ripe old age of 17, and was part of the final push into Berlin.

Wow, you are lucky to have learnt that history from him. Cool.

Originally Posted by NorCal

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Well, I did always pick you for a GILF lover.

My grandparents had a boarder once who had been a german tank commander ( I know, wrong side). My dad says he had some pretty crazy stories including having his tank shot out from under him in Stalingrad and being forced to walk back to Germany with the remnants of the German forces.

Sounds about right. Aside from the SS and the people who worked willingly in the death camps, the German Army was made up of young men who were thinking that they were fighting for the Fatherland, much like the Russian Army's men were fighting for the Motherland. You cannot fault millions based on the leadership/brainwashing/propaganda of a few.

Originally Posted by NorCal

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This and because the scene is just so bat-**** crazy. And the one word you can understand is "Stalingrad" so the dubbing has to work that in as well as half the people leaving the room. It has become part of the meme. In this case of the Brown meme it's just saying what a lot of Obama's critics , including his lefty critics, have been saying about him but just so over the top that it kind of makes you chuckle. Same with the TO/Dallas one, I mean why would Hitler give a **** about football? It's just kind of amusing to imagine that instead of Hitler raving about all the evil **** he raved about his was just talking **** about football like anyone else but in that insane over the top manner of his. I can see why people think Hitler should never be made light of, but that is the humor as I see it.
Again, you guys are not looking at WHAT is being said or WHO is saying it, but only that the words "work" in the meme or with the dubbing itself. Even in a joke, a meaning is being expressed and a viewpoint. A joke has meaning, even if "over the top." Perhaps in other incarnations (like football or something) the meme works. I don't think it does, in this case. The dubbing is attributing to batshit-crazy Bunker Hitler the viewpoint of many Americans, making Hitler timely and relevant and funny on a serious governmental/cultural issue. It's not making FUN OF Hitler. It's making fun of us. Hitler's crazy rantings are being equated to rantings that we have, right now, in the US. I have a sense of humor... trust me... I'm just trying to get you guys to see what you are laughing at... and it ain't Hitler or naziism. Is Hitler going to be the next innocuous cultural icon that kids will put on tshirts and buttons, like Mao and Che and all those other guys they know nothing about?

Originally Posted by JustinW

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Wow, you are lucky to have learnt that history from him. Cool.

Indeed. He still tells me stories from time to time, even though they're still painful to him.

Originally Posted by edinatlanta

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nope. Regular .jpeg

on another note...

"Styleforum" added me as a friend on FB. Which use is that? (Want to know before I accept).

Our Facebook presence will be used to make announcements (e.g. forum is going down for maintenance... no, not really) and also to link to "Best of" threads, for PSAs, etc... Hopefully, members will also get to know one another through FB as well. Obviously, we are still experimenting with the thing.

Rach. Normally I agree with you when it comes to political things but you're committing intentional fallacy here. The meme has been going for a while, there are hundreds of variations on youtube. It's just funny because it's Hitler spazzing out, generally over something anachronistic. I've shown this video to a lot of people, a few of whom happen to be serious Dems...none of them seemed to feel like they were being compared to nazis or Hitler after watching the vid. Do you really think it's a philosophical danger or a political move, bringing in Hitler with this current event?

As for the whole nazi discussion...maybe I am just too young, or too desensitized by contemporary culture/media/whatever else, but I grew up in a Jewish family with Jewish friends and went to a Jewish nursery school. I have friends in Israel. I had relatives who died in concentration camps as I know a number of posters who have written in the last couple of pages of this thread also had. But to me, getting upset over hearing the word "nazi" used as a joke is kind of the worst thing you can do. It's things like this that lead to censorship and feelings of guilt. Not only that but I feel like making it into a "he who must named be named" situation almost keeps the atrocities alive in a way that is not historical, culturally significant or constructive in any way. I dunno, it's a tricky issues, obviously there have to be limits, I wouldn't try to explain the Seinfeld soup-nazi episode to a holocaust survivor. At the same time, I think we need to take things into context and it's sometimes hard to know someone's intention through the computer screen but generally I think if you're on an internet forum you need to be prepared for certain things. I hope I haven't offended anyone with my half-baked ramblings, just my two cents.

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

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Is Hitler going to be the next innocuous cultural icon that kids will put on tshirts and buttons, like Mao and Che and all those other guys they know nothing about?

No. No chance.