30 Rock episodes pulled from streaming/public circulation because they’re offensive.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20 ... des-pulled

Workaholics episode pulled from streaming/public circulation--offensive.
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/chris- ... 234644049/

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes pulled from streaming/public circulation because they’re offensive.
https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/12/always-s ... 0blackface.

W/Bob & David episode pulled from streaming/public circulation “offensive” rinse, repeat.
https://deadline.com/2020/06/netflix-pu ... 202960729/

Scrubs episodes pulled from streaming/public circulation as, you guessed it, “offensive”!
https://tvline.com/2020/06/24/scrubs-bl ... oved-hulu/

South Park episodes pulled from streaming/public circulation, “offensive” again.
https://deadline.com/2020/06/south-park ... 202969280/

Why do I care? Aren’t there other, more important things to be concerned with right now than not being able to watch something? Am I being short-sighted? I hear and ask myself that pretty equally and can’t help but land on a few things repeatedly.

First, the removal of past film/tv/art (“art media”) from public availability based on today’s standards & practices is *extremely* troubling to me simply because who gets to keep deciding what offensive words and portrayals society is allowed to experience anymore? Celebrities, CEOs, and Twitter? Second, what exactly is offensive enough for banishment--everyone’s different so where’s the bar? Does every marginalized group get a turn at the wood-chipper? Finally, based on a lot of what I’m reading all over the place, masses are apparently eager to be told what art media is “right” for them to enjoy vs what needs burning which is actually genuinely frightening and short-sighted.

So, who here is among the eager masses to have others tell them what's allowed/appropriate viewing?

Censorship is always stupid no one is forcing you to consume any of this media. It’s not up to you what others watch.

Well, I think censorship is stupid on one end too, but on the other end some things have such a negative influence they're better censored.

Who decides what well either the majority, or the loudest voice while the rest doesn't care.

What I think should have been censored decades ago in the US, guns...but it hasn't gotten that bad yet.

Racism on the other end got out of control comparative to the # black people in America that any racially triggered content is being dealt with now. It will not solve the issue overnight, but however sad I personally am with the censoring of media, I see it helping with the issue.

Who gets to decide what is negative or offensive though?

Again, the problem is "some things" having a negative influence is far too vague. Different people have different scales and censoring "offensive" material only helps freedoms die.

“Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.” -Henry Louis Gates, Jr

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” -Salman Rushdie

“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what." -Stephen Fry

“Who will survive and what will be left of them.” -The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Stupidity.. Ugh

At least we’ll be eventually due for a Eminem/Stone Cold Steve Austin/Limp Bizket type run where Generation Z thinks they’re so much cooler than the millennial pussies who got offended at everything. Maybe some good comedian material as well.

China has been successfully meddling communism into US society for Americans to be more accepting of online censorship, property destruction, and loss of individuality.

Not South Park finally being forced to remove the Pedohammad episodes. Warlordhammad depictions should be allowed, freedom of religion also means freedom to mock religion.

I will be buying the DVDs with the full uncensored episodes as a sign of protest, and also to preserve them because no, the purges will not stop anytime soon.

As a proud gay man, I *will* mock, criticize, and disrespect a religion that brutalizes and terrorizes people like me every day around the world. And if someone has something to say about it they can kiss my ass.

This is the main reason why liberals never get anything done. What happened to fighting the legacy of the confederacy?

Context should be important. 30 Rock never once said that blackface was ok, it was IMO a necessary reminder that shit like that used to happen all the time. Yeah its played for laughs, with Jon Hamm whose own show had a much less defendable blackface scene, but we should be mocking that line of thinking. Jenna and Tracy doing a Freaky Friday may not be essential, but both of those characters are ridiculous and overprivileged. It shows how even the luckiest of people think that they are the ones who have it bad.

Always Sunny is populated by cartoon characters who are so awful that we can laugh when their schemes inevitably backfire horribly. Nobody is forcing you to watch it. Nobody is putting up statues of Dennis Reynolds and saying this is a person you should look up to.

Yup.

It would be good for people to realize that what *you* are thinking and saying is going to be offensive to *someone*.

Freedom of speech is such an important, essential right. I find it extremely worrying that so many people take it for granted. Still today in many, many countries around the world it simply doesn't exist.

20 years from now it might not exist anymore where it exists now. Yes, things can change so much in 20 years. Better not to take steps in that direction.

Right for the freedom is speech is *far* more important the than the right to not to be offended.

The Dixie Chicks are now The Chicks, and the white pieces going first in chess is now racist

what's funny too is being called a "chick" could be considered offensive by some women as well.

lol did not realize Lady Antebellum also changed their name, to Lady A, and upset a black singer who already has that name.

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/ ... h-47549672

Since the next 20 years might bring major technological and economical changes, natural disasters and wars, nobody knows how the world will be like.

In the US we might see a new mainstream movement towards right-wing, conservative religiousness. The base already exists. These people might get to be the most powerful group.

Now, THEY might think that pro-gay, pro-transgender, pro-feminist, pro-black opinions are OFFENSIVE. So why not shut those opinions down by suppressing the freedom of speech? After all if we want to now sacrifice freedom of speech for the right to not to be offended, it goes both ways. It just depends on who gets to decide what is offensive.

And when enough people agree that something is offensive, they will change laws. They are already changing laws.

It always surprises me when some people just don't seem to get this. Suppressing freedom of speech always has terrible consequences. History is full of examples. It basically leads to terrible tyranny.

Freedom of speech is just so fucking more essential than the right to not to be offended.

The Office episode edits out offensive material.
https://uproxx.com/tv/the-office-blackf ... ne-pulled/

Netflix pulls Community Advanced Dungeons & Dragons episode due to offensive material.
https://www.thewrap.com/community-advan ... blackface/

I wonder if any writers/directors/showrunners/etc will express dissent to these freakish over-reactions. This is completely untenable behavior and reasonable people in the public eye need to curb this lunacy--if you are offended then DON'T WATCH IT.

Society/popular culture can’t be endlessly edited or outright deleted to fit the current idea of what is “correct” because that leads to no clear or accessible history for anything as correctness changes over time. Some people seem to think that today’s batch of values is Peak Virtue and we can go ahead and pass final judgements on everything/everyone then hang up spurs before walking off into the sunset...except then a new day comes and times change, views change, words change and suddenly the “Peak Virtue” from before becomes antiquated and offensive. Then what? Time for another societal cleansing of the offensive, because that’s how it works and no stopping now.

Now let us consider I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Jeez, where to start? Adam Sandler & Kevin James play two firefighters who pretend to be gay for the benefits of a domestic partnership and hilarity ensues.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmvj ... ears-later

https://decider.com/2017/07/20/i-now-pr ... niversary/

The two linked articles sum up the myriad of problems with this movie quite well but suffice it to say, for large swaths of gay folks C&L is completely offensive trash with no redeeming qualities to it whatsoever that’s available all over streaming services for your viewing pleasure. If the feature length gay jokes ("faggots" this and "fag" that, etc) aren’t enough, how about Rob Schneider playing an Asian wedding officiant in full-on Breakfast at Tiffany’s Mickey Rooney mode?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmzxR0zfIN0

Don’t *both* of those movies have to go, too, according to the “Offense Taken!” precedent and if not then how come? These fools are gnawing off their own appendages as peace offerings to angry mobs and it's nauseating to witness.

Pulling episodes is one thing, but changing the art by editing offensive jokes out of them is bullshit. Will generations in the future be watching awkwardly cut up versions of the Simpsons where Apu is wiped or versions of Friends without all the gay jokes?

This is indeed terrible. Is this done only in US or worldwide? Because in some countries /cultures loads of things are offensive.

These non-mainstream views held by some "liberals" are being amplified by powerful groups/people opposing change to muddy the waters. It is meant to obfuscate the real underlying issues: policing and racial disparity.

Hopefully the majority of the people know better to keep their eyes on the prize and ignore the noise.

Yes, this makes sense. I was just thinking that nonsense like this undermines BLM more than anything conservatives say.

Netflix edited the Back to the Future movies very sloppily I might add. Who knows how many classics they've done that to, but it's very disappointing when its to classic. Sure Pulp Fiction on TNT back in the day made sense I guess, but this is Netflix, and it's a barely an innuendo joke in a great movie.

I think it's pretty mainstream nowadays to advocate censorship. New "hate speech" laws and all of that. Censoring of art. This are pretty mainstream phenomenons, not some niche issue.

It might be worse here in Finland than it is in USA.

I really don't think editing or removing these episodes is doing anything. I would fully support adding a warning ahead of an episode that features something deemed offensive, like the old Looney Tunes cartoons did when released on DVD. Erasing stuff entirely is not something I think works. It fixes nothing.

I was thinking of exactly the same thing. Just add a warning before the episode for someone to not consume the whole episode. Deleting bits and pieces is just wrong, someone who is "looking" for offensive context will still infer the meaning from non-deleted scenes (specially if its a re-watch)

I always think of the last episode before the finale of Seinfeld has never aired since its original date. The Puerto Rican Day parade, pretty hilarious, but I’ve definitely seen it many times since. That was one of the great things about dvd, that I’m really disappointed streaming services aren’t following. Even offensive art has merit for study. That’s why I’m not a fan of destruction of art or statues. I’m all for having them removed and what not, but don’t shit on an artists hard work, have them stored or make a giant museum of politically incorrect art.

Erasing is ignorant and just avoiding from actually learning anything. The future of Demolition Man is ironically looking more and more a reality