SNL: Kiss me I'm Irish controversy

Gwynplaine

It just shows how thick the septics are really.

BowSideChamp

I thought it was funny. Dragged out far too much though.

Skedaddle

I'm surprised they didn't get a few more jokes in about dogs on aeroplanes. You know that old Aer Lingus thing that we all know about.

Agricola

I think everything you need to know about SNL can be summed up by the worship Alec Baldwin is getting about his Trump impression. You'd have to agree with Trump himself! It's really not that good. He doesn't get any of the nuance/essence of Trump like a good mimic would. And the voice and facial expressions aren't at the races either.

Strange because Alec Baldwin actually does a decent Al Pacino.


Their Irish skits really reek of outsiders attempting to send up a thing they really know nothing about. It would be like a team of Irish comedians doing a sketch about American white trash/mobile home dwellers. It would be "our" idea on the subject but would probably seem ridiculous to people who actually know and experience it first hand.

FCIM

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

American comedy can be pretty good. Just not this.

There are a few gems in the rough, the operative word being few.

goose2005

Wibbs wrote: »

Saturday Night Live, an American TV institution that never translated overseas, mostly because it's dreadfully, nay puzzlingly unfunny.

You'd think by now they'd have realised that producing a decent sketch show in a week just isn't possible.

BrokenArrows

Dont start getting all offended now ffs.
One of the things ive always loved about being irish is we can take a ****ing joke.

People attempting irish accents and playing up the irish stereotypes is always good craic. I DO not want Ireland to become another list of **** that people are getting offended about these days.

Billy86

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Dont start getting all offended now ffs.
One of the things ive always loved about being irish is we can take a ****ing joke.

People attempting irish accents and playing up the irish stereotypes is always good craic. I DO not want Ireland to become another list of **** that people are getting offended about these days.

To be honest your offense and the thought of people getting offended is one of the most 'offended' posts in the whole thread.

Hardly anyone seems to care, it was just a sh*te sketch.

Professor Moriarty

Ironically, it was an American who said: “He who takes offense when no offense is intended is a fool, and he who takes offense when offense is intended is a greater fool.”

Mena Mitty

I thought it was funny. I was wondering why number one was sitting with her hands behind her back.

Irish Guitarist

How did they get away with using the RTE logo?

Sleeper12

If the exact same skit was on travellers most board readers wouldn't have a problem with it judging from previous threads. It was full of Irish stereo types but as I say there have been much worse here on travellers so I wouldn't have a problem with the show

Skedaddle

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Ironically, it was an American who said: “He who takes offense when no offense is intended is a fool, and he who takes offense when offense is intended is a greater fool.”

Was no offence intended though? Or, rather did they full intend to offend, but are we just supposed to laugh it off along with the other several hundred years of similar 'humour'?

I suppose SNL probably has a few sketches about mothers-in-law and followed by a few good old fashioned homophobic sketches?

facehugger99

SNL has been on a downward trend for quite a few years now. Trump is right, the current cast are pretty awful.

I generally still watch it, more of of habit, but for every good sketch there's about 5 **** ones - pity because I used to really like it.

This week's episode was actually better than most episodes this season. The Saoirse Ronan one was truly awful in fairness.

Professor Moriarty

Skedaddle wrote: »

Was no offence intended though? Or, rather did they full intend to offend, but are we just supposed to laugh it off along with the other several hundred years of similar 'humour'?

I suppose SNL probably has a few sketches about mothers-in-law and followed by a few good old fashioned homophobic sketches?

Maybe send them an email saying how offensive you found it but I can't think of anything else you could do. My advice would be that if it offends you, then ignore it and don't watch it in future. I don't know about any other sketches, I don't watch the programme.

Skedaddle

Not much point in emailing them. I'm sure they'd just ignore all feedback as why would they care?

At making a complaint in a public forum about it means they're aired somewhere.

Skedaddle

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

How did they get away with using the RTE logo?

Brass necking it I assume.

Professor Moriarty

Skedaddle wrote: »

Not much point in emailing them. I'm sure they'd just ignore all feedback as why would they care?

At making a complaint in a public forum about it means they're aired somewhere.

Resistance is futile.

By the same token, the Simpsons always portrayed the Irish harshly and stereotypically.

Donald Trump

Look. What's so offensive about fancying your cousins?

Sure I want to knob Ivanka and am planning to sign an executive order soon to make it ok!

_Dara_

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Mega. It's not remotely offensive, I think Irish people above all else love a good laugh based on stereotypes, but it's just painfully, awkwardly unfunny and the sort of baseline I would've found funny when I was 10.

Yeah, totally agree. It’s unfunny but not offensive. Not being able to laugh at oneself is an awful trait. I’d hate to be that brittle.

Ipso

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Resistance is futile.

By the same token, the Simpsons always portrayed the Irish harshly and stereotypically.

I always took The Simpsons stereotypes to be a bit of a piss take on stereotypes, themselves.

Professor Moriarty

Ipso wrote: »

I always took The Simpsons stereotypes to be a bit of a piss take on stereotypes, themselves.

A double bluff? Possibly. Still doesn't show Irish people in a good light either way though.

Ipso

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

A double bluff? Possibly. Still doesn't show Irish people in a good light either way though.

Yeah, but why should they? I know you could also say, but why would they show Irish people in a bad way but Irish people are fond of laughing at stupid Americans. So is it a case of us being able to give it but not take it?

Professor Moriarty

Ipso wrote: »

Yeah, but why should they? I know you could also say, but why would they show Irish people in a bad way but Irish people are fond of laughing at stupid Americans. So is it a case of us being able to give it but not take it?

Possibly. It's probably better that nobody mocks anyone stereotypically but it seems to be human nature.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Sleeper12 wrote: »

If the exact same skit was on travellers most board readers wouldn't have a problem with it judging from previous threads. It was full of Irish stereo types but as I say there have been much worse here on travellers so I wouldn't have a problem with the show

On the other hand, outside of here, if the skit has been about travellers on a TV the outrage would have been immense.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Ipso wrote: »

Yeah, but why should they? I know you could also say, but why would they show Irish people in a bad way but Irish people are fond of laughing at stupid Americans. So is it a case of us being able to give it but not take it?

?

When do we do that exactly? Link to a sketch.

My only issue with this stuff is that there are plenty of ethnic groups who would get the show closed down were it abou them.

DrumSteve

That sketch would have had somewhat of a payoff if it turned out everyone was related to him.

But it kinda just ended abruptly. Ah well.

Larbre34

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

How did they get away with using the RTE logo?

In true Irish style, never ask for permission, only for forgiveness.

Larbre34

The skit was still better, as shallow satire, than TV3's Blind Date.

Skedaddle

Larbre34 wrote: »

In true Irish style, never ask for permission, only for forgiveness.

In true American style: "It's overseas. We don't care. They have television in Ireland? Really?"

somefeen

Its ok . The writers are probably 1/8 Irish so its OK they're laughing at themselves. Like when Chris Rock mocks other black people.

Seriously though, tone is everything. Family guy and Simpsons mocked the Irish in à way that was very self aware. It was over the top and so absurd that you could see there was no malice. Ireland being a futuristic utopia before discovering alcohol, is so ridiculous and unbelievable that it disarms people. It wasn't satire and it played to a safe stereotype.

This SNL sketch uses an actual RTE logo for a start, its trying to portray itself as realistic with that alone and the incest thing is something that is not a stereotype anyone can comfortably roll with. Its not funny either.
It comes across like they're trying to do a satirical social commentary on the country's problems and thinking incest is one of them.

Ralf and Florian

Peatys wrote: »

Rubbish? You haven't spent much time down de cuntre have you?

NinetyTwoTeam

not getting offended at this kind of stuff is a quality I'd hate to see us lose. people here have such a chip (crisp?) on their shoulder when it comes to Americans, if it actually WAS on rte you'd just either laugh or say it was crap and that would be that.

snl has always had a lot of irish writers: conan o'brien (past), john mulaney (current)
and irish cast members as well like eddie murphy

applehunter

SNL lost its balls after they fired Norm MacDonald.

DrumSteve

NinetyTwoTeam wrote: »

not getting offended at this kind of stuff is a quality I'd hate to see us lose. people here have such a chip (crisp?) on their shoulder when it comes to Americans, if it actually WAS on rte you'd just either laugh or say it was crap and that would be that.

snl has always had a lot of irish writers: conan o'brien (past), john mulaney (current)
and irish cast members as well like eddie murphy

Eddie Murphy?

Jack Kanoff

DrumSteve wrote: »

Eddie Murphy?

His great, great grandfather was a coalman from Cobh,

Katgurl

I found it pretty funny actually. What is everyone getting so offended about? We slag off Americans all the time.

facehugger99

Katgurl wrote: »

. What is everyone getting so offended about?

We're not.

Ray Palmer

Wibbs wrote: »

Saturday Night Live, an American TV institution that never translated overseas, mostly because it's dreadfully, nay puzzlingly unfunny.

True it is really not very funny but there is this

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x64iyhl

Sand

Honestly I watched the sketch and I smirked at a few points but its not exactly gold material. This is a show churned out on a weekly schedule, like sausages. At some point late on Thursday evening, whatever **** is on the whiteboard gets pushed in as filler. Especially on Patty's Day.

Its just the same sort of joke that sustained two entire Borat movies. Nobody got offended then. Well, the Kazakhs did, but they got over it. You don't have to pretend SNL is funny (its like a Ryan Tubridy does comedy special), but its generic, beige, safe humour that wont get them sued by the ACLU, picketed by BLM or aggressively retweeted by slacktivists. Leave them their last remaining safe space.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Katgurl wrote: »

I found it pretty funny actually. What is everyone getting so offended about? We slag off Americans all the time.

You got a link to an Irish sketch show slaggging off Americans?

Caquas

Brendan Gleeson hosted SNL on Saturday, with support from Colin Farrell. The IT tears shreds off the show. It wasn’t great and sometimes cringey but it was still the funniest Irish TV this year (that’s how low the bar is!)

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2022/10/10/brendan-gleeson-hosts-his-first-saturday-night-live-it-doesnt-go-well/

I guess the IT was primed to dislike it because of SNL’s history of horrible “Oirish” sketches.

Gleeson knows he is better as the straight man, not the comic. His joke about Barney McKenna misfired - why did he say “40 degrees in the shade” when the audience, used to Fahrenheit, would think that was chilly. Did someone on SNL think Barney McKenna went metric? Drinking half-litres, not pints 🤪

https://youtu.be/e22S93yktIs

maninasia

I thought it was fun and suited his style.

The Irish Times can't be expected to enjoy it. They are well known as being the guardians of what is hip and cutting edge in Ireland right?

buried

Obviously done to promote this new Martin McDonagh film, which will also be teaming with the same old tired yawns about Ireland

Weepsie

Saturday night live is fairly shite in fairness.

nigeldaniel

Americans and their idea of humour.... forget it, or you never will.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119727388#Comment_119727388

Another great 20th Century institution that has been completely chewed up and sh*t out the other end by sanitised corporate wokeness.

Written by affirmative action recent graduates who've never really known hardship or dealt with gritty really funny people but instead been cosseted in wealthy schools/universities their entire lives and now find themselves in a writers' room at 23 years old.

This is all just my own imagination of course. Not based on anything concrete. But I suspect my hunches are not too far from the truth.

There's only two things SNL ever did that was funny

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqpak5lFxvs