Thursday, February 26, 2009

Weird Al

After watching 'David After Dentist' on youtube several times, I've come to realize that this action isn't as strange as one might think. We question the reasons for remixes and in fact, the reason for the posting in the first place. Is the answer to this question not - for entertainment???
We revel in other people's misery. It is entertainment to many of us. Just look at adult cartoons such as Family Guy and Simpsons, or even Married With Children - how many of us would actually enjoy living the lives depicted in these sitcoms -- although there are many aspects of the show that hit a close to home? The humor and 'realness' of some situations makes us laugh. How true to life some of these shows really are - they are moments we look back on (often years after such embarrassing incidents) and laugh at. Perhaps David too will find his 'escapades' in the back seat entertaining one day.

Posting these videos aren't meant to do any harm - although sometimes innocent people (David in this case, being that he is too young to distinguish between right and wrong) are caught in the crossfire. This reminds me of the good ol' Weird Al days. Look how many parodies he created, much to the chagrin of many, and made a fortune doing it. Sure, he followed the correct procedures by obtaining permission from the artist, paid royalties, etc., but in essence, is he not doing the same thing - just on a bigger scale? Why do we think it is funny when it comes from him . . . it still belittles some people, pokes fun at artists and pushes many limits -- but we see it as entertainment. What is the difference between what he is doing and what David's dad did?

Just for the record, I love Weird Al and Amish Paradise is one of my favorite videos - check it out if you time!

1 comment:

Kim said...

For me the difference is that Bart, Homer, Al Bundy and Weird Al for that matter are simply characters where David is a real person. Or was it all an act?...