http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...en_tv_eo/11218


MTV Apologizes for Ghandi Goofing

The moral of this story: Don't goof on Gandhi.


MTV learned the lesson the hard way after sparking an international incident by parodying the iconic Indian spiritual leader on its new animated series Clone High, USA.


The cable network came under fire from Indian officials offended by Clone High's 'toon version of Gandhi, a high schooler purportedly cloned from the assassinated Mohandas Gandhi, who goes by the nicknames G-Man, and DNA Dan. He also has an affinity for dangly earrings, rap music, junk food and "being the ultimate party animal."


On Thursday, more than 150 politicians and activists gathered together at Gandhi's memorial in New Delhi, where they staged a fast to protest Clone High. They claimed the show desecrated the memory of their peace-loving hero, whose nonviolent ways helped the country break away from the British Empire.


By Friday, the cable net was issuing a mea culpa of sorts. "MTV U.S. apologizes if we have offended the people of India and the memory of Mahatma Gandhi," the music channel said in a statement.


No immediate word on how MTV's apology is going over in India.






so where do i sign up for my reparations?

actually i think this is stupid. the show is decent but not that great, but not offensive at all. people need to realize stuff is meant to be funny not serious. The people on the show aren't gods they are people.

Gandhi is one of the funnier characters on the show, I'm sure thats how he would have wanted to be remembered. Ha.

"MTV US apologizes to the 150 politicians and activists who have no sense of humor."

Hopefully South Park will take this a step further next season.

das

and you gotta love that they dont even play the show in India, so unless someone downloaded it or something, these people haven't even seen it and are protesting against what they read in the article and saw on the webpage

oh, and i would have expected more complaints about the Ghengis Khan "Screw Tibet" shirt than this

I haven't seen the show, but am I to understand that none of these characters are actually supposed to BE the historical figures, just their clones in present day times?

Yep.

It's actually pretty funny. Of course, MUSIC VIDEOS on MTV would be better.

Frankly I think it is a big deal. The man was a bigger hero than you'll ever know and any sort of parody of the life he led or the sacrifices he made is akin to not acknowledging them at all. There's no sense of humor when it comes to what he did for the people of the Indian subcontinent and neither should there be any disparaging or satiric portrayals of his actions. That would lessen his impact on humanity today. MTV really needs to get its act together and for once and for all go back to playing music videos.

I'm sure you knew this already but there are millions of indian emigrants and many of them have ties to the homeland.

Of course the show also satirizes Abraham Lincoln and JFK, but you don't hear Americans bitching. We understand 2 things: 1. that it's a joke, and 2. that people like Abraham Lincoln and JFK and Ghandi are so great that a million cartoon shows on basic cable could never devalue their accomplishments and to suggest that they could is an insult.

• Quoth Pants •<HR SIZE=1>Of course the show also satirizes Abraham Lincoln and JFK, but you don't hear Americans bitching. We understand 2 things: 1. that it's a joke, and 2. that people like Abraham Lincoln and JFK and Ghandi are so great that a million cartoon shows on basic cable could never devalue their accomplishments and to suggest that they could is an insult. <HR SIZE=1>

das

Americans don't bitch about it, but Indians sure do. And why would Americans bitch about it anyway? To Americans, Gandhi was a great man, but to Indians, Gandhi was not just a greatman but also the father of the country. There is a much bigger stake to Indians than there is to Americans with respect to Gandhi's legacy and memory. If you acknowledge that they're so high up that nothing could tarnish their legacy, why bother with this show then?

The problem is that people do not know enough of his accomplishments at present for his legacy to be sure from basic insults; I mean most schoolkids couldn't find India on a map; why would they know anything about him except from what they see on TV?

Indians are nuts when it comes to Ghandi, his life and accomplishments. They almost didn't let the movie version of Ghandi get made because he was going to be played by a mere human being rather than a glowing ball of light.

Of course they're offended that this show treats him irreverently. But who cares. It's a comedy cartoon. Its take on all of its heroes is irreverent.

Reverent cartoons are suck.

• Quoth huzefa •<HR SIZE=1>The problem is that people do not know enough of his accomplishments at present for his legacy to be sure from basic insults; I mean most schoolkids couldn't find India on a map; why would they know anything about him except from what they see on TV? <HR SIZE=1>

Er ... the problem is people can't take a joke.

If you don't like the Lincoln, JFK example, how about South Park. They joke around with Jesus ... and Mother Theresa ... and Jimmy freakin' Stewart. Anyone who watches these programs for a history lesson is so far removed from reality that you best leave them there, because they'll never make it back. American comedies ridicule our own President, the forefathers of our nation, our central religious figure, and even the Lord God ... not to mention Buddha and the Dalai Lama. And we're not the only ones; ask Python.

Unless you're willing to assert using Gandhi as a source of comedy is somehow worse than portraying Jesus as a karaoke singer whose claim to fame is saving Santa Clause from Saddam Hussein, then I don't see the problem. It's satire, and if these Indians (whom I can't imagine are representative of the whole) have a problem with it, they can change the channel. It's the height of hypocrisy to say that it's perfectly OK to satirize everyone else in the world, but cry foul when it comes to your house.

The hallmark of American comedy is that no one is above the law; everyone is a target, from Joey Buttafucco to Ben Franklin to O.J. Simpson to Martin Luther King, Jr. Thankfully we live in a country where this type of arbitrary comedic censorship can't survive. Drawing these superficial lines of which people are OK to satirize and which are "off limits" only paints a target on the latter and rightfully so.

As a side note, the implication that those of us in this thread and Americans in general cannot separate the real person from a character on a satirical show is really quite insulting.

das

Honestly huzefa do you really think we're this dumb?

I don't know you well enough to make that call... but if i had to take a guess, then no, you're not that dumb. Neither are most Americans, but I'd wager that most of the people that watched Clone High knew jack about Gandhi to begin with. Now they know even less.

It's all well and good that American society can make light of its greats without ramifications, but Indian society is not at that point. And while I was not implying that Americans can not separate all the real people from characters based on them; I was certainly implying that American people do not know enough about Gandhi to make the same kind of comedic statements as they do about their own forefathers.

For anybody who hasn't seen the show, Gandhi even explains in one episode why he acts the way he does. I think it was something along the lines of him rebelling against the image everybody at school would have of him. The show doesn't really make fun of the real Gandhi, it just references him to give a basis for their own made-up character.

I actually thought I would really dislike the show, since making jokes of historical figures seems so easy and overdone. The thing that really surprised me, though, is that it's more focused on making fun of teen shows and at the same time, it's almost a good teen show in itself. I know Abe and Joan are cliched, but it didn't take very long for me to feel empathetic to them.

EDIT; You know, on second thought, I'll just sit this one out.

Gandhi was a way cool dude. So was Jesus. So what.

The countries based on their teachings are involved in severe nuclear proliferation ('cept for Italy, maybe. And I won't even go there about the origin of the theology ascribed to.).

A contradiction sez, “What?”.

(Plus satire is a good thing that no one on Earth should be held above.)

I rather think that many Americans (especially the kind who watch toons on MTV) do not KNOW or care about Lincoln's or JFK's accomplishments in the first place. It's easy to say "it's only a joke" when you really don't care that much in the first place. "Wasn't he, like, the guy with the beard and junk?"

Let's pretend that every person between the age of 15 and 25 really new absolutely nothing about Lincoln or Ghandi. Now let's pretend every one of them watched Clone High. So that's 15-20 million people who are stone cold ignorant and don't know anything about these characters whatsoever. And now let's pretend everyone of those people had their image of these historic figures totally and forever altered from watching Clone High. IT WOULD STILL MAKE NO DIFFERENCE!!! If 20 million people don't know, don't care, and don't understand what Lincoln or Ghandi are all about THEY ARE STILL GREAT MEN. That's what makes them great. Their greatness transcends any and all insult that could ever be absorbed by an audience.

Now for the humor impared let me explain this mathmatically (Indians are good at Math right? )Comedy = Tragedy + Distance (I think Billy Willder said that) The "Tragedy" is that these historical figures can be deconstructed and ridiculed. The "Distance" is that element where the viewer realizes, "Nothing that is said here can possibly effect the greatness of the accomplishments of these people, even if I don't know who they are, and if I don't it's my loss." And thus, It is funny. Now when I have to explain it it stops being funny, but nevertheless there's the explanaion.

this thread is as lame as FDR's legs.


-gasp-



what? too soon?

i bet if they were making fun of MLK we would hear protests in the U.S., probably coming from Jesse and Al, like when barbershop came out

• Quoth Venusian •<HR SIZE=1>this thread is as lame as FDR's legs.


-gasp-



what? too soon? <HR SIZE=1>

das