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Michael Phelps is on SNL and his first skit

Paz

By Paz,
in General Education Discussion Board

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Murphy101

Murphy101

Posted
Posted

I didn't think it was funny at all.

Esp the "CPS is waiting for you off stage part"

Can't believe anyone would think it was funny.

The only good part was that they didn't portray the public schoolers as being much better.

 

Now the best part of the entire show with the beginning with Tina Fey.

Everything after that wasn't worth watching.

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Heather in Neverland

Heather in Neverland

Posted
Posted
I didn't think it was funny at all.

Esp the "CPS is waiting for you off stage part"

Can't believe anyone would think it was funny.

The only good part was that they didn't portray the public schoolers as being much better.

 

Now the best part of the entire show with the beginning with Tina Fey.

Everything after that wasn't worth watching.

 

I'm in the middle on this one. I am a firm believer in being able to laugh at yourself but I kind of feel that they took this stereotype a little too far. And the CPS comment was uncalled for.

 

Now the Tina Fey skit was HILARIOUS. :lol:

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pqr

pqr

Posted
Posted
And the CPS comment was uncalled for.

Concur; it is the CPS which must be the nightmare for all homeschooled families. While most of the skit did have some elements of humor, it did go a shade too far with enforcing the "stereotype" of homeschooled families.

 

Further, while I do not subscribe to the beliefs (vis a vis dinosaurs)depicted in the skit, and truth be told I have met very very few, if any, who do, this is still a free nation and people are entitled to believe in such a manner and not be threatened with the loss of families. There really is little to joke about when we are talking of CPS, either for the good or the bad they do.

 

Then again SNL is irreverent so I will not complain too much.

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Zelda

Zelda

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It didn't seem to be about home schoolers as much as FLDS types, to me. My problem with it was just that it wasn't either clever or funny.

 

Probably true. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they care enough to realize there's a difference in home schooling philosophies. Or care enough to realize that even Christian home schooling philosophies come in a wide range. They don't agree with it and are willing to paint it with a very broad brush.

 

My husband works with a group of very liberal men who regularly spend the lunch hour bashing conservatives and Christians and the favorite target of all: conservative Christians. Of course, what they know about any of these groups isn't much. They think all Christian h/sers teach that dinosaurs and humans resided together at one time. They did not know about the young earth v. old earth debate and were surprised to find out that any debates of any nature took place among the "Religious Right".

 

Their idea of h/s is not that far removed from what was depicted on SNL.

 

Also, at this lunch table, non-Christian religions get carte blanche on their beliefs.

 

Just to be clear, I'm not religious so I don't have a dog in this lunch table fight. Its also possible that this kind of attitude is only typical in my area but I live a continent away from NYC and it seems to be prevalent there too based on last night's SNL.

 

The CPS comment worried me.

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abbeyej

abbeyej

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Probably true. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they care enough to realize there's a difference in home schooling philosophies...

 

Actually, I think they probably do know there's a difference. Tina Fey, for instance, wrote a movie about a formerly home schooled girl, and it was a very fair portrayal. Home schooling was simply a plot device, but it's not one she shied away from or presented in a stereotypical manner.

 

Whereas the episode last night featured hair and clothing that was obviously inspired by FLDS groups. (Really, nobody else has that hair! lol..)

 

There are home schoolers in LA and NYC, and it's not even unheard of among people working in the entertainment industry. I'm not saying there are never biased portrayals, but I would worry a lot more about biased portrayals of religion than of home schooling.

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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You know what really upset me about the CPS thing?

It seemed based solely on homeschooling.

In the skit the public schoolers weren't exactly a stellar example of education at it's best.

But the quiz guy was just cavilier that oh yeah, CPS will be waiting for you homeschool nuts.:glare:

 

CPS should NEVER be given such a cavilier attitude.

 

I just don't think it's ever funny to joke about children being ripped from their parents by the state. Even aside from the hs-ing angle, that's just not ever comedy to me. There's just some things that are never funny, kwim?

 

I'm all for laughing at ourselves, but this just wasn't funny to me.

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Zelda

Zelda

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Posted
Actually, I think they probably do know there's a difference. Tina Fey, for instance, wrote a movie about a formerly home schooled girl, and it was a very fair portrayal. Home schooling was simply a plot device, but it's not one she shied away from or presented in a stereotypical manner.

 

Whereas the episode last night featured hair and clothing that was obviously inspired by FLDS groups. (Really, nobody else has that hair! lol..)

 

There are home schoolers in LA and NYC, and it's not even unheard of among people working in the entertainment industry. I'm not saying there are never biased portrayals, but I would worry a lot more about biased portrayals of religion than of home schooling.

 

I'm definitely agreeing with you. I'm just saying that I think there are people, and not a small number, who do not make a distinction. They will not know from the hair that FLDS was the target. They will just think Christians were the target. I live in the SF Bay Area and know lots of homeschoolers (though none that fit this description) but I also know lots of people who think we're all about like the people in the skit.

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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I'm not saying there are never biased portrayals, but I would worry a lot more about biased portrayals of religion than of home schooling.

 

Agreed. Esp as many people's greatest gripe abut homeschoolers seems to be the stereotype that only religious fanatics do it. Which is so NOT the case, imho. I think those are a very small minority. Maybe when homeschooling first started that was the case, but these days? um. no. I don't think so. In fact, I can only name a handful of people I know that started homeschooling for any religious reasons. And I'm not one of them. I started homeschooling flat out for better academics and a safe environment for my kids. (The local public school was literally not physically safe and the academics were just mediocore to non-existant, imnsho.)

 

Even so, if one wants to practice their religion that way - what's wrong with them exercising their religious freedoms?

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abbeyej

abbeyej

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Posted
...

But the quiz guy was just cavilier that oh yeah, CPS will be waiting for you homeschool nuts.:glare:

 

Again, I think this was a reference to the FLDS compound where 400+ children were taken from their families this summer... Even at the beginning of the segment, the word "compound" was highlighted (those kids from X School; these kids from Y Compound, where they are home schooled), not the home schooling.

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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Again, I think this was a reference to the FLDS compound where 400+ children were taken from their families this summer... Even at the beginning of the segment, the word "compound" was highlighted (those kids from X School; these kids from Y Compound, where they are home schooled), not the home schooling.

 

sure. I'm willing to see it that way.

 

Even so, since when should we be so cavilier about children being removed based on religion? Even goign FLDS, there's a LOT of controversy about how that was handled, or mishandled to be more exact.

That doesn't make it better to me.

Esp as there's lots of people who think all hs-ers live in one house compounds. Hence the constant, "What about socialization?!" questions.:)

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Catherine

Catherine

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Further, while I do not subscribe to the beliefs (vis a vis dinosaurs)depicted in the skit, and truth be told I have met very very few, if any, who do, this is still a free nation and people are entitled to believe in such a manner and not be threatened with the loss of families.

 

All I can say is maybe you haven't been reading the boards very long. There are MANY homeschoolers and Americans who have these beliefs. I found a poll that suggests about 25% of the American population believe that dinosuars and humans coexisted, with another 20% undecided.

 

http://www.sodahead.com/question/103286/

 

Of course it's a free nation and anyone can believe any thing they choose. It does amuse me to learn just how far some people are willing to go to deny reality, but there you go. They are just as free to do it as I am.

 

Personally I agree that being able to laugh at oneself is a sign of health. No one escapes being poked fun at on SNL, IMO.

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Elaine

Elaine

Posted
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Actually, I think they probably do know there's a difference. Tina Fey, for instance, wrote a movie about a formerly home schooled girl, and it was a very fair portrayal. Home schooling was simply a plot device, but it's not one she shied away from or presented in a stereotypical manner.

 

Whereas the episode last night featured hair and clothing that was obviously inspired by FLDS groups. (Really, nobody else has that hair! lol..)

 

There are home schoolers in LA and NYC, and it's not even unheard of among people working in the entertainment industry. I'm not saying there are never biased portrayals, but I would worry a lot more about biased portrayals of religion than of home schooling.

 

What movie, Abbey? Was it Mean Girls?

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