Posted by JohnKeats on January 10, 2006, at 1:06:28
In reply to Am i just being Anal???, posted by willyee on January 7, 2006, at 18:48:19
> Maybe im just looking to much into this,and i know this will be redirected but i just wanted to share something.
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> Am i the only one that finds the show MONK offensive,more so there is a new ad out for it which goes something like.........."go online and take the test and see if ur a bit monkish"
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> I personaly find it offensive that they make such light of what for some is a totaly disalbitating life ruining disease OCD.
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> I dont find anything funny about it,and i dont think its funny when u see monk engaged in these ocd acts,i think its an insult.There was one particular episode where Monk became very frustrated with how unhappy his life was, and gets a visit by his wife who persuades him to take his doctor's advice and take some sort of psych meds. The whole show revolved around
how different his life was after he took the meds - he became totally extroverted and lost all his Monkish characteristics including his detective abilities.That episode made me really angry. So psych drugs are happy pills and they make you into a different person? The show ended with Monk throwing away the pills and deciding that he prefers being "himself"
So people who take psych meds really just need to learn to deal with their problems themselves? I get angry just thinking about the message that TV sends about mental illness.In fairness though, nobody likes being the butt of jokes. I'm a big fan of stand-up comedy and the standard fare is always "you know how "x" people are..." I don't think that these comedians go out of their way to offend minorities, it's just that part of the comedy equation for them is making the audience feel they're part of a majority looking down on a minority.
So I'm not really offended by Monk or any other stereotypes of mental illness in the media. But as somebody who has to deal with a very real and very debilitating illness every day, I don't really care to watch stuff like that. And I prefer humour that can make you laugh without stereotyping people with disadvantages.
poster:JohnKeats
thread:596844
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060108/msgs/597431.html