The debate over “Abortion Man”
Comedian Damon Wayans has posted an extremely crude, offensive skit on YouTube in which he portrays “Abortion Man.” LifeNews reports that some pro-lifers want the video yanked (a tactic I’m not a fan of), while others see its worth as satire with an anti-abortion message. The video is also under fire by some on the Left.
I’m throwing this one open for debate. Is Wayans really trying to send an anti-abortion message here? Or is this just sophomoric, exploitative garbage masquerading as faux social criticism? Let me know what you think, but do not watch it if you are easily upset:
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Maybe I should come up with a skit, on the aborted fetus. I could start talking about how my mother could hate me so much she wants me dead. On how not only does the docter kill me, but tortures me in the process.
This skit would be no funnier.
That’s and understatement. Just mindless trash.
That’s sick yo. and not in a good way.
Oops that should be “an understatement” not “and understatement”.
That’s what “preview is for.
and this individual’s career is where right now???…
Actually Mr P. I think it could be effective if you had a parent inside a jouvenile courtroom after the kid did something really bad.
As the judge sends down the sentence, the mother can pipe up by saying ‘can’t I just have an abortion? Abortion is for unwanted children, and because of his behavior, he’s definitely unwanted. . . It’s my right to choose to have an abortion of my child, blah blah blah’ Then go from there with the judge agreeing.
It’s awful. There something in it for both sides of the aisle to be disgusted by.
If people want to see abortion in popular culture, try the Romanian movie 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. I wasn’t a fan, but it got overwhelmingly positive reviews. And its treatment of abortion is truly amazing.
I am offended.
By the crummy acting I mean.
Is it anti-abortion?
Is it a message to the black community about the ease of obtaining abortions?
Could it be part of Planned Parenthoods outreach program soliciting donations; specifically funding black abortions in urban America?
I see this as a satirical polemicist’s skit catering to the lowest common denominator. Then again I’m just going out of my way to sound smart.
i can’t decide what message it’s trying to convey…but i think it’s stupid. it’s just not funny.
two snaps and a thumbs down.
I long for the “good old days” when comedians were really funny, didn’t resort to four-letter words, and actually made people laugh - people like Red Skelton, Art Carney, Jackie Gleason - folks like that.
Sorry - that’s what I get for getting old, but I didn’t find anything remotely funny or even “socially redeeming” in it. As I see it, people laugh at garbage like that only because of the shock value. After the shock wears off, it isn’t funny any more.
Is that like fake social criticism? Don’t go Gwyneth on us!
What’s the big deal? Isn’t every doctor who performs abortions “Abortionman…or Abortionwoman?”
Bloghooligan, well played, sir. Well played.
No I don’t think they do. The MSM has sheltered people from knowing what abortion truly is. If the MSM would do the death count (like they love to do with Iraq) or show the procedure(s) (like they do when cops get stupid and bust somebody’s head), people would be repulsed. Kinda like watching this video - very repulsed.
Remember when the Wayans brothers were funny? Yeah, neither do I.
“How sweet it is!”
“And awa-aa-ay we go!”
-Jackie Gleason (c. 1950)
“I was 12 years old when I had my first job, delivering packages.”
-Damon Wayans (c. nowadays)
OK, juxtapose these two comedians and where does it lead to? I’d say studying road kill in the middle of June would be more entertaining than Damon Wayans if that’s the best quote he has.
“Bang! Zoooooom!”
This is real humor, thank you.
Michelle, that may be quite an understatement in describing that video and its content.
I think I would have to go with the latter. This is too juvenile for someone trying to send a legitimate “message”.
Who produced this, PLANNED PARENTHOOD??? I did not think it was ANTI…
What a pantload. I am not sure that one can effectively satirize abortion.
What’s next, a comedy about Beslan or Darfur?
If that is ‘a social commentary on abortion’, then it is from the mind of someone stuck in their self-important teenage years. Not funny. Outlandish in a popsicle-stick fashion.
it’s not even funny.
it’s just the wayans trying to cash in on the funnyordie.com vertical.
this isn’t funny, creative, socially irresponsible… it’s just bad and ill conceived. unfortunately, because they used abortion, they’re able to get everyone to cover it and enhance their brand and reach.
i would rather have never known about this garbage, and not because i find it offensive, because i think it’s sad how little work and effort it takes to ‘offend’ enough people into a friggin free commercial.
I guess I will be the lone voice of dissent… I thought it was funny, but I was always a fan of stupid sophomoric knee-in-the-groin humor. I also thought it was pretty obviously supposed to be caustic satire of how stupidly we leap to abortion as a knee-jerk solution-to-everything.
Totally disgusted. Why anyone would take abortion and trivalize it this way is, apparently, beyond my comprehension.
Rusty, wth???
Did you think they would really portray abortion in any other light?
I didn’t laugh not one time. The “message” was lost on me…
Pro or con, it’s disgusting!
Hey, not all “satire” can be on Al Franken’s level of funny - or can it?
Perhaps this will win Best Documentary at the next Academy Awards. I thought Sharpton outlawed the “N” word? This is just dumb and the black community should be most outraged!! Sad statement on where we have gone as a society.
It definitely discounts the value of human life, which accurately portrays one effect of abortion. I didn’t find it terrible. I haven’t read any of the comments above, which I will now to see how out of touch or in sync with everyone else I am.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he also do a character called “Handi-Man” (a handicapped superhero) on “In Living Color”?
formerwm,
I do not feel as if this, this, abomination is somehow a reflection of every black person in America. My comments above clearly reflect how I feel about this. Besides, I think everyone here is outraged, with the exception of Khyris.
Yes, mojo, you are correct.
I love Abbott & Costello, but I stopped laughing at Jackie Gleason when I got old enough to realize that threating to beat up a woman half your size wasn’t funny.
This thing from Wayans may very well be unfunny crap, but to make a sweeping generalization like “no one funny has been around since the 50’s” is absurd.
Just off the top of my head Harold Ramis, Sam Kinison, Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, Jerry Seinfeld, the Zucker brothers and at least a dozen cast members from Saturday Night Live have all produced hilarious work since 1970. And I think the best of their work surpasses the recycled vaudville of Gleason et al by a wide margin.
I think I’ll go watch Animal House…
Me too cpodug
I think this short take is a sick example of why this country is going down the tubes. The vid was not done with taste and class but with a sick ignorant mind that would thank seeing an elderly man or woman fall and break a hip as funny. It shows just what one side of our culture really thinks of life. They want to complain about the deaths of our soldiers fighting a war for our country’s existence like they really care when in fact they have no trouble allowing more deaths from abortion than this war has cost in U.S. soldiers lives. A LIFE IS A LIFE…. I think it should be shown everywhere to show just how ignorant, without compassion, uncaring, self centered, and stupid our culture has become.
I think it’s anti in message. I think he’s trying to show how utterly callous young men are by impregnating a girl, lying through thier teeth about how they feel and then having her punched around to obtain the desired abortion. Also keep in mind it also showed a fully formed baby being ‘ejected’ after the attack. I don’t see how it could possibly be a pro-abortion message.
This was really sick… but could it be effective with young black men? I dunno… I agree with Khyris that it is caustic satire. It shows the utter distain for life and love of people who seek abortions.
I must be too dumb to know genius.
It’s a Wayans - you even have to ask if it’s sophomoric?
I really support this. Yeah, it’s a little crass with the humor, but you aren’t going to get anywhere with tepid, gentle stuff. People don’t listen to that anymore. This is along the lines of Knocked Up and Juno, two movies which I absolutely recommend as both hysterical and morally correct, if somewhat vile with the humor sometimes.
It’s satire, people - I think he’s really trying to point out that young men (white and black) too often call out for abortion as a way to solve “problems”.
That would have to mean that Wayans is a comedic genius. Too bad he’s wasting that genius on a target audience who….most likely….will look at this video as an endorsement for abortion rather than the other way around.
To me its just trash. If he were sending an anti-abortion message…the “comedy” of it dilutes that message.
Not sure if I’m making any sense but….thats how I’m seeing it. Anyone else?
I don’t know, I never saw it like that. But then again, I haven’t gone to reeducation camp yet.
??? I don’t understand. I meant I was amazed by the portrayal. It managed to be strongly pro-choice (it’s set in an anti-choice Communist regime) while also very critical of the choice that some make.
Anyways, I didn’t even like the movie that much. Very slow-going and claustrophobic. I just thought it would be a nice counter-point to the filth being produced by Damon Wayans.
I believe it is satire, sarcasm what ever you want to call it, I don’t beleive it is supposed to be funny, I think it is supposed to invoke disgust which it does. IMO it is aimed at male attitudes not only black males but all males. If you listen to what the male is saying he in this peice is the victim and the women is the perpetrator.
I don’t know what the creator of this skit’s intentions were but he definitely has shown exactly what abortion is and what it does to our society. What’s the number one cause of death for pregnant women?
Homicide.
Not funny at all.
ESPECIALLY considering the several cases where the fathers and mothers have resorted to physically beating the abdomen in order to kill the baby.
Legalized abortion hasn’t made abortion safe, it has made abortion acceptable.
Having enjoyed Wayans comedy on TV and in person, its an anti abortion message. Having said that, the skit is just dumb. I did not find it well done or funny.
Just chalk it up to a joke/message that didn’t work.
After all the Wayans comes from a big tight family, raised with hardworking values. He’s a dedicated family man from what I know.
People should not draw attention to a skit so poorly done and it will go away.
What if Damon’s mother would have tried some of what he is pitching?
mnmike,
Its satire that has missed the mark. He wasn’t make a pitch for abortion. It was way over the top ie., anti-abortion. I just didn’t find it well done or funny.
The smart thing to do is not to draw attention to the video.
I see it as poorly-acted social commentary with sophmoric humor. However, it does show the cavalier attitude men have towards abortion, criticizes the abandonment of family and overemphasis on sex by young minority culture, and the mockery of desensitization of a culture that would view assault on a woman and cartoonish death of a fetus as “funny”.
Keenan Ivory Wayans has been critical of black culture and its values in the past. The movie “I’m Going to Git You Sucka” highlighted his disdain of common ghetto culture, and I think that this is more in that vein.
I believe the title was specifically “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” - further emphasizing his hatred of “black” culture.
It just isn’t funny. The concept is like what you might come up with after a six pack and jokingly mention to your drinking buddy. But take the time to make a video of it and you’re just lame. Consequently, it’s not terribly offensive either, just weak.
Are the feminists up in arms because the woman is waiting for her man’s cue to choose her reaction? How close to reality is that, namely, how many women would choose life except for pressure from the man? Then we have the man’s plea for somebody else to take responsibility for his actions. Not well acted, but it has some harsh realities portrayed.
Another sign of civilization crumbling all around us.
It’s just more sub-culture manure to spread around the ‘hood’.
Would it be any funnier if an aborted fetus stood up and started singing Hello! Ma Baby like Michigan J. Frog? Not really. The skit is beyond jaded.
hey my nig, trash!
I didn’t see any political statement here, just a black comedy twist on a very familiar superhero theme. I thought it was a little funny in some places, but the assault on the pregnant girl left me a somewhat shocked and repulsed. I wouldn’t call it satire, either, just another clumsy attempt at shock humor.
It’s neither. It’s a simple-minded one-”joke” concept lacking in either the ability to offend or provoke debate. It is what it is: nothing. To debate it either way is to give it too much credit and attention.
That was sick
If there’s one thing that is not funny, its the murder of babies.
That was tasteless and sick.
RE: No political statement…. really? Ok, that’s your opinion.
Black Comedy Twist? Just a little insulting….dontcha think, considering what the superhero was doing? I mean, Stern has Fart Man…Right? Why does there have to be a twist of any kind re a specific ethnic group as it pertains to abortion. I find that just downright insulting, sorry-dude.
Clumsy attempt at shock humor….
I really don’t know what else to say but I cannot continue on this thread…after watching that…(at NO point did I find it funny)…Absolutely Nauseating.
I hate to say it, but we would have been better of if Damon’s Mom had aborted him. This is what Liberals think is funny. They are truely sick individiuals.
Sorry, I guess I should have should of been more clear: I meant “black comedy” as in gallows humor, not as in comedy done by African-Americans.
As for whether or not this is a political statement, I very much agree with post #59. Sure, you can easily draw something like this into a politcal context, but that doesn’t mean that was the original motiviation. I would guess the creators are just trying to get attention or make a buck.
Personally, I don’t think it has much to do with being “black”. I DO think the message is more “Look how easy it is to make your little ‘problem’ go away!” It makes it obvious that young people who get abortions think of it as an easy solution. The young naive girl thinks about love and having a family (some, not all) while the young man is like ‘just make it go away’. It was a cheesy video, but I can see a slight message in there….if I look hard enough.
Can’t watch this at work so cannot comment directly on the video, but do know that satire can be strong stuff. I think Wayans himself is pro family, so he may have messed up his message. Will check it out later.
My vote is that it’s anti-abortion, but that half of it was very poorly done. Too crude, too callous, too…blech!
The part showing the boy lying to the girl was fairly well done.
I’m amazed at the quality of production that went into something that was so poorly written that the audience is asking such basic questions as - was this pro or con?
Disgusting, though. I’m sure his girl (unless he goes with guys) is having second thoughts about him.
I think it was done so, though, in the modern vein to make something controversial so that people talk about it…and they are.
By the way, regarding poor treatment of babies, Jonathan Swift went one better with his “Modest Proposal”
Well, I don’t see any other way shaking one’s fist and threatening to punch someone can be intepreted. But then again, I’m not an idiot.
As a seperate point I have to say you guys make it really, really hard to be on your side sometimes. I’m a navy veteran who served in Desert Storm. I’m a businessman who believes strongly in free trade and minimal government regulation. I’m in favor of legal immigration and secure borders. I belong to the NRA and own several firearms. I’m pro-War and have thus far in my life never voted for a Democrat.
In short, I come down on the Conservative side of damn near every important issue. But on those occasions when I post even the mildest dissent from majority opinion someone in here can always be counted on to make a comment like that, or make the profound mistake of dismissing me as a Liberal.
You should think a little before you jump to ad hominem attacks. First of all you shouldn’t have to, conservatives have facts on their side. Secondly you run the risk of alienating people who would otherwise be your natural allies.
James, don’t take it personally. We’ve all taken our lumps on these threads. And my original post didn’t actually say that there hasn’t been anything funny since the ’50s. What I said was that I, personally, haven’t found anything funny for a long time. My idea of humor doesn’t have to agree with yours. Relax - chill out. In the end, we’re all after the same thing - to prevent the destruction of the country we love so much, and that has given us so much. The neat thing about this blog, and most conservative blogs, is that we are free to disagree with other posters - as long as we don’t resort to trollerism. You and I can disagree on what is humor, but we can agree on most everything else. That’s what it’s all about. And thanks for doing the heavy lifting.
Aloha Guy is right. Satire can be strong stuff. I’m not easily offended and people can take whatever they want from the video based on their experiences and views.
Joy is pro-life so she has her slant.
Somebody else may think, hell yeah, Damon Wayons can relate to how a brotha feels when their old lady is insisting on bringing in some kid, and bustin me up with child support.
The video was only mild amusing.
Funny= Eric Cartmen getting ahold of a truck load of aborted fetuses and trying to broker deals on the phone to sell them for stem cell research purposes. South Park almost always gets it right.
Lastly, as conservative like to remind, “There is not constitutional right not to be offended.” Leave it on youtube. Out
That video made me sick…
Really? Then let me offer you a different point of view. From a dramatic perspective, everything has two sides, tragedy and comedy. If Ralph ever actually hit Alice, it would be tragedy. I don’t think he ever did. Instead he holds back. Maybe it’s out of fear of consequences, a moral code, a sense of decency, or deep love, but the point is he stops himself from acting on his emotional impulse. And that’s where the comedy comes in. We all have those moments, and how we handle them is the quintessence of our humanity. Comics and authors of all stripes have been mining that ground forever. In Jackie Gleason’s case he articulated Ralph’s exasperation with that immortal line, “You’re going to the moon, Alice!” One of my all time favorites.
Does any suggestion of violence that accompanies a comedic scene really invalidate any possibility of humor? I don’t think so, but I respect your opinion, man. And thanks for your service.
no constitutional right.
Offensive? Yes. Obviously going for a laugh at a topic only losers find funny.
Without meaning to, though, this vid tells several truths:
- There are two victims of abortionman.
A woman beaten and stomped and a baby thrown to the ground with a cry.
- Some men care nothing that a woman they “love” has been treated this way or that their child has been killed.
- A woman’s “choice” is not at the forefront of many in the pro-”choice” camp.
- Abortion as a convenience of those who want to have sex but want someone else (aborted baby, discarded woman) to bear the costs of the choice.
- The perils to women of casual sex with guys they barely know. Women are beaten and killed for being pregnant and not getting an abortion. Even if a man would never be violent, men do react badly and strangely to this news. It is to a woman’s benefit to know a guy well before getting into the position of telling him he is a father.
Dark Humor is the word I think you may mean?
Listen, the fact is Ralph Kramden was a quick-tempered bus driver who was not the sharpest tool in the shed. His wife often pointed out his stupidity and she never flinched an inch when he burst into a tirade of insults and hallow threats of physical violence. In fact, he loved and respected his wife, thus ending every episode with, “Baby, you’re the greatest”, followed by a hug and kiss.
Now, what I find upsetting and frankly nuts is in this Wayan’s skit, Abortionman, the “superhero” punches the woman in the stomach and puts her on the ground, then stomps on her forcing the fetus to pop out of her, and you’d rather criticize the Honeymooners! It’s as if you’re brainwashed to hate anything “old-establishment” and totally desensitized to anything ultra violent from the “new-establishment.” I hope you can see how your optic chiasm needs some Windex.
I respect your service to this country, but the fact is we trade punches and jabs to create insights for each other. I’m sure I’m due to take lumps as well.
I think people are looking at it way too seriously. I just think that the video does not convey anything. It is neither a critique from the left nor the right. I admit, it is crude. It is a joke that is thought up by a teenager. Teens, who has no clue in politics, will find it funny which I think is the intended audience of the skit.
In my humble opinion, it is funny though. It made me chuckle.
Saw this early this morning-had to think on it while in class-
Don’t know Wayans-
asked myself:
Did it show the anxiety of women who are pregnant and are not sure of their “other half’s response -YES
Did it clearly illustrate abortion’s brutality against women - YES
Did it show the brutality toward the unborn child - Almost
I’ll chalk it up to one for LIFE-whether that was the intent or not.
LFL
Normally I’m a fan of black humor (*badum-tish!*) but this was sort of bleh. Not throw-up-in-my-mouth awful, but not particularly entertaining either.
And if there’s an anti-abortion message in there, I don’t see it. In fact, I haven’t the slightest idea what the message of this video is, or if it even has one at all.
This wasn’t nearly as awful as some of the above comments made it out to be.
I thought it was brilliant work, actually.
You see, however “crude” this video may be with its standard choreographed “fight”-scene (like a live-action Batman movie), this is in fact the truism:
Abortion, it’s defenders, and its promoters view Abortion as a heroic savior. The only thing Wayans did was show who is saved: Irresponsible men. Just be glad he chose two minors instead of a 40 year old man and a younbg girl.
As to the women, well, physically, emotionally, and spiritually they get beat to the ground. And nobody cares, as Abortionman gets to fly off into the distance again as the hero to “save” another woman whenever he is needed.
This is reductio ad absurdum at its finest. People really DO treat abortion this flippantly. People really DO think abortion is a good thing for women instead of a horrible infliction of brutality on two lives, a woman and her child. And you basically have to argue with them for a full hour before they admit even the possibility that abortion might be the first line of defense against pregnancy, not the so-called “last resort” that PP always calls it.
This is reality Michelle, other fine commenters. All Wayans did was put it into the persona of “Abortion Man.” This wasn’t anywhere near as appauling as Planned Parenthood’s Superhero for Choice. You remember that one, right Michelle?
Whatever Wayans did with “Abortion Man,” Planned Parenthood already topped on the offensive meter three years ago with “Superhero for Choice.”
I wasn’t on my computer at all yesterday, so I just saw this. I figure that even if it is anti-abortion it is still crass and tactless. I don’t want my pro-life beliefs argued with this kind of filth.
I love the part where the guy “pushing” abstinance is made to look like a pimp, and is condescending (”Ms Smartie McSmartpants”). When he asks how they are going to protect themselves against STD’s the girl says “I don’t plan to get one.” and he replies sinisterly (as if he wants her to get one, “No one ever does.” Then when the “s(t)uperheroine” shows up he acts as if he’s doing something wrong.
How stupid do they think kids are to not see through that bit of subterfugue?
I actually think it IS an anti-abortion message. It’s kind of a dumb skit, and I think DC Comics should get on their butt about using the Superman theme for such a controversial political skit (I don’t think wholesale theft of a soundtrack falls under “fair use for parody purposes). But if you want to talk about what the skit is actually about… how can anyone see it as Pro-abortion?
The woman wants the baby and is happy. The guy is the one who is entirely unconcerned with the life of the baby and sees it as ruining his life. The superhero is only a hero to the men who want to do away with babies that inconvenience them; what he does to the woman (even addressing her as “fiend” for wanting a baby) is hideous.
I mean…when the superhero symbol is a no-symbol over a baby (not a fetus) and the baby cries after it’s “ejected”… it’s not exactly sticking to the pro-choice “unviable tissue mass” argument. Indeed, the woman doesn’t even “show” yet, but when stomped on we see a whole baby go flying. Thus, the makers of the skit are saying that the woman is carrying a crying baby no matter what stage she’s at.
It’s in bad taste, sure… but if it makes some people think about the callousness of abortion, then it does its job.
I went looking for Sam Clark, who is credited with writing the PP (Superhero for Choice) video and found this. I wonder if no one wanted to actually take credit for that piece of garbage so they attributed it to him.
It’s a crappy offensive skit. There’s a bit of satire, and I think the over all message is anti-abortion, anti-black, and anti-male. But obviously the only message he wants to put out is “I’m outrageous and funny”.
At the very least, it is as anti-abortion as it is offensive. I say “Leave it”. It’s not worth making a stink over.
But would it hurt to make it ‘restricted viewing’?
Ouch!!!! Ouch!!!!!
talk about getting knocked up in the worst possible way not to have a baby. Worst thing is that the babe (shes’s kinda cute btw) in the video didn’t have a say on this topic.
no choice = pro choice????
I think its just saying that black males are scummy or scumbags when their girlfriends get pregnant. - complete lack of responsibility.
If this was supposed to be funny & have an satirical air, I’d say it fell flat.