The Chastened
Re this cancer kids comedy kerfuffle: One of the Chaser team said "it was meant to be so over the top that people wouldn't take it seriously".
Well if you're going to do that, you have to make it crystal clear. You have to convey some sense of detachment; some message that the creators are aware that this really has crossed the line. The fact that this was completely absent from the offending sketch is what provoked such an almighty ruckus.
There would have been a way to use the material and get away with it. Imagine that just after the line "they're going to die anyway" officers from the Taste Police had blustered in and arrested them. Now that would have been funny. (Er, maybe not. But at least it would have negated the outrage.)
See, satire is very different to other modes of creative expression. In drama, for instance, you're always trying to suspend disbelief. But in satire you want to encourage it from time to time. By doing that you're reminding your audience that you're totally aware of what you're doing; that you're ahead of the game at all times.
Take the example of Barry Humphries and his creation Sir Les Patterson. Les is grotesque, revolting, sexist, offensive. But the character works because viewers are always aware that behind the mask is a highly intelligent man with a critical eye - the polar opposite of the grog-blossomed buffoon before them. They know that Humphries knows that what he's doing is offensive to many. And because they know that he knows, they let him off the hook. (Er, I hope that's clear. As Les himself might say, are you with me?)
Put another way, satirists have to be diabolical, or at least convince people that they are. Once they've done that they can get away with pretty much anything.
The Chaser team have failed dismally in this regard. They're not diabolical, they're just a bunch of cocky spoiled brats who think they've got it all sussed running amok - and at our expense. They're not ahead of the game. They're playing catch up. Which is why they've actually satirized themselves.
And their masters have compounded the joke on them by putting them into the sin-bin. Big boo-boo, I reckon. ABC management should have stood firm and kept the show running.
One of two things will inevitably ensue. One: They'll go all goofy, benign and G-rated; play it safe at all times. For a show whose whole reputation is based on its "edginess" and ability to provoke outrage and create controversy this is a death sentence. Their fans will desert them in droves.
The other possibility: They'll remain as provocative as possible while trying to second guess the public reaction to particular sketches and remove them in advance. But this is a highly risky strategy. The boys themselves and the bozos behind the scenes clearly haven't the slightest clue about what the public are thinking. (Their complete surprise at the intense anger and hurt they've caused with their cancer kids sketch is a perfect illustration of this.) So, chances are they'll get it spectacularly wrong once again. If they do that they're toast. And they know it.
Clearly, they are in a no-win situation. That's why I have some sympathy for them. Their sense of bewilderment and powerlessness is actually quite sad ... seriously.
