‘Roseanne’ Slammed on Twitter for ‘Reductive, Belittling’ ‘They’re Just Like Us’ Joke (TV, society)
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I know what sarcasm is and this is why I believe that line was meant to be sarcastic. It employs irony and is the opposite of what Roseanne actually believes.
Based on what? What visual or other cues are given to show she believes the opposite of what she's saying?
Jokes have a humorous twist, a juxtaposition of the incongruent that elicits laughter.
"They're just like us" when they all agree "They're just like us," is not a joke.
It is a comment "totally congruent with who they are as people."
I just explained it to you. The joke is that Dan is worrying over nothing and they fall back to sleep. But there IS juxtaposition: Dan's worry vs. Roseanne's total non-chalance. This contrast of reactions is used in comedy all the time.
Based on the fact that there would be no other logical reason for this joke. And yes, it was meant as a joke considering the laugh track.
It is a joke, but it's not an I'm-saying-the-opposite-of-what-I-mean joke. There are NO indicators of that at all. They would have to say something or show us something to indicate that and they don't. In fact, there is a 20-year history of the character traits of the family SUPPORTING her belief that they're just like us. I'm really starting to believe you're either not a native English speaker or you haven't watched much comedy before.
I just explained it to you. The joke is that Dan is worrying over nothing and they fall back to sleep. But there IS juxtaposition: Dan's worry vs. Roseanne's total non-chalance.
Roseanne reassuring Dan he has nothing to worry about is not a joke.
Maybe start by looking up the definition of juxtaposition.
It is a joke, but it's not an I'm-saying-the-opposite-of-what-I-mean joke. There are NO indicators of that at all. They would have to say something or show us something to indicate that and they don't. In fact, there is a 20-year history of the character traits of the family SUPPORTING her belief that they're just like us. I'm really starting to believe you're either not a native English speaker or you haven't watched much comedy before.
And I'm starting to believe you are blowing smoke here.
Accusing others of not watching enough comedy or not being a native English speaker is not helping.
Roseanne reassuring Dan he has nothing to worry about is not a joke.
Maybe start by looking up the definition of juxtaposition.
I didn't say that--I said their contrasting reactions was the joke, and you're the one that brought up juxtapositions. I don't need to look up definitions--I've written for TV in comedy, have read many screenplays, and have also worked for a market research company during pilot season where we actually tracked the points in time when test audiences laugh. But you don't have to be a professional to recognize the 'opposite reactions' as a comedy staple. If Roseanne agreed with Dan and was like "Oh we better catch up on the DVR" instead of blowing him off and falling back to sleep there's no joke.
Based on the fact that there would be no other logical reason for this joke. And yes, it was meant as a joke considering the laugh track.
Let me state the obvious that nobody else seems to have touched on yet: The primary target of the joke wasn't blacks or Asians, or flyover attitudes about blacks or Asians... but the shows themselves, which deal with the subject matter of minorities trying to figure out how to adapt to the broader society while preserving their own cultural roots.
I didn't say that--I said their contrasting reactions was the joke, and you're the one that brought up juxtapositions. I don't need to look up definitions--I've written for TV in comedy, have read many screenplays, and have also worked for a market research company during pilot season where we actually tracked the points in time when test audiences laugh. But you don't have to be a professional to recognize the 'opposite reactions' as a comedy staple. If Roseanne agreed with Dan and was like "Oh we better catch up on the DVR" instead of blowing him off and falling back to sleep there's no joke.
Can we safely assume that you are no longer writing for TV comedies?
Can we safely assume that you are no longer writing for TV comedies?
Can we safely assume that you have never seen a TV comedy?
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