Letters to the Editor
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diagnosis
Okay, something was bugging me... the rape part of this skit really did seem jarring for some reason, more so than the dead babies (which struck me as more bizarre than offensive).
I think I figured out why. See if you agree with me:
I realized that it wouldn't have bothered me if the guys had done their lewd look-up-and-down of the cigarette girl, then come out from the back zipping up their pants. The girl running out screaming "Rape!" put it over the top.
Why? Looking at my reaction, it seemed dumb at first. The implication of the rape is there if you leave the women out, why does making it explicit cause a problem? Surely it's not just a matter of me squeamishly not wanting to see the victim?
Then I realized it wasn't the explicitness, it was the fact that the other victims in the skit were deliberately sort of funny. The guy on the ground - played for laughs. Fat lady, played for laughs. What's jarring is that in this skit, you feel you are being asked to laugh at the woman who has just been raped. I don't think this was done intentionally, it's just a bad skit. But it's there.
It doesn't bother me that much, but it did strike me as an out-of-place, jarring note, as I said. Does anyone agree with me?