After marinating in the revelation of the Laugh Track I’ve decided to give it a second, third and fourth listen. The subject of the laugh track came up in casual conversation recently at the dinner table. My adult son, 25 felt something was “off” about the laugh track. We don’t live a lazy minded lifestyle. We’re not casual listeners. We’re analytical and curious listeners. We what to know whodunit after listening to the details. We’ll listen to all of it. Every time. As long as it concludes well. But you lose us when the conversations become demeaning, disrespectful and judgement of anyone. As a family we will automatically stop watching things that we feel overtly convey messages and themes that we do not wish to carry forward. And if we do look, it’s not entertainment, it’s study. It’s cold. It’s objective and it’s coming from 2021. So yes, is 2021 taking a long hard look at the 50’s and 60’s when our parents were being heavily influenced by the media. Dark or otherwise, they boldly told Magical women, women they knew were magical, had formerly drowned and hung them for being magical and now they enslaved them domestically as servants pretending to share status, but NOT. There’s never been status to stand next to a white man. To stand beside a white man is to say “this is my owner, this is who possesses me”. It’s simply a fact. If you don’t believe me, do all the homework. I know I’m going to. This is my next thesis. The enslavement of white women by white men. Prove me wrong dudes. You got time. It’s race and I already started. So good luck fellas. I’m onto you and I’ve done my homework. I’m coming for your overt, in YOUR FACE slavery of the Female half of your equation. Shame, shame and fucking MORE fucking SHAME! Shame Shame
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Before you do me the kindness of reading my report on rape in American Culture I want to make you aware this is a piece on Rape. If you or a loved one has been raped, you can receive free help from the National Sexual Assault Hotline. There is both telephone support and online chat available. BeWitched Season 1 Episode 3It doesn’t take long into Samantha’s new life to see how she’s about to be treated in her world among white dominant men. It doesn’t take long into the episode to see she’s going to be getting into some deep waters. The writers, directors and producers don’t waste any time getting to the heart of the role’s that women will be playing in the coming decades. It’s quid pro quo every day. It’s quid pro quo at every turn. At every step Sam is expected to cook, host, look fabulous, be charming, available, a slave and open & amenable to advances from any man who might have an impact on their “livelihood.” Samantha is attacked by a would-be rapist in the middle of the episode. After grooming her and grooming her husband, as well as her husband’s boss it was abundantly clear that Samantha was about to be a victim of rape. The build up to the creepy, stalker, “gotcha!” moment was not only predictable it was terrifyingly familiar and palpable. You can visibly SEE the moment that Samantha does all the math and realizes what her options are. What does she choose? She lets him decide for himself. During her attack he bites her and she quickly protects herself by turning him into a dog. A dog. How poetic. Never doubt that any man that is a “dog” bites. He does. Believe him. He finds her alone at the gazebo in the garden by herself. She is still the slave in the scenario. Perfectly coiffed still after having cooked, served and now cleaning after her full house of guests have sated themselves on her labors. She is attacked. He gives her no time to decide or debate. He has an answer for everything because he’s used to getting his way. He’s gotten his way before. This is his modis operandi. The storyline is clear in his rehearsed dialogue and overly familiar moves. She is alone and she is magical and she turned him into a dog. Now… Where’s Darren in all of this? Where is he? Well his face is so far up his bosses ass he can kiss the ass of his client through his bosses lips. He’s checked out of his home and marriage entirely. He isn’t married. He is a slave owner who has hisself a lovely white witch who’s willing and compliant to do his bidding. She lets herself be his slave. He never gives her an option. She never disagrees. She just robots forward in her perfect little dress, in her perfect little home and in her perfect little role. Only it isn’t perfect. She’s still a slave and she’s about to be raped. The dog defense isn’t good enough for Darren who can’t even hear his wife speaking. He does boldly declare he won’t hear her. He does boldly declare that it doesn’t matter what happened in the garden, the client always gets his way as far as Darren is concerned. No matter the cost. Sam deciding this cost is too high, kicks Darren out of the bedroom along with his freshly minted dog/client. The wildest part is, Samantha never stops caring how her husband feels or how he feels towards her. Yet, for more than half the episode Darren doesn’t give a solid fuck about what almost happened to his wife. Her personal safety isn’t a consideration. And he’s an advertising executive in an age where quid pro quo isn’t just typical it’s literal part the landscape AND the package! So he knows up front that at some point in time some client is going to be having his way with his wife. Whether she likes it or agrees to it or not. He’s literally setting his own wife for this moment and completely expects her to suck it up like a trooper. And you can see, she’s not only not having it, she doesn’t understand these men who can’t seem to handle even seeing the sight of her in pajamas. Fully covered, fully clothed pajamas are too inflammatory visually for the men in this episode. Towards the end of the episode, you can see Darren is genuinely broken and contrite. Over what isn’t clear. He doesn’t exhibit a true understanding of his crimes against his wife. She says she forgives him but he’s still refused entry to their room. Wise move Sam. Because as soon as he’s before his restored client, his lips are firmly on the clients ass once more in a pandering move. Samantha, fearless and ferocious is waiting for him outside his husband’s office. So while swilling down a drink in the office, in front of everyone he openly attacks Samantha once more. Darren finally convinced of his wife’s words punches the client and wins the job. Moral of the story… attack the client who tries to rape your wife, take his money and kiss your wife. Follow up comments. As a side note I want to draw attention for a moment to the title of the BeWitched Episode. "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog". What does that mean? Is this a warning to viewers? Shits about to go down. It's about to go down WITH a dog. And whatever happens to that dog... he doesn't deserve it. That's what they are saying. They are telling us bluntly that what you're about to see next is bad for the dog. What doesn't escape me is the laugh track. At every turn. "I was attacked" (laughter) "He was agressive" (laughter) "Another wife would have behave different" (laughter) Laughter, laughter, laughter. All well groomed. All very sparkling and clean. All perfectly curled and coiffed, but all so damned funny. Because the dog is bad. The dog is so bad that it's funny. Is it supposed to be funny that she's about to be raped? Or that she escaped rape? Is that funny too? I'm asking because from my point of view, rape was never a laughing matter. She fought back the only way she knew how. Magic. Well I can't turn a man into a dog. But I can survive. These old sitcoms are available to watch right now. Right now. So if you're choosing to watch the laugh track of the 60's, know that the men who ruled the world from behind their cameras and their clever dialogue and their insatiable desire for high end fashion, they found rape of women not only common, it was funny. These men found rape funny. If you don't believe me, go watch it for yourself. And see what was so damned funny to the men who built the world in which we live. If you or a loved one has been raped, you can receive free help from the National Sexual Assault Hotline. There is both telephone support and online chat available.
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AuthorMarihemp is presently owner/baker/farmer at Cloverleaf Farms in Door County, Wisconsin. Archives
January 2023
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