Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Ridiculous.

I hate to use the term "virtue signaling" because it's one of those words and phrases, like "privilege" or "feminism" or "racism", that's been divorced from its original meaning and is swung blindly as a cudgel by low-information ignoramii in online culture wars, but it's entirely appropriate in this case.

As you've no-doubt heard by now from various enraged kulturkampfers, a re-boot of Warner Brothers' classic Looney Toons is going to strip Elmer Fudd, hapless wabbit hunter, of his shotgun and Yosemite Sam, the rootin'-est tootin'-est pistolero in the West, of said pistols.

Instead, Yosemite Sam will roam the Old West with sickles and Elmer will hunt wabbits with that traditional hunting implement, the scythe.
"The show will stay true to the spirit of the original, while reflecting modern sensibilities, the EP said. What does that mean exactly? Maaaaany sticks of dynamite, elaborate booby traps and cannons-at-close range will very much be in play, in addition to the requisite anvils, bank safes and pianos that famously fall on unsuspecting heads."
Strictly speaking, the bit about reflecting modern sensibilities is true. Leaving the "maaaaany sticks of dynamite" in is accurate, since the target audience's mommies and daddies are way more likely to have been blown up with IEDs than shot with small arms fire.

I also note that, while we are apparently trying to protect children from seeing images of Elmer wielding Joe Biden's approved home defense weapon in a cartoonish or comedic fashion, Mr. Fudd's speech impediment is still treated as hilarious. How retrograde.

(EDIT: To clarify, it's not about the guns being essential to the funny; it's the big, virtue-signaling deal being made of it that's hilarious.
I mean, the funniest, most epic Bugs v. Elmer cartoon ever had Elmer wielding a spear to 🎶 kill the wabbit, KILL THE WABBIT! 🎶)
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