Ridiculous treatments of serious issues

[Drain Bead]

This thread was inspired by my favorite XM Radio station playing Sublime's "Date Rape" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_Rape_%28song%29), which includes the lines "If it wasn't for date rape, I'd never get laid," and the song's antagonist ends up going to prison and getting "butt-raped by a large inmate." Even the music is goofy.

So I figured I'd start a thread to discuss the other examples (I'm sure there are some) of bands, authors, television shows, or Lifetime Movies (Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?) that took on serious subjects and were just ridiculously over-the-top about them.

[StusBlues]

Pretty much every episode of South Park. Be it terrorism, child abduction, Scientology, or what have you, they've gone over the top with it.

[Milossarian]

"Springtime for Hitler" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08akOt2kuo) from Mel Brooks' "The Producers," of course.

For that matter, the way "Blazing Saddles" dealt with racism.

Archie Bunker's bigotry on "All in the Family" comes to mind, too.

[phreesh]

Nirvana's 'Rape Me' and 'Polly' (Polly's a bit more understated) spring to mind.

Pornographers (especially Hustler) have had some great fun with incest.

Hogan's Heroes and the Nazis.

[Tom Tildrum]

Sarah Silverman has said that when she was younger, she was raped by a doctor. "And for a Jewish girl, that's so bittersweet."

[Rrose Selavy]

Nazi sitcom - Heil Honey I'm Home

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heil_Honey_I'm_Home!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbj9otRPdiM

[astorian]

Well, Gerry Goffi nand Carole King were TRYING to make a serious statement about spousal abuse when they wrote "He Hit Me, and It Felt Like a Kiss."

It didn't quite work!

[astorian]

Oh, and there are probably hundreds of laughably bad horror/sci-fi movies that are supposed to be "serious" treatments of environmnetal issues. Think of something like Ray Milland's Frogs.

(We must fight pollution, because otherwise Fweddie Fwoggie and his fwiends will kill us!)

[joebuck20]

The song White Lines (Don't Do It), by Grandmaster Flash, which is supposed to be a condemnation of drug use, but winds up sounding like a celebration of it.
Here is an example of the lyrics:

Pipeline) pure as the driven snow
(Connected to my mind) and now I'm havin’ fun, baby!
(High price) it's getting kinda low
(Cause it makes you feel so nice) I need some one-on-one, baby!
(Don't let it blow your mind away) Baby!
(And go into your little hideaway ‘cause white lines blow away)
(Blow! Rock it! Blow!)

[Sigmagirl]

Well, Gerry Goffi nand Carole King were TRYING to make a serious statement about spousal abuse when they wrote "He Hit Me, and It Felt Like a Kiss."

It didn't quite work!

Similarly with Joanie Sommers' Johnny Get Angry:
Oh, Johnny get angry, Johnny get mad
Give me the biggest lecture I ever had
I want a brave man, I want a cave man
Johnny, show me that you care, really care for me.

[jjimm]

Women call it stalking.
I just call it selective walking.
- Otis Lee Crenshaw (http://www.youtubedigger.com/otis-lee-crenshaw-women-call-it-stalking/)

Otis Lee (Rich Hall) has dozens of songs that deal with horrible subjects like this. "Can you show me on the doll where he touched you" and many more. Fucking hilarious.

[Ferret Herder]

Oh, and there are probably hundreds of laughably bad horror/sci-fi movies that are supposed to be "serious" treatments of environmnetal issues. Think of something like Ray Milland's Frogs.

(We must fight pollution, because otherwise Fweddie Fwoggie and his fwiends will kill us!)
Night of the Lepus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Lepus)!

Humans killed the coyotes in a region, so thousands upon thousands of rabbits bred out of control and ate all the crops and other plants! Scientists, trying to find a more natural way of keeping the rabbit population in check, try to develop a way to mess up their breeding cycle, and a rabbit injected with something intended to cause birth defects ends up escaping when a scientist's daughter swaps it with a control rabbit as her promised pet. Result - giant mutant killer bunnies rampage! Hand puppets or costumes with ketchup or red paint smeared around the mouth are used for the menacing rabbit-attacking-humans scenes. Obviously domesticated rabbits of many colors are herded through miniatures shots, versus the stock footage of wild cottontail rabbits used at the start. (Oh but these are all descendents of rabbit farm escapees, so ignore that little issue...)

The lesson I learned was not "don't screw up the environment by killing off native species" but "don't violate Good Clinical Practices of research by not labeling animal specimens, by allowing uncertified personnel into research areas, and by allowing former control subjects to be adopted without going through cross-checking and perhaps quarantine."