Coveting DVD's

This blog comes a little while after the controversy over blackface. Definitely a bit cringeworthy and depending on the humor of it and whether there's a meaning to it like in Always Sunny in one of their episodes. But the amount of outrage from both sides is a concerning thing. It's cancel culture and it only shows why digital is not always the big solution for your TV needs.

There were small shows, but there were big sitcoms that have removed episodes. Stuff like 30 Rock, Scrubs, Community, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The first two examples were under the suggestion of Tina Fey and Bill Lawrence respectively and approval from the studios that produced their shows. I understand the frustration, but it's also giving in to the new generation of kids who get offended so easily at everything that one mistake and they flip out like toddlers who don't get a candy bar once their mother finishes shopping. But you're also pissing off fans and maybe creators of shows.

In the midst of shows is ones that are stepping down from playing black characters. Mike Henry, who played Cleveland Brown on Family Guy, stepped down and now they have to figure out who will voice him. One that is lobbying is a TV actor, Wendell Pierce. There's a couple other shows where voice actors are stepping down. Maybe they are thinking of any criticism that could happen because of their easily offended people who will never live it down. By that logic, we shouldn't have Bart Simpson played by a woman. Nickelodeon should stop airing Rugrats on their classic blocks on Teennick because the male babies are voiced by females. These two examples, I'm exaggerating, but if we're going by what others could be offended by, who knows how far the cancel culture will go. Heck, go after Saturday Night Live's Eddie Murphy whiteface skit or the times in Chappelle's Show where Chappelle played a white newscaster. Those are funny skits, but some snowflake could get offended by it and cause it to be national news. Look at Jimmy Kimmel. He made an apology to the Utah Jazz because of a show he did where he played Jazz legend Karl Malone in blackface.

Now why DVD's? People want the real deal. And for some fans, they want everything. Every episode. That's why The Simpsons season 3 DVD set rose a little bit last year because of the removal of Stark Raving Dad, the Michael Jackson episode, from syndication and streaming. You can't erase DVD's. And it gives me great concern over what happens when physical media is phased out. That's why Amazon has Gone with the Wind in the top 10 for best selling movies and TV shows. They want the real deal and getting it via Blu-Ray and DVD's would shun some away from streaming. Warner Brothers also learned how vocal a community can be like in 2011 with their remaining Tiny Toon Adventure seasons. One episode was not going to be on because of a beer episode, but backlash led to them to re-inserting it back into the set. Score one for fans. I wouldn't underestimate what fans will do.Something like a 30 Rock will have its devout followers  and they will do whatever they can to watch the episodes that were removed. This applies to other shows as well.

We can't erase everything. Instead of outright removing it, we should have warnings. Warnings that tell us of when a particular product was made and the culture surrounding it. That was one thing about playing Mafia III. They told players that they made the game, which was set in the late 60s, the way the world looked at that point. They told you to expect a lot of offensive things. That being said, there's winning and losing battles in all this. There is no simple solution. Considering sensitivity, this is far from over. Roll with the punches, I guess.