Since you mentioned South Park, I thought I would mention I completely agree. South Park has the uncanny ability to appear crude yet they get to the heart of certain issues and tend to end up making fun of those who use humour negatively. A recent South Park episode titled "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" used the N word a couple dozen times (it doesnt get censored) but they did it without negatively portraying black people, they used humour to show the audience that using humour to attack a group is wrong. One of their first episodes with Big Gay Al portrays him as a media-stereotypical flamboyant gay guy, but at the same time the character was the most down to earth rational guy when faced with being kicked off the boy scouts. They had an episode with an 'ex-gay' pastor who led a camp to turn gay kids straight, they touched on important issues of gay teen suicide, they used humour in that episode to build up and make the audience see the danger in forcing people to quell their individuality.
Leno on the other hand, and comedians like him, use humour to enforce negative gay stereotypes. Those stereotypes get into people's heads and then they start to perpetuate that negative anti-gay culture, and that works against gay kids who want to be open about who they are (that was an example, it does more harm than that, but that certainly is the biggest).
Leno on the other hand, and comedians like him, use humour to enforce negative gay stereotypes. Those stereotypes get into people's heads and then they start to perpetuate that negative anti-gay culture, and that works against gay kids who want to be open about who they are (that was an example, it does more harm than that, but that certainly is the biggest).
