Seth Macfarlane
By SETH D. MICHAELS
So let me just get two things out of the way before I get really, really deep in detail about one specific aspect of the Oscars intro Sunday night:
1) It was super, super-long and self-indulgent. Even by Oscar standards. It was like half an hour before anybody got an award and I laughed maybe twice.
Seth MacFarlane being delighted by himself is OK when sublimated into a half-hour cartoon, it’s not really tolerable when mugged at the screen by a guy in a suit for the same amount of time. It isn’t actually funny, and thus fails the first test: the test of comedy.
2) In the thick of the “We Saw Your Boobs” song, which must have lasted five minutes all by itself, this line jumped out at me: “Jodie Foster in ‘The Accused.’” And I thought to myself “Wait, isn’t her nudity in that movie part of a *rape scene*?” It threw a really sour note into what was supposed to be light-hearted.
But the in-depth thing I want to talk about is the “reaction shots” to the song, pre-taped by game actresses who were playing along. The substance of these reaction shots highlights just what’s so awful about MacFarlane singing this song: mortification from most of the actresses and a little fist-pump of triumph from Jennifer Lawrence when he says we haven’t seen hers.
The song, the reaction shots, and MacFarlane’s general attitude are all based on a commonplace and awful trope: that sex is a contest, and that men win and women lose when sex or nudity happens. It’s an archaic, prudish, creepy concept that derives from twisted notions about female purity and women-as-property.
Naomi Watts’ “reaction” to Seth Macfarlane’s song
MacFarlane thinks if he has seen a woman’s breasts, he has won and she has lost, and he is now entitled to gloat about it.
Women whose breasts Seth MacFarlane has seen are meant to feel humiliated and degraded by that fact, even though it’s expected of actresses to show their breasts to get work.
Meet the expectations placed on you by your industry, talented actresses? Too bad you’ve now injured your own dignity such that MacFarlane can mock you about it in front of a billion people.
Even if your character is naked *because she’s being raped*, it still amounts to a victory for him to have seen your breasts.
MacFarlane presents the whole skit as something he shouldn’t do, which makes it even worse, because he wants to get credit for the cleverness of his idea while also pretending it is beneath him. Which is completely candy-ass and cowardly.
Charlize Theron
The sexuality-as-contest-between-men-and-women thing is bubbling underneath so much that is awful: rape culture, workplace harassment, slut-shaming, abuse-themed porn, pick-up artist culture, etc., etc. It sets aside women as a separate thing from a person, and makes them into an object that is “ruined” by sex or nudity.
In a culture with a healthy attitude about sex and sexuality, MacFarlane’s song would have no sting at all, because nudity in film would be a completely different sort of animal: It wouldn’t be compulsory for actresses to draw that “I am pure and don’t get naked”/”I am fallen and thus am only good for getting naked” line, and there wouldn’t be shame associated with having been naked on screen. There would be no sting in MacFarlane smugly taunting women whose boobs he’s seen.
We don’t, yet, live in that culture.
And when MacFarlane plays “sex is a contest and YOU LOST, Kate Winslet” for laughs, it’s depressingly clear how far we are from it.
This post was originally published on World’s Most Famous Man and has been republished here with full permission.
Seth D. Michaels lives in Washington, D.C. He’s a writer for Working America and has also worked as a journalist and a professional sketch comedian. You can follow him on Twitter @sethdmichaels.
Did you watch the Oscars? Did you think that Seth McFarlane’s hosting was sexist? Who do you think has been a good host of a major awards show? What makes a good host?
Comments
39 Comments so far
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Naomi Watts and Charlie Theron did NOT wear the outfits shown in the pictures above to the Oscars – their reaction was prerecorded – which suggests they were in on the joke
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I think everyone should read this article in defence of Seth’s hosting, and the fact that he was indeed, pointing out everything that is wrong with Hollywood.
Of course I’m sure the people who were offended wont read it, they’ll just continue clutching their pearls and standing on their soap boxes.
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2013/02/28/op-ed-seth-macfarlane-isnt-problem?page=0,1
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Sexist or stupid? Both!
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I think it says a lot about our culture and society that most people who commented on here, women included, defended him, thought it was funny and think the feminists should lighten up
The author was spot on. His ‘clever and subversive humour’ hides so much more. Parodying a misogynist, sexist pig? I dont think so.
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As a former actress who quit after moving to the US and realizing every stupid movie wanted to see my boobs, I thought his song was hilarious. Plenty of actresses have either had the script changed because they didn’t want to show their tits, or they turned down the role if the producer insisted that seeing nipples was an integral part of the film. If more actresses were willing to say no, or admit they’re proud of what they’ve got an show it off, instead of only doing it because they think they have to, the industry would be better off. It’s Seth McFarlane. They knew his type of comedy. He also said he was going easy, because the group of people who have the most going for them are the most thin skinned.
Moral of the story, if you don’t want people to see your boobs, don’t show them.
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I get offended by people who get offended by jokes. It’s a vicious circle of hate.
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I missed the song (doesn’t sound like I missed much) but I did see a lot of his hosting. And missed quite a bit of it as well, because he was quite honestly not very interesting and/or funny, and I kept channel-surfing.
It’s not just because ‘oh, he’s got his own special brand of humour, you just don’t get it’. I’m a big fan of the original Star Trek, but that weird rambling segment with William Shatner was just .. pointless, and unfunny. Sometimes the funniest jokes are the simplest & shortest, like Seth saying, “Our next presenter needs no introduction” – and then walking straight off as Meryl Streep came on.
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Offending people is very different to hurting people.
When we started our long stint of writing radio comedy we were told by the network boss to “Keep it edgy guys”.
We had a little motto though – “you can offend people (and probably will) but you must try to never hurt them”.
I believe that, because of the tragic nature of it’s re-enactment of a rape story – the Jodie Foster reference should have been left out……..it was definitely in the “hurt” category.
Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy” IS edgy and there should be room for that on TV .
I loved the “South Park movie” and felt at the time that the first 15 mins was just about the funniest stuff I’d seen in a film – a fact shared by the predominantly teenage boy audience who were doubled over with laughter. Except for ONE person, a young woman sitting near me who distracted me by NOT laughing – she sat stony-faced, disapproving.
Comedy is such a tough gig and many people don’t “get” irony & satire at all.
Rough language is such an issue for some that they automatically switch off at the first expletive, and “lost in translation” is a real concern when performing comedy to a multi-cultural audience.
As for offence-taking……I was offended when I found out that the Iranian hierarchy digitally covered up Michelle Obama’s bare arms & neck before her presentation was shown in that country – a cynical attempt to control the wife of America’s leader, a political move and not funny at all.
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I enjoyed that song thoroughly. I found it hilarious. And yes, I’m a man. So yeah, I guess I’m a sexist misogynistic pig.
The Oscars organisers knew full well what kinda comedy Seth does before they hired him. And I’m sure they ran through his script many times during rehearsals. If they thought it was okay to air, i don’t see a problem. After all, they’re only responsible for the biggest show on earth. No big deal.
In conclusion, its comedy. And I don’t think he is going to stop the comedy he does because people were offended. I get told that I don’t have the right to be offended when someone does something that does offend me. So yeah, tough luck.
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Well, I don’t know you so I can’t say for sure, but yeah it kinda sounds like you are one. Also the “Oscars organisers” are The Academy, which is almost entirely made up of white men. So, uh, yes, I’m sure they thought Seth Macfarlane was a fine choice.That doesn’t make all of the incredibly disgusting things he said and did during his hosting gig okay. And can people please just stop with the “it’s comedy” argument, it’s so tired and it doesn’t stand up anyway. He’s done some shitty things, and he does not deserve to be protected from the social consequences.
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Didn’t find it offensive, but didn’t find it funny or entertaining either
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Let me preface thus by saying I’m not a Seth Macfarlane fan generally, I don’t find him funny and I didn’t enjoy him as the host of the oscars.
I thought the song was in bad taste and not appropriate for an event such as the Oscars, but I didn’t think it was sexist – it was harmless and intended to be a lighthearted joke.
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It was Seth Macfarlane. His comedy is about shocking people and making them laugh.
Success!
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I thought the song was fine. If it was for an episode of The Benny Hill Show. Bit tacky for the Oscars.
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I agree that the reference to “The Accused” should have been cut. I appreciate Seth (D. Michaels) expressing his opinion, though he’s a bit over the top about the reaction shots — obviously staged. The whole skit was a parody of sexism. In the line where Michaels mentions the “mortification from most of the actresses” he should have included quotation marks around the word “mortified” to indicate the irony. If these women were truly “mortified” why would they have taken part?
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Didn’t he also mention Hilary Swank in Boys don’t Cry? More rape scenes and it was based on a true story! (I can’t comment on the Accused, never seen it.)
He’s a sicko. Why ANYONE watches anything he does is beyond me.
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Let’s just remember Seth is a 39 year old, single man who is a massive Star Wars and Star Trek, also the creator of Family Guy… Did we really expect anything better? It was embarrassing, unfunny and isn’t going to ‘win’ him a girlfriend anytime soon.
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Seth Mc is (or was) dating the gorgeous Emilia Clarke – Khaleesi from Game of Thrones…
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I’m sorry, what’s wrong with liking star wars? :S
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There are some women who are ‘okay’ with this type of humor because it is a joke, right? So Seth will still have girlfriends.
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If you’ve ever watched Family Guy you will know Seth has a unique sense of humour. It’s not for everyone – especially anyone who’s a little over sensitive. I think you are missing a layer of entendre here. He’s actually making fun of men in this skit. His humour is quite cerebral. Sometimes it goes too far, or carries on for too long, it frequently makes me uncomfortable. But that’s because its a commentary on society. And often its s little too accurate. I’ve always been shocked he gets away with it in America, where an entire nation found a way to be offended by a bunch of Australian doctors on Australian television, all of varied non Anglo ethnicity, making fun of a black guy who pretended to be white.
Some people won’t like him. But if you think he’s sexist I think you’re missing his point. And to be honest, most of the reviews I’ve read off MM have been pretty glowing.
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I disagree. I would just love for a female host to come out and sing “I saw your penis” to the men in the audience. Or deliver multiple sexist jokes about men during the entire award show.
I don’t dislike men at all (in fact I am usually the one defending them when women DO make sexist remarks). But I do dislike men making sexist remarks about women, even in jest. I do not see how Seth is ‘making fun of men’ in his skits…if he is commenting on society, what does that mean about society, and why is this funny? Where are the jokes about seeing men’s penises in the middle of a rape scene (not that I would condone this either, but it would never happen)? Why is it still acceptable to make fun of women like this?
Seth is always trying to go for the shock factor – he is saying it because he knows he can get away with it because it is under the guise of a joke. It just gets repetitive. And sleazy. I also am bothered by the fact that many Oscar viewers are teens, those who might not get the ‘joke.’
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He wasn’t making fun of women, he was performing a parody of sexist men. He was pretending to be a sexist pig to show how ridiculous they are.and it obviously worked, judging by the reactions!
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I found it funny..not at all offensive. And the ‘reactions’ were pre-recorded to add to the skit (note Naomi is not wearing her Oscar dress). Lighten up people!
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I really think this is over analyzing a simple comedy skit. I am constantly frustrated with societies ability to take offense, over react and just plain ruin what are meant to be light hearted things.
As a 23 year old girl, I took absolutely no offense nor did I feel as a women objectified.
While I haven’t seen the Jodie Forster movie that is mentioned and I can understand that it is bad taste to include it, on the whole i believe it was an innocent comedy act.
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The Jodie foster movie was about a women who was gang raped in a pub and no witnesses would come forward, she was labelled as wanting it and a whole town turned against her. The truly terrible part of including this movie in the skit is that it was based on a true story.
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I didn’t like the song – and I didn’t think the Oscars was the appropriate occasion to be singing it. I know it was meant to be lighthearted but it was so sexist and with such awful undertones I think it left a lot of people cringing more than laughing.
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The song & dance was the usual Seth McFarlane kind of thing – naughty school boy, locker-room, politically incorrect stuff.
I certainly cringed when the Jodie Foster line happened – it went too far.
I also wonder what the reaction was in countries where women’s rights are less than they should be.
Did those people think that the lyrics were “okay”?
The song & dance routine was pretty good though.
I just wish that those lyrics were a little different.
“I saw your dick” perhaps……..
Oh that’s right – we NEVER see famous actor’s dicks on the big screen – do we Hollywood ?
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The main thing I got from Seth’s hosting gig is that, more than anything, he just wants to SIIIIIIIING.
I enjoyed Seth hosting but I’m also a fan of his own work (maybe that says something about me, meh, I like what I like) the 6 writers who wrote the oscars script are the writers of Family Guy, so whoever asked Seth to host knew what they were going to get. My thoughts are more that Seth was parodying sexism than endorsing it, in the sense that the idea that women are still reduced to the sum of their body parts is ridiculous, he’s a smart guy and his comedy is clever, you’re not meant to take it at face value.
I also really enjoyed this article in defence of Seth MacFarlane and the fact that humour is subjective http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/seth-macfarlane-oscars_b_2764577.html
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When did everyone lose their sense of humour?
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Let’s all stop being so sensitive. It seems like everything needs to be turned into a feminist debate these days, unnecessarily. Even the women who are mentioned in the song obviously found it light hearted and not offensive, or else they wouldn’t have been a part of it. I really don’t think he or the producers or the participants thought ‘yes.. By singing this I, Seth McFarlane, win the game of gender!’
I think Seth was a great host. He was funny and current. Best line:
‘Oh. Oh. No. No, he did exactly what we thought he would do.’
His role is to be ‘controversial’ so days later we’re still talking about the oscars (and we are so he did his job).
If celebrities can’t laugh at themselves there what hope do the rest of us have..
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Great great great article. Didn’t like him as a host at all.
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It wasn’t funny on so many levels.
For me it was more the astonishment that the names of accomplished women such as Meryl Streep, were attached to the sentence, “I saw your boobs”. How old is Seth? 12?
It diminished what the night was about and it was predominantly aimed at women – a lot of the movies mentioned in the song were about rape/assault – as well as jokes about Rihanna’s abuse – 9-year-old Oscar nominee, Quvenzhané Wallis, connected sexually to George Clooney etc etc etc
It was SO pedestrian and that is the humour that’s deemed cutting edge? The fact we have to cater for the gutter humour of our youth for ratings – that’s what offends me the most and that ‘jokes’ about women are (predominantly) the vehicle.
Snore. My mind is starving for stimulation.
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I find Seth hilarious. His humor to me is subtle and subversive and I think he’s pointing out that there are men out there that think this way and he’s making fun of them and the way they think. Although, that subtlety would bypass them. I thought he was the funniest host in a long time. But I get humor is subjective and he’s not to everyone’s taste.
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I totally agree with you Becstar, he is parodying sexism and the absurdity that some men do still think in this manner. He’s a smart guy and his comedy is clever.
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You do know thise reactions of Naomi and Charlize were pre-filmed and part of the show, right???
Doesn’t take away from the fact it was a stupid into, because it was. But those reaction pictures were part of the script.
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As Libba Bray says, learn to MAKE a joke.
http://libbabraysactualblog.tumblr.com/post/43994408735/there-are-no-three-way-mirrors-in-hollywood
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I didn’t like the Jodie Foster line either, and had the same thought about the scene from that movie. However I took the song for what it was, light hearted, and it did make me laugh. I even made my husband watch the replay of it. I think we are becoming so precious we are losing the ability to laugh. It makes me sad, and it also makes me think twice about cracking a joke for fear of offending someone. And it seems you always offend someone.
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The jodie foster one made me super uncomfortable, but I wasnt really bothered by the song.
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