Are We Too Sensitive?

I read an article recently about certain movies that were released somewhere around the 90s and how they wouldn't fly today. Some of them I got and others I was curious about how sensitive the writer thinks we are as a society. I know a lot of us are sensitive to gender identity and sexuality and with good reason because a lot of people can be cruel when it comes to those topics.

One of the movies that the writer was talking about was Mrs. Doubtfire. The question was raised about if it was okay to poke fun at cross-dressing. The movie was not offensive in my opinion. To my memory there weren't any real jokes about cross-dressing; it was just a light-hearted family movie. The next movie I questioned on the list was Pretty Woman. The writer stated that the whole premise was questionable and the way that Julia Roberts' character was "attacked" by Jason Alexander's character was not okay. The main premise of this movie was a guy wanting a companion and he pretty much became a sugar daddy to her and fell in love with her. He bought her clothes so that she could look nice because, if you remember, when he picked her up she only had that one streetwalker outfit and you can't really wear that to a fancy place. The message or idea in the movie is how it's not okay to judge people or to be mean to them.

I think the writer of the article thinks we are so sensitive when we really aren't and in reality, I think she or he is just the sensitive one. Let's face it, if you offended by Pretty Woman or Mrs. Doubtfire, there is something wrong. The other movies she was talking about, a few of them were objectifying women or making not okay comments. With every movie, TV show, song or other pieces of art, you have to take them with a grain of salt. I will agree there are somethings you shouldn't joke about but there are other topics in which you have to watch the jokes you make.

Some people will take things too far and that's sad. I think it will never be okay to make light of things like rape, the Holocaust, police brutality, and mass shootings. People will—I know Chris Rock made jokes about how he wants to see a white family on TV wanting justice for their son after a police-involved shooting and people were offended. I think to wish a police brutality case onto any family is wrong and I know he may not mean it that way but you have to be careful with what you say.

SO are we too sensitive or are we setting the right standards? I think in some cases we are too sensitive and in other cases, we got it right. We have to take it thing by thing because some TV shows, movies, and such handle topics the right way and others miss the mark. A perfect example: a drag queen made a joke about how a dead baby in a toilet is a sign that a straight person is in the club. To me, that was too far for the point she was making. The rest of her set was funny and when she sees shocked looks on people's faces she will say something to the effect of, "You came to see a guy in a dress and that's too far? Really, queen? Really, bitch?" Sometimes I want to look at people and say, "That's too far? Really, queen?"