Monday, October 4, 2010

Isn't that for me to decide?


There was a time when they made a movie and called it a comedy. You went to see it and decided for yourself whether or not it was funny. Not any more. I have Comcast and when I read their listing of the available entertainment they inform me that every comedy is hilarious. Not just funny, mind you, hilarious. Do you know how funny something has to be to be hilarious? And that's just to you. What you find hilarious, somebody else may find boring. And vice versa. Still Comcast tells us that "My Dead Family* is a hilarious comedy about a family of ghouls." Of course it stars six actors whom you have never seen before (or will see again) and there isn't really a laugh in the entire 84 painful minutes. But Comcast describes it, along with every other film on their roster, as "hilarious." Does this mean that you don't appreciate hilarity when you see it? Are you humor-challenged? So you don't watch the entire film, but instead turn to another offering that you are told is "moving," "heart-breaking," or "terrifying." Wouldn't Comcast and other media be better off just describing the plot and listing the actors and let us decide for ourselves?

*There is no film My Dead Family. I just made up that name. But I'm telling you if there were it would be hilarious.

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