Thoughts on Saturday Night Live sketch? | Golden Skate

Thoughts on Saturday Night Live sketch?

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http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mens-figure-skating-cold-open/n45564/

Saturday Night Live skit takes on figure skating and Putin's anti-gay law by presenting the "U.S. Men's Heterosexual Figure Skating Championships."

@ScottHamilton84
Loved the SNL skit last night! I had no idea it happened until I ran into someone at Costco. How about a little heads up NBC! I do work 4U!
7:16 PM - 26 Jan 2014
https://twitter.com/ScottHamilton84/status/427641300804829184

If Hamilton could laugh at himself, I guess that I should be able to laugh at the sketch.
But I couldn't help feeling that it was demeaning to skaters -- who all work so hard. And only a few days earlier, some of them had their dreams of Sochi dashed. I hope that they were able to laugh.

(I myself have laughed at lots of other SNL skits over the years. But I would just as soon forget that this one ever happened.)
 

Jammers

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The only figure skating skit that SNL did that was funny was when Nancy Kerrigan hosted SNL and she and Chris Farley were a Pairs team and David Spade played Scott Hamilton. LOL
 

Blades of Passion

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For some reason the NBC site keeps saying I need to install adobe flash player even though I already had it and have updated it twice now.
 

Interspectator

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It was trying very hard, but it just wasn't funny for me at all.
It did not insult any of my sensibilities in particular, but it just didn't hit the mark in humor. Too bad.
 

Procrastinator

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It was mildly entertaining, which is more than you can say for most SNL sketches. The writing was decent but they used their C-list actors for the commentating roles.
 

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It was mildly entertaining, which is more than you can say for most SNL sketches. The writing was decent but they used their C-list actors for the commentating roles.

Taran Killam and Cecily Strong are among the A-listers in the current SNL cast, I would say. (I wonder whom you would put on the A-list, if not them??)
(The fact that I even know their names is a barometer to me that their work has made a positive impression on me. Of those in the sketch, I also know -- and like -- who Bobby Moynihan is.)
 

Srin Odessa

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For some reason the NBC site keeps saying I need to install adobe flash player even though I already had it and have updated it twice now.

What browser are you using? If it's like Chrome with a built-in flash player, then you'll have to choose it in the Settings menu.
 

louisa05

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Tacky. Very tacky. Poor taste. Sad.

Agree. The discussion of the popularity of the sport in the other threads has not addressed that one of the primary problems in the U.S. is the notion that it is not truly a sport and is for only female and possibly gay male spectators. The networks then treat it as female-centric and that is part of the reason for the less than stellar commentating and lack of focus on rules, the point system, and the technical aspects. Stuff like this perpetuates the idea that it is not a sport for everyone to watch. I think the sketch also stereotyped straight young men in a demeaning way.
 

drivingmissdaisy

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Agree. The discussion of the popularity of the sport in the other threads has not addressed that one of the primary problems in the U.S. is the notion that it is not truly a sport and is for only female and possibly gay male spectators. The networks then treat it as female-centric and that is part of the reason for the less than stellar commentating and lack of focus on rules, the point system, and the technical aspects. Stuff like this perpetuates the idea that it is not a sport for everyone to watch. I think the sketch also stereotyped straight young men in a demeaning way.

I do believe that your average male sports fan has little interest in figure skating. I think it has to do with the fact that skating is a performance art as much as a sport. Probably heterosexual males who have an interest in dance would like skating, but I don't think your average football or hockey fan would.
 

louisa05

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I do believe that your average male sports fan has little interest in figure skating. I think it has to do with the fact that skating is a performance art as much as a sport. Probably heterosexual males who have an interest in dance would like skating, but I don't think your average football or hockey fan would.

My older brother used to be in the "it is so gay" and "not a sport" crowd. He watched pairs with my mother and I a few times and concluded that it is extremely athletic. He wasn't clamoring to go to Nationals with us last year or anything, but he stopped denigrating the sport years ago after he actually watched it. The attitudes that this sketch communicated so very well are the reason that (in our sadly homophobic culture) many people don't think it is a sport for boys to even think of pursuing. We knew a family whose son took skating lessons around age 7 because dad wanted him to play hockey. He saw some skaters jumping at the rink and badly wanted to learn to figure skate instead. He did skate for awhile, but only under dad's condition that he still pursue hockey to remain suitably masculine. I doubt that attitude is uncommon and it can only hurt the sport.

Having taught high school for a long time, that sketch's gross stereotype of young straight men actually troubles me more. Boys don't need to be told that that is all they can strive for. I coached speech and drama and for many of my boys, just putting on a tie and dress pants, combing their hair and doing informative speaking was stepping too far out of the bounds of what was considered appropriately masculine for a 16 year old male. I've also known young 20-something women who feel that they can't expect mature, polite behavior from the men they date or even marry because guys are supposed to be like that sketch depicts them.
 

drivingmissdaisy

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Having taught high school for a long time, that sketch's gross stereotype of young straight men actually troubles me more. Boys don't need to be told that that is all they can strive for. I coached speech and drama and for many of my boys, just putting on a tie and dress pants, combing their hair and doing informative speaking was stepping too far out of the bounds of what was considered appropriately masculine for a 16 year old male. I've also known young 20-something women who feel that they can't expect mature, polite behavior from the men they date or even marry because guys are supposed to be like that sketch depicts them.

I agree with you, but I do think that there are also some biological underpinnings to stereotypical gender behavior. What I mean is that I don't think there is any way to market figure skating that will make it appealing to a wide male audience, and while it has to do with how men are raised I think it is also attributable to what appeals to men naturally.
 

louisa05

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I agree with you, but I do think that there are also some biological underpinnings to stereotypical gender behavior. What I mean is that I don't think there is any way to market figure skating that will make it appealing to a wide male audience, and while it has to do with how men are raised I think it is also attributable to what appeals to men naturally.

I'm not sure that men are so hostage to biology that they cannot enjoy performance oriented sports. There are straight males on this board and I have known IRL a few straight males who enjoy skating.

Your post makes me wonder what the demographics of fans in Asia where skating is much more popular are. Anyone have any idea??
 

Procrastinator

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Taran Killam and Cecily Strong are among the A-listers in the current SNL cast, I would say. (I wonder whom you would put on the A-list, if not them??)
(The fact that I even know their names is a barometer to me that their work has made a positive impression on me. Of those in the sketch, I also know -- and like -- who Bobby Moynihan is.)

I don't want to go on this rant here but Taran Killam was possibly the worst cast member on the now defunct MadTV and didn't even last more than two seasons there, so the fact that he would even be considered an A-lister says everything about the state of SNL right now (really the fact that he was hired in the first place). As for your question, all of SNL's real A-listers have left (Wiig, Poehler, Rudolph. I found the males like Armisen, Hader, etc. annoying). Their only real star right now is Jay Pharaoh, who's pretty funny and spot on with his impressions. Besides that I can maybe stand Naseem Pedrad. This may be the weakest cast they've ever had. They're just riding on their (fading) reputation right now.
 

Johar

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Anytime I used to mention figure skating on my FB a particular male would say stuff like 'bunch of gay men," etc. I deleted his comments and he got mad and deleted me from his FB.

That said, I thought the skit was funny. People are losing their sense of humor and their ability to laugh at themselves these days.
 

drivingmissdaisy

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Your post makes me wonder what the demographics of fans in Asia where skating is much more popular are. Anyone have any idea??

My guess would be it would be predominantly female. In the US skating doesn't even appeal to a majority of women, given the low TV ratings for skating events.
 

kwanatic

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It wasn't funny, and not b/c I found it offensive or anything...they just weren't funny.:sarcasm: I think 1 out of every 7 of SNL's skits are actually funny...most of them suck.:eek:hwell:

I've never been a fan of SNL. When I was in high school MAD TV was hilarious and that's what I'd watch. Eventually they lost all of their funny cast members and the show got cancelled. If SNL keeps making skits like this one, they'll be heading the same way.
 

yelyoh

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Gay man here. I thought the satiric concept was fine but it just did not work in the end. I used to dance and the popular notion at the time was that all male dancers were sissies (read that gay) and most guys who liked to watch it were also and both notions were far from the truth. Now male dancers are thought of as cool. Times do change.
 
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