It’s understandable that sometimes some people get upset or angry at something that is said or done in a movie. We, as human being are actually very fragile creatures, and as tough as we like to think we are, we all get our feathers ruffled pretty easily.
In the new film Bewitched, there is a certain scene where Person “A” is hitting on Person “B”, but Person “C” (who is a witch) likes Person “A” and uses their powers to make Person “B” tell Person “A” that they have Hepatitis C. Laughs ensue.
However, according to the good folks over at M&C, The American Liver Foundation is blasting the movie for the joke. Here’s what they have to say:
“Tragically, this remarkably tasteless comment plays into the stigma that many people with hepatitis C have to cope with every single day,” Frederick G. Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the American Liver Foundation, said in a statement.
“I can`t imagine anyone in Hollywood making a joke about HIV infection, for example,” said Thompson, “but because the public is so uneducated about hepatitis C, it apparently seems acceptable to trivialize the disease in a comedic context, at the expense of millions of hepatitis sufferers.”
I can understand some people getting upset by this… but at the same time… if we refrained from humor about anything that might be affecting someone somewhere… then there would be no comedy in the world. I also can’t help but think their outrage is just a little bit hypocritical too. I’ll bet $5 that the same guy who issued that statement has at some point laughed at a Fat joke in a film or TV show. Or perhaps a baldness joke… or homeless joke… or jokes about drug addicts… or jokes about the Titanic… or car accidents… or plane crashes… you get the picture.
Look, I’m not bashing them for getting upset… like I said I can sort of understand. But at the same time, I thought the joke was told in good fun and was done tastefully. But that’s just my opinion. I’m sure there is a LINE that we shouldn’t cross… but I just don’t think the line should be set so low. But what do I know?
About your post regarding the offence cause by the Hep C remark in the film Bewitched. You seem to be missing the point, Hep C is NOT a sexually transmitted disease and the way the “joke” was made in the film was as if to suggest it is. How many people now have watched that film and are now of the belief that it is a sexually transmitted disease?
Two weeks ago I would have thought the Hep C comment was funny. One week ago I found out my adopted son who is four had hep c. Sat I got a call from a family member requesting me to find a hotel when I come to visit in a few weeks. I found out that they found out about my son’s dx that morning. This just breeds that kind of behavior in people. With only one week of experience under my belt, I have found that the stigma is the population seems to be widespread and Hollywood should be sensitive to that. They should do a little research before coming out with such a tasteless comment.
Can we get off of this subject, everyone has problems! Some are worse than others, and problems effect ALL OF US!
The way that the media and even some doctors would have the public believe is that Hepatitis C is a new epidemic that is sweeping the globe, killing thousands. Hepatitis C is not a new epidemic; it has been around since the 1960’s or earlier. The majorities of people who are finding out that they have Hepatitis C have had it for many years, and did not know that they had it. Many of these people were not ill, and had no reason to believe that they had it. Testing for Hepatitis C is becoming routine in medical examinations, where it wasn’t before. Because of the testing, perfectly healthy people are finding out that they have hepatitis C, and may have had it for many years. The Hepatitis C virus does not kill people; complications from liver disease that can be brought on by Hepatitis C can kill people. Certain activities, such as drinking alcohol to excess, increase the risk of liver disease. Any person born before the mid 1980’s has shared needles with other people, in the hospital, at the dentist, while inoculated at school, or in the armed forces, and in tattoo parlors. Some people shared them with other illicit drug users. It is likely that at least one of those people sharing those needles, in all of these situations, had hepatitis C, and that the others may or may not have contracted the virus. It is also very likely that any person born before the mid 1980’s who has had any sort of promiscuous sex life has also had sex with at least one person who has Hepatitis C. It is highly unlikely that Hepatitis C would be contracted in this way. The Center For Disease Control states that there is a 0% to 3% chance over a twenty-year period of contracting hepatitis C if your partner has Hepatitis C, and you have unprotected sex. There is no clear data to confirm that Hepatitis C is contracted sexually. If a person were to read only the headline’s, they might believe that it is contracted sexually. They might also believe that a woman gave birth to a ten pound alien a few years ago. The only reason Hepatitis C is getting more attention is because they are starting to test for it more, and SOME of the people who got it many years ago are becoming ill, and SOME are dying. If the medical profession had known Hepatitis C would have become a health issue, twenty to forty years ago, they would have had a vaccine and a cure developed by now. Scientist’s have developed drugs that cure many people of the virus, and new drugs are showing even more promise. Vaccines have been developed, and are currently being tested in clinical trials, showing good promise. It is likely that Hepatitis C will not be an issue in the near future. Hepatitis C has NOTHING in common with HIV/AIDS, except that it can be passed blood to blood. Many diseases are passed blood to blood. Before any person chooses to shun a family member, friend, or an acquaintance that has Hepatitis C, they should be tested themselves. People should also realize that many people with Hepatitis C choose not to tell anyone that they have it, because of the stigma that has attached itself to the disease. Three percent of the world’s population knows that they have Hepatitis C; it is more likely that at least ten percent of the world’s population has Hepatitis C. That is one in every ten people for those who need help with the math. Hepatitis C affects people from ALL walks of life. Do you know ten people?
To Jaimie Antonia, Nevermind and Wes:
No one here has ever suggested that Hep C is funny. It’s not. I have a family member with the Hep virus.
The point is, that in the movie, Hep C was not the joke. The joke was the situation the dad found himself in. No one was laughing at Hep C… they were laughing at the dad.
At the same time… there is nothing funny about people dying tragically in plane crashes, or having any STD, or being orphaned or being the victim of a mugging… but we as a society can laugh at ourselves and and senarios despite them. That’s what we as a people do… that’s what we need to do.
I saw the movie… I saw the “joke”, and as I said before I thought it was told in good fun and with good taste. Hep C was not the joke, it was just a set up to the situational joke Cane found himself in. I think there is a big difference.
Just my opinion.
Cheers.
Well said nevermind. Unfortunately the cause of liver disease does not have the publicity or clout of diseases like cancer or AIDS. One in 10 people have some form of liver disease, and many do not even know they have it. Liver disease as a whole is not solely because of a certain lifestyle – babies are born with it from parents who have no history of it, for example. Hopefully from this will come a better understanding of liver disease.
it wasnt funny
I have hepatitis C. There is nothing funny about it. Any viral infection causes damage to the body. Many of the people who have hep c also have HIV. This is a result of poor lifestyle choices and ignorance in the 60s and 70s concerning intravenous needle usage etc. Any blood transmissible infection can be managed and its risk negated simply by avoiding exposure to the blood. If you want to see a real threat to your healthy coworkers and lovers, imagine an airborne infection that attacks the respiratory system instead of a blood borne virus that attacks the liver. People infected with Hep C and/or HIV are not a threat to your own well being unless you are careless or insoucient enough to allow them to be. Your own protection is and always has been in your hands. And thats NO JOKE.
Hows abouts wes stops wastins ours times with this subject, we get it now, the movie sucked and wasn’t funny and offended a lot of people, we get it, not much we can do about, life goes on. So how about we all talk about the upcoming Spider-Man movies or Tom Cruise getting nuttier and nuttier by the second.
“In..put..MORE INPUT!!!!”
-Johnny 5 (Short Circuit
For those who don’t understand why some people are bothered by the joke, let me explain. The joke is (supposed to be) funny because the witch makes the interloper say something that makes her clearly undesirable and therefore out of the running (romantically speaking). Imagine that, some soft skinned HepC people now have a problem being labeled undesirable.
Maybe it would have been funnier if the person in the joke said “I was abducted as a child by a pedophile and brutally raped and can’t have a normal physical relationship.”
Or how about, “You can’t tell by looking at me, but I’m 1/4 African American.” Oh, wait, I guess most people wouldn’t get the joke then, since society finally got past the notion that black people are undesirable for decent white folk to associate with.
The joke isn’t funny. Not even close.
well you would either have to have hepc, this slow moving virus, or have taken treatment for it, (chemotherapy is easier than the treatment for hepc), or have watched someone who was a nurse who contracted it in the e.r. suffering through the many many horrible medical problems a failing liver creates as you wait seemingly in vain for the possibility of a transplant, or perhaps just knowing someone who has died from the virus, to understand how horrible turning all of that into a joke truly is.
i cannot understand the type of shallow uncaring individual that thought the line was actually FUNNY.
it wasnt.
believe me THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT GETTING HEPATITIS C.
of the know nearly 5 million cases in american alone, 70% of those are veterans and 70% of that number are from the vietnam era when sterilization methods were inadequate to prevent the spread of the virus in auto air gun innoculations.
no, there is absolutely NOTHING funny about hepatitis c.
especially when you think that an estimated 25 million more americans alone are walking around, right now, and already have it. you see unlike hiv you can live for decades and not know you have it unless you get tested. that is wherre the danger lies, the now knowing and continuing to live a life style that damages the liver.
What is so damned frusterating about this site? Here, the answer lies within this box.
*opens up jacket and gives Scruff a box of sugar cookies*
Now eat the contents within this box, if your a diabetic, then the answers will soon be given to you as you begin a journey to a far off peaceful land. And if your not, you have the choice to search movie archives and find the “point” of this site. But please don’t look to hard, if the point comes at you to fast the sharpness of it may pierce your skin, and depending where, may kill you.
*opens up jacket and gives Scruff a dildo*
Now lube this up and shove it up your ass, the pain should open your eyes to what this site is all about. O wait, looks as if your asshole can take it all in. Where have you been spending your nights hmmmm? That dildo has 2 nine volt batteries inside, and thats a lot of power. Now be sure to clean it every now and then, remember, with great power comes great responsibility!
*reaches into pocket and pulls out a card*
Here take my card, if you still don’t get it give me a call, but just to let you know, either you get the “point” or you don’t. And my whole typing session ws to let you know, that no matter what you do, you are fucked!
Yoour sexy, and have a nice body, but……. your cone is to young, and it would be wrong for me to start a relationship with you. Dan Akroyd would be upset with my fondiling you. But don’t worry! You’ll still be fucked, just not by me.
I havent even seen Bewitched yet, so what the hell am I doing on this page anyways? Ha ha ha ha…………………………
*Charlie Sheen enters the stadium*
IT’S WILD THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*pulls down pants and motions for Scruff to come over*
KISS MY ASS!!!!
Not a funny joke, but then again the rest of the movie wasn’t much good either.
I’ve bee checking this place out for over a year now. Maybe I’m missing the point but I find the site increasingly frustrating.
It wasn’t completely towards you, and I was just asking. My big mouth was mostly flapping around those people who are offended by witchcraft. John woke me up about my statement, and I apologize to you. Your right, it really wasn’t necessary, but its fun to swear and carry on, but does get carried away when our not thinking about what your actually typing, and once again I am sorry, because usually when I do that i’m being an ass. In this case I wasn’t.
I’m such a jerk. Goodbye cruel world!!!
*gets gun out of drawer and pulls the trigger*
DAMN, I always miss!!!!
Okay, Lizardfreak… me being offended by the idea of this movie was a little bit of a joking around about lame ideas for movies, not witchcraft. Was all that necessary?
Yeah, your right John. I got to carried away with the subject without stoping to think that I was being a hypocrite. When I got on here today and read, Bewitched Taking Heat Over Hepatitis C Joke, and found what was going on, I did what most of us do and that is blab my big mouth without thinking to make my statement more clear and decent. People should be able to express themselves freely and that others shouldn’t discourage against that.
Well why was the joke that the person had Hep-C? Why didn’t the script have it say that the person had VD, or AIDS?
Now that would have been funnier!
P.S. I think the days of Will Ferrall blockbusters are over. Two flops in a row? I guess time will tell.
It was a joke.
They weren’t making a thought-out thesis on why to look down on those with hepatitis.
It was a crappy movie, it was a crappy joke. Nothing to make a public statement over really.
Hey there Lizardfreak…
Dude… you know I agree with you on almost everything… but let me play devil’s advocate here.
I don’t think we should discourage anyone from expressing their opinions. Afterall… some (very very few) of the people who complain about the Harry Potter films are trying to stop the filmmakers from expressing thier thoughts and opinions in their movies. Isn’t it hypocritical of us to tell them to “shut up” for telling us to “shut up”?
Just because you and I don’t agree with or understand their “reasons” doesn’t mean they don’t have a reason.
I think everyone should express their opinions, in a respectful way, and we should listen to them without having to agree. That’s healthy.
What do you think?
Cheers mate!
When an individual complains I always find it annoying, but individuals are individuals so what can you do. But when its signed by a whole organization it drives me nuts. Like those italian groups who claim all italians should be offended by the mafia stereotypes. 1) i dont want anyone speaking for me on what i consider entertainment, and 2) why the heck does an employee have that much time to be writing these kind of letters.
Okay, people who complain about that stuff being made fun or or even spoken for that matter are the people who are wrong in this world. Ya, go ahead and get upset and go ahead and depise the movie, but don’t make a huge deal about it, sheesh. Why were you offended ChrisP, becuase it involves witchcraft? Get a life, yeah it doesn’t exist, boo hoo, dont need to be a baby about it like everyone was and is with Harry Potter. People like you make the world a bad place, and shake things up over pointless shit. If you have a reason to be upset about this movie, an actual “reason” like that hepatitis c joke, then be upset, but you don’t have to make a big deal about it, you really don’t. Any one without a reason to complain, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!
I don’t know. I think I’d be more offended by the whole movie in general, for existing, than being offended about what they make fun of. The whole idea of it seems pretty tasteless in the first place. In which case, any tasteless jokes can be ignored, in my opinion.
Word!