by Alex Corbitt
Saturday Night Live parodied ISIS’s sympathizers on a recent episode.
ISIS, an extremist terrorist organization known for beheading Westerners and gaining support from U.S. sympathizers, is now causing even more debate and controversy thanks to SNL.
People seem to be split on the skit, as it parodies both the Super Bowl commercial of a girl getting out of her father’s car to make her own choices. In this version, however, she’s going off to join ISIS as the father sees one of the ISIS members whispering, “Death to America,” as they drive his daughter away.
The phrase “too soon” came to mind for some critics, saying that the skit itself was unfunny and in bad taste, while others say that stuff like this needs to be parodied, so people can see what is going on in the world. They argue that if you feel offended or upset by it, you should realize that this is actually happening in the real world.
Both sides are easy to see. The joke was not funny, but it was eye-opening. It showed that women are actually joining ISIS to be married off to their soldiers. These things need to be brought to light, and parodying ISIS and its members has actually created a huge boom of people talking about it.
ISIS received publicity which keeps the group fresh in the minds of Americans. If SNL had not performed the skit, ISIS would have stayed on the back burner of minds. Criticism is the first step towards improvement, and if no one had criticized this skit or even censored it, there would not be near as many people who know about this.