Impersonation of others

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20 Mar 2011, 9:43 pm

Is impersonating other people right or wrong? Does it depend upon whether the person who is being impersonated approves or disapproves? Is it acceptable to impersonate others against their will if you don't like them? Discuss.

Butterflies
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20 Mar 2011, 9:57 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Plenty of people make a living out of impersonating famous people. It can be funny.

Of course it's OK if the person being impersonated approves.

If the person being impersonated disapproves, then I don't think that it's any more right, or wrong than insulting them in any other way. We live in a world where people insult other people.

Tensu
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20 Mar 2011, 10:12 pm

Passive aggression for the win! :lmao:

AceOfSpades
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20 Mar 2011, 10:33 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Hey look at me, I'm having a dilemma over whether impersonating someone is right or wrong! Should impersonating someone without their consent be considered verbal rape since it uses coercion to violates their ears? For the last time, I am not a f*****g parakeet! Goddamnit get it right people, I don't live in a cage and if I did then I would be waking up to an alarm rather than waking everyone else up.

lol j/k you know I love you, I'm just being a smartass. I watch South Park, so that pretty much says it all when it comes to my stance on this topic

iamnotaparakeet
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20 Mar 2011, 11:11 pm

AceOfSpades wrote:

I watch South Park, so that pretty much says it all when it comes to my stance on this topic

Ah, that did sound similar to South Park. Although I don't watch it so much, it does have one episode that I really like, the one where Wall-Fart is obliterated. I'm willing to bet that now that I've mentioned that I've watched an episode of South Park that there will be new usernames popping up with names in reference to the show. Just like they've been imitating various family members, friends, and former coworkers of mine, even recently.

[And no, Butterflies, I'm not accusing you or your friend of doing this, I think there are probably others on I^2 who have made obsessing about the pestering of people that they'll never meet their fixation for the rest of their life, lame as it may be.]

iamnotaparakeet
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21 Mar 2011, 4:07 am

Butterflies wrote:

If the person being impersonated disapproves, then I don't think that it's any more right, or wrong than insulting them in any other way. We live in a world where people insult other people.

So, since this is a world where people insult other people, it is therefore right to continue it? This is also a world where people steal from each other, kill each other, go to war with each other, deceive each other, etc. So, the presence of an action elsewhere thereby justifies it?

Tensu
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21 Mar 2011, 4:15 am

I would say it depends on intent. Parody is fine. Deformation of character is not.

iamnotaparakeet
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21 Mar 2011, 5:20 am

Tensu wrote:

I would say it depends on intent. Parody is fine. Deformation of character is not.

Parody can be humorous, like many of Weird Al's songs, however if Weird Al didn't obtain permission to parody, would that be acceptable? Can parody also be unacceptable if the intent of parody is malicious or is caricaturization the only form of imitation which is unacceptable?

ruveyn
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21 Mar 2011, 5:20 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

It depends. If the intent or effect of the impersonation is entertainment that is o.k. It is right up there with acting which is a kind of impersonation.

If the intent or effect of the impersonation is fraud and deception with intent or effect of injuring someone by either getting at his money or destroying his reputation, then it is a felony and is punishable.

ruveyn

Tensu
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21 Mar 2011, 5:22 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Can parody also be unacceptable if the intent of parody is malicious or is caricaturization the only form of imitation which is unacceptable?

If the intent is harm, that would be deformation of character.

AnonymousAnonymous
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21 Mar 2011, 1:29 pm

It would depend on the person who is being impersonated.

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AceOfSpades
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21 Mar 2011, 1:39 pm

ruveyn wrote:

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Exactly.

Butterflies
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21 Mar 2011, 4:03 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Butterflies wrote:

If the person being impersonated disapproves, then I don't think that it's any more right, or wrong than insulting them in any other way. We live in a world where people insult other people.

Stealing and killing are almost always wrong. Few people could argue otherwise. There will always be cases where deception can be justified.

We both live in countries that claim to value the right to free speech. Part of that is the right to insult one another. I wouldn't want it any other way. It's hard to express your views without insulting someone, and I'm sure you know that better than most.

I know that I haven't always behaved well. When I have behaved like a jerk, I have found that people are often insulting towards me. When I behaved well, people would be nice to me. If nobody was ever insulting towards me, then I would never have learned not to be a jerk. In that respect, it is useful for someone to occasionally be insulted. It gives them some idea what is acceptable behaviour, and what isn't.

iamnotaparakeet
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21 Mar 2011, 4:24 pm

Butterflies wrote:

It's hard to express your views without insulting someone, and I'm sure you know that better than most.

Actually, no, it is difficult to express a controversial view without offending someone. Being offended by the words of somebody and being insulted by somebody are not equivalent.

ruveyn
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21 Mar 2011, 4:26 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Tensu wrote:

I would say it depends on intent. Parody is fine. Deformation of character is not.

parody is legal. one does not need permission.

ruveyn

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21 Mar 2011, 9:06 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

I find this question to be bizarre.

What kind of 'impersonating' do you mean?

If you mean identity theft- well thats already against the law.

If you mean 'impersonating' on stage for artistic and entertainment purposes then the question is absurd.
How could you have hollywood dramas about public figures if actors couldnt 'impersonate' the famous?

Perhaps its comedic impersonating you object to.

Are you upset about Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin?
Or the other SNL castmembers doing Obama, Miley Cyrus, and Charlie Sheen?

We do have something called "free speech" in America.

What exactly are you talking about?

PS.
The law does make a distinction between the famous, and regular folks.
If someone mocked you on TV you might well be able to sue for slander in situations when Charlie Sheen would not be able to sue, because Sheen (like most celebs) is assumed to have strived his life for public attention and thus has less legal right to privacy than you ( a private person) would have. So yes, mocking a private person is morally worse than mocking a famous person in the eyes of the law. But I wouldnt worry about it. I dont think that you're in imminent danger of being impersonated by Rich Little on the tonight show.

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