Though it seemed as if the final death knell had long ago sounded for Saturday Night Live’s cultural relevance, in the past two weeks the US late-night institution has managed to shake some of the cobwebs from its latter-season somnambulance and create a minor-league international incident.
In a sketch that aired a week ago, SNL ribbed on Thailand’s sexual tourism industry in the form of a fake “Rosetta Stone” advertisement that offered to teach American tourists such Thai phrases as “How much?” and “Is that for the whole night?”
You know what, just check it out below:
Now, the Bangkok Post is reporting that the Thai government is up in arms about the clip. Earlier today, Culture Minister Sonthaya Khunploem requested that the clip be removed from YouTube. He also said that he plans to ask the US embassy to talk with SNL’s producers about how the clip is offensive (because the producers of SNL maintain constant lines of communication with the US embassy in Bangkok, as is widely known).
The Thai internet commentariat has gotten in on the act as well, offering comments on the video that range from vehemently incensed to politely off-put (“Even though it might be true, the producers should not offend Thailand this way”).
Yet a third constituent in this whole debacle (consisting of at least one Coconuts editor) wonders if we can just drop this whole thing and talk about the real issue, which is how there’s not going to be any more 30 Rock.
