We have to talk about what happened last night at Kenneth's party

November 9, 2007 11:50 PM

What exactly is ironic about listening to Schubert while viewing Canadian pornography?

On Thursday's episode of 30 Rock, when Kenneth asked Jack Donaghy if he would attend his party Donaghy told him he wasn't because he was going to "go home and listen to some Schubert, and ironically, watch Canadian pornography."

Is this a throw-away line, or is there something to this?

posted by Steve_at_Linnwood to media & arts (19 answers total)

I think it's just the juxtaposition of high-brow/low-brow. Canadian was just thrown in because for some reason, Canada is funny right now. That's my hunch, anyway.
posted by arcticwoman at 11:57 PM on November 9, 2007

High-brow/low-brow + oddly honest when one is giving an excuse for not attending. Canadian pornography is funny because it's so specific, as if there is subset of porno watchers who must have Canadian pornography.
posted by sharkfu at 12:15 AM on November 10, 2007

Are you sure it wasn't "and ironically [no comma] watch Canadian pornography"?
posted by Reggie Digest at 12:45 AM on November 10, 2007

(I didn't see it, but it's also possibly a subtle running gag in the episode. They do that on that show.)
posted by Reggie Digest at 12:52 AM on November 10, 2007

alternatively.
posted by polyglot at 12:58 AM on November 10, 2007

I heard no comma in Baldwin's delivery. In a few minutes, I'll have uploaded the scene to YouTube so anybody who wants to can listen for themselves.
posted by cgc373 at 1:32 AM on November 10, 2007

I saw it with a friend and we both thought it was an odd line. The explanation we came up with was that Canadian pornography is apparently supposed to be bad, and that the only justification a person of taste (like the Schubert-loving Jack) could have for watching it was that he was doing so ironically. Something like watching "Plan 9 from Outer Space" in order to revel in its badness.
posted by TayBridge at 2:36 AM on November 10, 2007

Okay, jeez. Lot of trouble converting the file for no good reason, but here's a clip of Baldwin at YouTube.
posted by cgc373 at 3:37 AM on November 10, 2007

The explanation we came up with was that Canadian pornography is apparently supposed to be bad

That's exactly what I got as well, and (on second viewing) I don't hear a comma. By specifying Canadian he's implying it's bad (amateurish, poor production quality), and so he watches it ironically. If he really wanted to get turned on he'd watch good old American or Euro porn, and, as a man of class (as highlighted by the Schubert ref), he certainly wouldn't be talking to Liz and Kenneth about doing so! The line also clearly indicates how little he wants to attend Kenneth's party - he'd rather watch bad porn than go.
posted by goo at 4:47 AM on November 10, 2007

Yes, I took it to mean that he was viewing the porn ironically. I often watch porn ironically.

As in: he's watching it sort of like the guys from MST3K watch sci-fi movies.
posted by lampoil at 5:34 AM on November 10, 2007

As someone once remarked to Schubert, "Take us to your lieder."
posted by tepidmonkey at 5:40 AM on November 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

I think at at least part of the joke is that Canadians are notoriously restrictive in the pornographt they allow to be imported and sold.
posted by OlderThanTOS at 6:24 AM on November 10, 2007

Canadians are often believed to be tame, calm, and excessively polite, so Canadian porn might also be fairly tame. I think the Canadian porn line is funny, but adding Shubert clunked. I think the writing on 3rd Rock is only okay. I watched it to see Gore's appearance.
posted by theora55 at 6:33 AM on November 10, 2007

> I saw it with a friend and we both thought it was an odd line. The explanation we came up with was that Canadian pornography is apparently supposed to be bad, and that the only justification a person of taste (like the Schubert-loving Jack) could have for watching it was that he was doing so ironically. Something like watching "Plan 9 from Outer Space" in order to revel in its badness.

That's the implication made in the "Slap Bet" episode of How I Met Your Mother, as well:

"CANADIAN Porn! Trust me when I tell you their universal health care system doesn't cover breast implants. If I have to sit through one more flat-chested Nova Scotian riding a Mountie on the back of a Zamboni, I'll go OOT of my mind."
posted by WCityMike at 9:17 AM on November 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm Canadian, and I can tell you that while we seize weird stuff at the border, we're less restrictive when it comes to e.g. movie ratings and stuff. In fact it's sort of a running joke that we'll censor violence but not sex, while Americans tend to censor sex but not violence (I believe this was based on music videos).

Anyway, I vote that the irony comes from Canada being polite, low-budget, and un-sexy, rather than a particular jab at censorship.

(We also have ironically-watch-porn public events, but maybe that's (a) something that happens in the US too, (b) unique to Toronto)
posted by sarahkeebs at 9:21 AM on November 10, 2007

There's no comma. He's watching Canadian porn ironically.
posted by YoungAmerican at 9:51 AM on November 10, 2007

here's what I think...

When I used to have Canadian satellite, the porn you saw something was more "liberal" that on US satellite, as in gay porn, anal, etc.

Since Kenneth is probably gay, there's the irony. "Sorry, gay person, I won't be coming to your party, but I'll be watching gay porn."

I don't watch the show enough to be sure Kenneth is gay, but he sure seems to be playing a character with the stereotpes.
posted by thilmony at 10:28 AM on November 10, 2007

I think you guys are reading wayyyy too much into the actual quality or lack of quality of Canadian porn or whether he's actually watching it or watching it ironically. It was a just a throwaway joke-- jokes are funnier when they're more specific and jokes are funnier when they're unexpected. His character is the head of NBC, so who would expect him to watch porn, much less admit to it, much less be specific about it being Canadian porn, much less listen to high brow music during the whole thing.

The 30 Rock writers are having fun with Jack divulging odd secrets this season-- several episodes ago it was that he collects cookie jars. This is just a another weird Jack reveal and not a one-line analysis of the entire Canadian porno industry.

I'm sure in the writers' room there were a dozen "odd Jack excuses" that were pitched, none of which had to do with Canadian porn. This is just the one the line that made everyone laugh more.

And, of course, there's the possibility that the writers originally wrote it to be performed as "Jack is bad at giving excuses and this is the best he comes up with on the spot" but Alec Baldwin's sincere delivery made it even funnier.
posted by sharkfu at 12:09 PM on November 10, 2007

Canadian pornography--that's where I'm a Viking!

(Better late than never.)
posted by neuron at 2:42 PM on November 16, 2007