I can recognize humor rather quickly in most situations... and have healthy appreciation for it as well. Even if I do not share it. But some times cracking jokes on subject matters, that do not necessarily demand it, is just bloody BAD taste!
Gay over/under-tones, pedophilia, incestuous caresses... that's what a couple of individuals opinions (read crass humor) are on IMDB for Taare Zameen Par. The whole; teacher lustily hugging the student, eyeing him with desire, stalking him all over the school... ick. Really. ICK. I get it, you have an objective view of the movie, stick to that. Rip apart the acting, how the subject matter was handled, the research or lack of it, the direction... have a field day. But GAY under-tones!? Even with prevalent abject homophobia running rabid in most of the straight men, finding gay-over or undertones in a movie like this is fucked up. That's no longer funny. Men who hold hands while crossing the street can be funny, men who walk with their buddies with their arms around each others shoulders or men sitting a tad too close sharing a pint of beer perhaps demand a bit of sniggering (if you insist i.e.), but a teacher-student relationship, or for that matter any relationship where there's bonding and affection and love... is NOT gay or pedophilia or incestuous. And if you think so, albeit with a bitty of ha-ha, then that's just you being a total ass-wipe.
Going through some of the posts in the IMDB board, I was quite upset that a few ppl just faffed over the actual point (disregarding for a moment that it was a tad overdone and a tad underdone) and found time and reasons enough to focus on the WHY Amir really really needs to hug a child he was trying to help. Really? Are we that screwed up as a society that now any elder hugging a child or seeking him out of concern is reason enough to brand him a pedophile? How can that be funny? Has pedophilia become so commercial *snort* that ppl can use it as brunts of their jokes? Is child-abuse so cosmetic that anyone can slap that on and giggle about it?
Turns my stomach.
