Drawing the line in comedy
Started by: En | Replies: 3 | Views: 1,072
Sep 23, 2014 6:59 AM #1245819
I've always enjoyed a good stand up; no doubt others have the same feeling. But what interests me is how some of them can get away with statements that would be regarded as offensive if spoken by a stranger or maybe a different comic. Where should the line be drawn in comedy? When does a joke go too far? Should comedians apologize for offending someone? Interested in hearing your thoughts. Feel free to name some stand ups that may relate to this topic.
Sep 25, 2014 1:43 PM #1246485
From what I've seen, most comedians feel like no subject matter should be "off limits" because to them, humor and laughter is what gets them through the toughest moments. There's a story about Joan Rivers you might've heard recently, when her husband committed suicide she and Melissa went out for dinner that night, and Joan said "If daddy saw these prices he'd kill himself all over again".
That said, there are plenty of sensitive topics and if a line does exist, it's deliberately insulting comedy about them. Louis CK is a master of approaching sensitive topics like race, cancer, death, discrimination, etc. in a way that's more observational than judgmental or critical, but even then he gets a ton of backlack from certain audiences who can't take a joke. But it's hard to say they're wrong for being offended, who knows what they've gone through.
How people respond to it is an individual matter, but I don't think anyone should be faulted for finding humor in a situation if they can, unless it's through being deliberately hurtful to anyone who doesn't deserve it.
That said, there are plenty of sensitive topics and if a line does exist, it's deliberately insulting comedy about them. Louis CK is a master of approaching sensitive topics like race, cancer, death, discrimination, etc. in a way that's more observational than judgmental or critical, but even then he gets a ton of backlack from certain audiences who can't take a joke. But it's hard to say they're wrong for being offended, who knows what they've gone through.
How people respond to it is an individual matter, but I don't think anyone should be faulted for finding humor in a situation if they can, unless it's through being deliberately hurtful to anyone who doesn't deserve it.
Sep 25, 2014 2:29 PM #1246493
Compared to Louis CK, I've seen a few comedians who have managed to move even deeper into sensitive jokes, including: Jimmy Carr, Anthony Jeselnik and Frankie Boyle. What I find that they have in common is that their jokes have a good amount of wit weaved into them, and are generally one liners avoiding lingering on a topic for too long. Perhaps these two things allow them to get away with it; the briefness and the cleverness. They can say something about another race, but as long as you have one or the other the crowd is generally accepting. What I am trying to classify in my head, is at what point will they find just a crude and blatant racial slur or a simply "fuck you" funny. Slowly remove all these things, and do you still have a joke?
You may or may not have heard of the incident where the producers of How I Met Your Mother had to apologize for a racist bit they did. When reading the news, personally I felt conflicted. One hand I was thinking that they should have the right to tell the joke they want and other people are just being too sensitive. On the other hand I was thinking about the question above, what level is it considered plain idiotic? There's a video of a comedian Dat Phan speaking about the topic, and about 2:20 he brings up an interesting point as to how he would be offended if a stereotype was portrayed at that level. Is this hypocritical of him? He can stereotype but others can't. What level of accuracy do you need?
The other kind of joke is the "too soon" joke. At what time is a joke acceptable to tell? Of course I am ignoring the various factors that come with individual joke, but I just find it interesting as to what determines the time length at which the sensitivity will die down. Lets compare 3 things, 9 11, the death of Michael Jackson and the death of Robin Williams. While all tragic, I would assume that comedians would most likely target MJ first due to all the material they can come up with and the shit he has been in. 9 11, it probably took some time, but jokes involving the incident nowadays usually receive a laugh. Robin Williams on the other hand. I haven't heard much. I'm just waiting at this point for the first person to crack a joke on Robin Williams. Who knows, maybe they can't since there is no good material. This "line" we talk of seems to shift with time as well.
Long story short, I feel unsure as to whether comedians should feel obliged to apologize. If it is their job to test the line, why should they? But then again, they chose a risky job and that has consequences. There doesn't seem to be a line, but a warning sign saying mines after this point.
You may or may not have heard of the incident where the producers of How I Met Your Mother had to apologize for a racist bit they did. When reading the news, personally I felt conflicted. One hand I was thinking that they should have the right to tell the joke they want and other people are just being too sensitive. On the other hand I was thinking about the question above, what level is it considered plain idiotic? There's a video of a comedian Dat Phan speaking about the topic, and about 2:20 he brings up an interesting point as to how he would be offended if a stereotype was portrayed at that level. Is this hypocritical of him? He can stereotype but others can't. What level of accuracy do you need?
The other kind of joke is the "too soon" joke. At what time is a joke acceptable to tell? Of course I am ignoring the various factors that come with individual joke, but I just find it interesting as to what determines the time length at which the sensitivity will die down. Lets compare 3 things, 9 11, the death of Michael Jackson and the death of Robin Williams. While all tragic, I would assume that comedians would most likely target MJ first due to all the material they can come up with and the shit he has been in. 9 11, it probably took some time, but jokes involving the incident nowadays usually receive a laugh. Robin Williams on the other hand. I haven't heard much. I'm just waiting at this point for the first person to crack a joke on Robin Williams. Who knows, maybe they can't since there is no good material. This "line" we talk of seems to shift with time as well.
Long story short, I feel unsure as to whether comedians should feel obliged to apologize. If it is their job to test the line, why should they? But then again, they chose a risky job and that has consequences. There doesn't seem to be a line, but a warning sign saying mines after this point.
Sep 26, 2014 9:42 AM #1246714
I don't know if you've seen this yet but it can offer alot of insight into the question you're asking. It's got a few clips on youtube but you should really try to find the whole thing. There are parts in that documentary that talk about jokes on offensive, if not outright forbidden topics such as child abuse. And personally, when I heard one in that documentary, it actually got a chuckle out of me. At the end of the day, a joke is just a joke.
In its purest form it is a value-generating form where in that value is humor and humor in itself is also a pretty broad topic. So while I might not be offended by that Child Abuse joke, I might be unsettled at a few simple racist jokes (honestly when Nish talks about my race, I feel a little snap coming along even though I've long since forgotten how my ancestors operate.)
This is the joke btw (or at least the way I remember it):
In its purest form it is a value-generating form where in that value is humor and humor in itself is also a pretty broad topic. So while I might not be offended by that Child Abuse joke, I might be unsettled at a few simple racist jokes (honestly when Nish talks about my race, I feel a little snap coming along even though I've long since forgotten how my ancestors operate.)
This is the joke btw (or at least the way I remember it):
lolz (Click to Show)