Comedy and Taboos

[StevieG]

I believe that you can be truly funny in absolutely any situation - BUT it has to be funny. Mocking, making fun of people, making fun of religion, sex, tragedy, disasters are all 'timing' issues, and a great comedian can exploit these and make light of a dire situation. It can even be therapeutic.

That said, I personally prefer self deprecating humour - relating an awkward situation to yourself, rather than picking an audience member and humiliating them. I also enjoy small humour - everyday situations that people can relate to.

The English do it well!

[Cambo]

My view is that comics should acknowledge no taboos - but that doesn't mean they get a free pass from me in terms of their material. You have complete freedom of speech on stage, but that also implies responsibility for what you choose to say. The "it's just a joke, get over it" attitude that some controversial comics have espoused after offending people angers me because it speaks volumes about their approach to comedy. "Just a joke" trivializes the huge affect jokes can have on individuals and the collective. Jokes have changed my life, and for professional comedians to be writing off their own material as this unimportant silliness they never really meant anyway...well, that grates.

[Lady Revel]

StevieG.....I absolutely agree with everything you said. Wow.

[Holsety]

A strange thing about the internet is in feeling others have a similar sense of reference.

[Lady Revel]

A strange thing about the internet is in feeling others have a similar sense of reference.

Is this a bad thing? OK, off topic. I think that funny is funny. Being rude, overbearing and insensitive is not funny. A good comedian has the ability to pull off a joke that has sensitive topics in it with timing, facial expression, and sheer likability. Bad comedians should not attempt.

I wonder, though, if a bad comedian, through practice, can learn to do this? So maybe for the first 7 shows, he is a complete boor and offends people through his insensitivity, but then he strikes gold and can use the joke and it be funny?

[Vraith]

A strange thing about the internet is in feeling others have a similar sense of reference.

Is this a bad thing? OK, off topic. I think that funny is funny. Being rude, overbearing and insensitive is not funny. A good comedian has the ability to pull off a joke that has sensitive topics in it with timing, facial expression, and sheer likability. Bad comedians should not attempt.

I wonder, though, if a bad comedian, through practice, can learn to do this? So maybe for the first 7 shows, he is a complete boor and offends people through his insensitivity, but then he strikes gold and can use the joke and it be funny?

Hmmm...good question. But slippery to hold onto. Partly it depends on what you [royal you] mean by "insensitive." I think being funny at all requires sensitivity [you simply can't, except randomly/accidentally/occasionally achieve good timing, topic, etc. without being "sensitive."]
I'd say it is at least partly an acquirable skill/skill-set. Analogically, I know absolutely that, if the person is willing to put in the work, I can teach almost anyone/everyone to sing reasonably well [very few people are literally tone-deaf]...but still, some will obviously be better than others for a number of reasons. Great singing is not just one "talent" it is numerous things working together [or not]...many teachable/learnable, some not [you can't "teach" someone to have different bone structure]

And, returning to comedy, one has to match ones abilities with ones material. And part of that is sensitivity to the audience.

Which returns us to the slippery part...because even if funny is the ONLY goal/purpose...which it rarely is...offending isn't always insensitive and/or not funny. And being sensitive doesn't always mean non-offensive and/or funny.

[Cambo]

A strange thing about the internet is in feeling others have a similar sense of reference.

Is this a bad thing? OK, off topic. I think that funny is funny. Being rude, overbearing and insensitive is not funny. A good comedian has the ability to pull off a joke that has sensitive topics in it with timing, facial expression, and sheer likability. Bad comedians should not attempt.

I wonder, though, if a bad comedian, through practice, can learn to do this? So maybe for the first 7 shows, he is a complete boor and offends people through his insensitivity, but then he strikes gold and can use the joke and it be funny?

As a comedian whose training wheels are very much still on, this is definitely the case. Experience matters hugely. Tiny little things like the way you set up the premise of your joke, how it relates to the other jokes you’ve done this set, the delivery of the punchline, and your general onstage persona, all affect how the joke will be received. And these things are only learned through experience.

So yes, the exact same joke can communicate entirely different meanings depending on a whole range of things. Recognizing and utilizing these factors is something that’s only possible with experience.

[Lady Revel]

Thank you, Cambo. That is really interesting to know. Comedians are a special breed. I could never stand up in front of a roomful of people, and then try to be funny and entertaining on top of that. All I would hear would be crickets. Or heckles. Or the audience leaving.

[StevieG]

Yeah, I think it would a very tough gig! If you're not funny, then you'll know very quickly (from the lack of laughter, or the groans, or the forced/polite laughter). It may be why some comedians use humiliation - as a method of distracting their own potential humiliation.

One of my favourite comedians uses very touchy material that could easily offend (and perhaps does) - but he is one of the funniest and most talented I've encountered. Here's a taste of Tim Minchin - warning: contains offensive language and themes, but bloody 'ell, it's funny!

[sgt.null]

love tim minchin

[I'm Murrin]

I've become quite a fan of Diane Spencer since first hearing of her last year, and seeing her live in Edinburgh. She's really over the top filthy, but pulls it off by directing it all at herself: very candid and obscene (and unbelievable) stories from her own life and especially sex life. She dives right into the risque stuff but then just keeps building it further and further over the course of a show until by the end, the stuff she started with seems relatively tame.

[Cambo]

I've become quite a fan of Diane Spencer since first hearing of her last year, and seeing her live in Edinburgh. She's really over the top filthy, but pulls it off by directing it all at herself: very candid and obscene (and unbelievable) stories from her own life and especially sex life. She dives right into the risque stuff but then just keeps building it further and further over the course of a show until by the end, the stuff she started with seems relatively tame.

Sounds right up my alley!

[Vraith]

I just noticed/thought about something that matters in the "everything is public" world that relates to this.

Imagine, if you will, that male/female relations....especially conflicts...are fruitful grounds for comedy. [that shouldn't tax anybodies imaginative resource]

In such, violence between men/women...a tough arena, but not impossible.

HOWEVER!: If you are Chris fucking Brown, known to beat the shit out of women, there is nothing you can ever say, under any circumstances, about man/woman relationships...particularly keeping your manly place in such...that will ever will be funny.