The Comedic Stylings of Offending People

Blog no. 13      12/8                The Comedic Stylings of Offending People
Addressing what entertains a reader or viewer is usually focused on media forms like TV and music, the messages of stand-up comedy shying away from the spot light (or worse, justified in the name of satire). To address another male dominated industry, and in light of recent sexual assault accusations of notable stand up comedic (Louis C.K, Andy Dick, Russell Simons) we need to address the societal reactions to offensive humor as it is another industry that feeds off a ‘supply and demand’ relation. Female comedians are not off the hook either as they are put in the position of sacrificing audience/ reputation for speaking against the famous male comedians.
From Bad Feminist Section Some Jokes Are Funnier than Others, Roxanne Gay states
            Inappropriate humor is the best kind. Everyone knows at least one joke she finds funny even though she shouldn’t. I am not always proud of the things that make me laugh, but I genuinely admire a comedian who can make me laugh and make me feel uncomfortable. Such contradictions are thought provoking… You’d be amazed when people are willing to do when they are given permission, either explicitly or explicitly (178-179). 

To contradict what Roxanne Gay says about admiring comedians who make her uncomfortable, personally, I think great comedy comes from comedians who can create humor that doesn’t offend anyone. And the problem here is that offensive comedy is so influential, from the combination of not just humor, but also from the celebrity comedians who perpetuate their negativity. And the people who also participate in it, for example the Daniel Tosh comedy central example used by Roxane Gay with the one female audience against rape jokes, theirs a hear mentality between fans that encourages silence and ‘permission’ for comedians to keep saying whatever they believe.

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 8, 2017 at 3:58 PM

    I agree with your point about the best humor being that which doesn’t offend anyone. I think it takes more brain power to create humor like that, and that offensive humor is the easy way out. I had a teacher who used to say that creativity comes from imposing limits on yourself, and I think that really plays out in limiting yourself to humor that doesn’t offend. I think that is where the most creative humor comes into play, and I admire that far more than humor intended to offend. Although I would agree with Roxane Gay that it IS thought provoking to notice what makes you laugh even when you know you shouldn’t. I wouldn’t say I admire the comedians or writers or whomever created that material, but I think that is a way to find where to improve on ourselves. What am I willing to tolerate just because I find it funny? I’ve heard so many criticisms of the TV show The Big Bang Theory, for example, and yet whenever it’s on, I find myself laughing along with the stupid laugh track. What does that say about me? I think that’s something I need to explore to better myself.

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