| Comedy - Where Do You Draw The Line? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 4th November 2009 - 03:42 PM (2,237 Views) | |
| Barley | 4th November 2009 - 03:42 PM Post #1 |
Gis A Job.
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Much has been made over the past year or so about 'offensive comedy' What I'm interested to know is how far is to far? Is it acceptable to crack a joke about a one-legged, blind war veteran? or should certain comedians take a step back and review their material. I ask this question as I recently saw Richard Herring on Newsnight and I pretty much agreed with everything he said. Watch here. |
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| Loki | 4th November 2009 - 03:45 PM Post #2 |
The Daddy
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Love Herring. Off to see Stewart Lee next week. Er, that's it. |
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| Bazihnio | 4th November 2009 - 03:54 PM Post #3 |
Top Poster
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When it isn't funny. Loki once said that the difference between reference and intent is the key to "Offensive" comedy and he was right. |
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| indie_&_co | 4th November 2009 - 04:10 PM Post #4 |
Oedipus Complex?
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We all have a personal 'line', I think. I think it isn't funny if you mean it, basically like Baz said, I don't like Boyle much, because I think most of the time he really means what he said, you can tell by the way he says it. Infact the only one I really like on that show is the host, Dara, he seems alrite. What made Bernard Manning acceptable (& funny) was that he didn't mean it, he wasn't racist, as he said, a joke is just a joke, and should be entirely fictional. Bernard never took the mick out of disabled people, because he found it too distasteful, even he had a line. |
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| Bazihnio | 4th November 2009 - 04:17 PM Post #5 |
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Top Poster
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I'd disagree with that to be honest. To go back to the "Reference and intent" bit, imagine two types of comedian telling this joke. "What would The Simpsons be called if they were black?" "Niggers". Let's say Chris Rock or Stewart Lee (or me) told that joke, it would be an attack on the underlying racism in society despite how much we have moved away from the 60's and 70's. Now imagine Manning or Davidson (or harry) telling it and it takes on a whole different meaning and a different target. EDIT - And I know that anyone who hasn't heard that joke before will be telling their mates it tonight! Edited by Bazihnio, 4th November 2009 - 04:18 PM.
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| Loki | 4th November 2009 - 04:20 PM Post #6 |
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The Daddy
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Yeah, I don't buy the whole "Manning wasn't a racist". Course he was, and in those days a lot of people were casually racist, so it was funny to his audience. Whereas when Jay Lethal asked Kevin Nash why he had to go first in the pushups test, and Nash said "Because you're BLACK", that's referential. And very funny. |
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| indie_&_co | 4th November 2009 - 04:22 PM Post #7 |
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Oedipus Complex?
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Oh yeah, fair enough, but it depends on if you agree with the meaning or not, and whether there's anything with that. Everyone has a right to be racist, you can't control what people think. Not that i'm racist, mind, but I know people who have a distrust for black people, and I don't complain about it. |
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| Loki | 4th November 2009 - 04:30 PM Post #8 |
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The Daddy
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*can opening* |
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| indie_&_co | 4th November 2009 - 04:32 PM Post #9 |
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Oedipus Complex?
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Eh? |
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| Bazihnio | 4th November 2009 - 04:43 PM Post #10 |
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Top Poster
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REFERENCE  INTENT 
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| indie_&_co | 4th November 2009 - 04:56 PM Post #11 |
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Oedipus Complex?
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If we can't think and say our own thoughts then what can we do? Although i'm not fond of Frankie Boyle, I don't generally agree with comedy editing. You know, these holier than you types telling us what we can and can't laugh at. |
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| Mr.Showtime | 4th November 2009 - 05:17 PM Post #12 |
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Sir Ray of Sunshine
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There was a decent enough article in the Times yesterday, or maybe the day before, about the Frankie Boyle/Jimmy Carr complaints thing. It basically was discussing whether being slightly offensive is part of a comedians' job. Maybe it is with some of them, depends what style you're going for. Boyle himself said the quip he made about Rebecca Adlington was possibly the least offensive thing he's said on Mock The Week yet it's been dragged up and picked on. People watch comedy shows and generally know beforehand what certain comedians are going to be like. If you don't like it, just don't watch them. You shouldn't expect to turn on Mock The Week and see clean, non-offensive comedy. |
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| Troika | 4th November 2009 - 05:33 PM Post #13 |
The Forum Ginger
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Problem with comedy based on race is that it is almost certain to offend someone and with the way that attitudes towards racism (as well as sexism) have changed over the years I even doubt that some classic British comedy would even make it to TV if someone proposed it today. |
NIGERIA FOR 2010 | |
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| Lurk | 4th November 2009 - 05:37 PM Post #14 |
Welsh Viking
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You don't see repeats of In Sickness and In health anymore, because of the racist things that Alf Garnett says. Even though the comedy is derived from the fact he is so bigoted. Its PC gone mad I tell you. |
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| Dave | 4th November 2009 - 05:47 PM Post #15 |
kein gutes Stück Scheiße
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I'm fine aslong as its funny and there is some sense of humor in it. Theres nothing worse than shock comedy where you are ment to laugh at how "outragous" something thats been said was as apposed to how witty the joke was regardless of its context or topic. |
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