avatarEdward John

Summary

The article defends comedians' freedom to tell jokes that may be considered offensive by some, arguing that humor is subjective and not bound by rules of what should be found funny.

Abstract

The piece asserts that the concept of "cancel culture" is unfounded when it comes to comedy, emphasizing that laughter is an involuntary response and that comedians' routines are shaped by audience reactions, not arbitrary rules of propriety. It criticizes the idea that certain topics are off-limits for humor, stating that a joke is either funny or it isn't, regardless of its potential offensiveness. The author argues that comedians have a single objective—to elicit laughter—and may inadvertently offend some individuals in the process. The article also suggests that the context of a live comedy performance is often lost when jokes are reported by the media, leading to misunderstandings about the intent and impact of the humor.

Opinions

  • It is pointless to dictate what should be considered funny as laughter is an automatic reflex.
  • Comedians include jokes in their routines based on audience reception, not on whether they might offend.
  • The primary job of a comedian is to make people laugh, even if it means offending some.
  • People who attend a comedian's live show are willing participants who enjoy that comedian's style of humor.
  • Reporting offensive jokes out of context can lead to a misrepresentation of the comedian's intent.
  • The most impactful humor often lies in the grey area where a joke is both funny and offensive.
  • Individuals should be free to judge for themselves what is humorous and offensive, without being told by others.

CANCEL CULTURE

How Dare You Dictate to Me What I’m Permitted to Find Funny

Just because you were offended, that doesn’t mean the joke wasn’t funny

By Albin Olsson — Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39604921. Distorted with Photoshop.

Every now and then, people get offended by something a comedian has said. Like there’s some rule that there are some things we’re not allowed to laugh at. Which is nonsense.

It’s a waste of time to say that we shouldn’t find certain things funny. Laughter is an automatic reflex. We have no control over whether we find something funny. This is why it is pointless to explain a joke to someone who didn’t understand it the first time around.

And it’s also a waste of time to say that a comedian shouldn’t have told a particular joke. Because the only reason that joke was in their routine is that lots of people laughed at it before.

That’s how comedians build their routines. They try out jokes and the ones that people laugh at stay in their routine.

And that’s the thing about humour. Something is either funny or it isn’t. IT’S THAT SIMPLE.

Whether it’s also offensive is irrelevant as far as the comedian is concerned. A comedian has ONE JOB — to make people laugh. If they have to offend some people to do that, that’s what they will do.

If you found a joke offensive, that’s just tough shit. It probably wasn’t meant for you anyway.

The people who go to see a comedian perform live already like that comedian. They know the types of jokes they tend to tell, so they are up for it. So much so, they’ve actually paid money to be there.

The comedian isn’t forcing the jokes on people who don’t want to hear them. They are not shouting them through people’s letterboxes.

When the media report on an offensive joke, they are taking it out of context. And they are spreading it to people who didn’t ask to see it. Reading an isolated joke in text form is not the same as experiencing it at a comedy gig you’ve paid to attend.

But what if you find something funny AND offensive? Well, that’s often where the most powerful humour is. When you laugh and then feel like you shouldn’t really be laughing at it.

But I’ll be the one to judge that for myself. Not you.

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Rant
Cancel Culture
Comedy
Free Speech
Woke
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