When will Comedy End?

Amias

When you think about it, Generation after Generation seem to be offended by the previous Generations take on what was acceptable as comedy & humour.

With the power of Social media and the Internet, it seems that it’s highly likely that many comedians past acts ( which was acceptable in the past ) will and does come back to haunt them.

I fear that comedy and humour are on their last legs.

Strumms

I think over the last year the woke fools who have proliferated this nonsense have been found out and people are just getting on with it…..

imagine a young Billy Connolly trying to make his way now… “ ok Mr / Mrs / It / Them Connolly…. We will need a whole transcript of your comedy routine which you must not deviate from if sanctioned…if approved and sanctioned we will accept it as your show…injecting other material or differing from the approved transcript will result in a fine and possible imprisonment….”

great thing about Billy’s comedy is that he offends, includes, laughs at….everyone.. including himself….

but that would be lost now….

Raichu

Comedy a genre or the comedy of old?

if the former, no that’s a stupid assertion, if the latter maybe. Who knows.

Yakov P. Golyadkin

The laughs will never cease while we have Current Affairs/IMHO. Fear not.

FunLover18

Surprisingly there's actually plenty of comedy that isn't offensive or doesn't punch down.

magicbastarder

what's with all these weird takes that comedy is dying? there's plenty of black humour out there still; if you're the sort of person lamenting that you don't hear the sort of comedy that you want to hear, i'm going to jump to conclusions about your views.

billy connolly has been mentioned above; i don't think i've heard anyone complain about his comedy ever?

Icemancometh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591783#Comment_118591783

He got in some bother making a joke about a contractor who was kidnapped in Iraq I think.

Hello 2D Person Below

People protested outside Billy Connolly's venues going back over the decades. He also had the Catholic Church whingeing.

[Deleted User]

Richard Pryor and George Carlin were also targets in their time but there was no social media that could effectively cancel you so that shows no longer book you and you don’t get anymore jobs. The best comedians make you think, they aren’t punching down. They may use absurd humour to do that but when taken at face value may look like punching down.

It used to be if you were offended then you can leave the theatre no-one is stopping you, but now it turns into an argument about platforming and spreading hate. Comedians that actually spread hate generally aren’t funny.

Quantum Erasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591781#Comment_118591781

No, no, punch UP, stupid

Thelonious Monk

At least we can laugh at the permanently offended boards current affairs/thejournal.ie commenters who can't seem to cope with the fact that things change and society progresses

Quantum Erasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591937#Comment_118591937

 They may use absurd humour to do that but when taken at face value may look like punching down.

like that Jimmy Carr joke?

https://twitter.com/D_S_Schofield/status/1489655601542094849

yeah, that's not looking too good

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jimmy-carr-fears-hes-going-26151690

Akrasia

What kind of stupid thread is this?

Comedy evolves and changes depending on the context of our geo-political and socio-cultural environments

Humour will end the day the last sentient being makes a sarcastic comment and gives a middle appendage to the situation that has caused the end of their civilisation

Raichu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591783#Comment_118591783

Ah no he did get into a bit of it a while back for something he said can’t remember what but yeah he pissed on a few cornflakes, but sure, most people have.

John Doe1

People have 100% the right to be offended by a joke or not like a joke but that does not mean that this same person has the right to ban that joke from being said. Saying a joke which might offend someone is the ultimate example of liberalism and free speech.

Unfortunately the level of narcissism in the younger demographic especially on social media is off the scale these days so this minority are the loudest and the cowards within corporations pander to them as they are terrified of getting bad publicity.

Brucie Bonus

Not so many years ago making fun of Irish, Jews and black people was prime time entertainment. I'm okay with that not being a thing anymore.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592351#Comment_118592351

But what if it's Irish people making jokes about Irish people? jews making fun of Jews? Or Black people making fun of black people?

You know, a lot of our humour is generally reflective. It's often pointing out absurdities and idiosyncrasies and that's what makes things funny. The ability to laugh at one's self is probably the greatest sense of humour of all.

NIMAN

It's a fine line, trying to tell comedians what they can tell jokes about, and what they can't.

Can it cross into what might be described as hate speech?

In the case of this Jimmy Carr joke, it seemed to get plenty of laughs in the audience, so plenty found it funny. Whether it ends his career, only time will tell. I still think he should be able to make the joke if he wants, as long as he is prepared to take any effect it has on his career with it.

Tony EH

It won't even come close to ending his career.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592239#Comment_118592239

It's an age old, the same argument was heard in the 50s as now, Comedians by their very nature will always want to prick the balloon of the type of individual that are Priests and activists.

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592484#Comment_118592484

Right now, Frankie Boyle is out there thinking of a way to make an even more offensive joke.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592530#Comment_118592530

Frankie seems to have broken his funny bone.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592443#Comment_118592443

Agreed….

look at Jackie Mason, a hilarious Jewish guy whose main gag was ripping the pîss out of Jewish people… out of everybody….one of the funniest people to have lived.

edit : I found a brilliant 5 minute clip on YouTube of him, just ripping into Jewish husband and wife relationships, piss funny, but….I wouldn’t even know if i could post it.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592530#Comment_118592530

Hes already thought of a dozen of them, just trying to decide which to go with

I don't agree that this was an offensive joke BTW. People who don't 'get' the joke think its offensive, but the target of his punchline are the people who are happy to think 'Dead jews are bad, but dead Gypsies... maybe they deserved it'

And there are loads of threads on Boards full of people who would think like that

anewme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592351#Comment_118592351

I was just going to say the exact same. The crowd here playing the WOKEY COKEY card and bleating that you cant say anything anymore, would have been the same having a meltdown at the likes of Jim Davidson/Bernard Manning telling racist jokes about the Irish - when the Irish were downtrodden and easy pickings.

Suckit

I have always thought to myself that there will come a time when people will decide 'that's enough' and push back against this cancel culture bullsh*t. They are only really vocal on twitter and social media, and amongst similar minded people.

They are just loud, and for some reason the mainstream media gives that a voice. Everyone seems to agree Twitter is a cess pit, so why allow it such a loud voice?

This could be the beginning of the push back, this and the book 'Woke Racism'.

Quantum Erasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592624#Comment_118592624

Jimmy Carrs joke sounded like something Stewart Lee would come out with, to me.

then i remembered this bit he does, about Jim Davidson, which also features Jimmy Carr coincidentally

about 45 seconds watch, from the time linked, although the whole 10 mins is worth a watch

https://youtu.be/h2CGryAkxkM?t=395

Suckit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592530#Comment_118592530

IIRC Frankie used to write some of Jimmy Carr's material, so may even have written that, but probably not.

Either way, I would imagine both of their acts are deconstructed and analysed bit by bit before giving it the green light. He might have said it and risked his career anyway, but I'm betting most of the people who needed to know what was in his show, knew. He probably won't even lose his presenting jobs.

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592530#Comment_118592530

Isn't he getting ready for a Beckett play?

Hello 2D Person Below

Imagine how many 'thanks' Jimmy Carr would have gotten if he cracked that joke here on Boards.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592571#Comment_118592571

maybe it should have been left to a more talented writer and/or comic, if that was the intent.

i have not seen it, just read it, and maybe i'm missing context, but there doesn't seem to have been all that much nuance to it.