Many audiences of stand up comedy enjoy hearing their favorite comedian entertain them. But what would one think when a comedian cracks a joke about a sensitive topic, for example, a tragedy that affected hundreds of people. Some may argue that, comedians are not supposed to overstep the boundary of controversial jokes. These controversial jokes are linked with political correctness—which is used to describe language, policies, and measures that are taken to avoid offense to certain groups of people. Comedians are not compelled to restrain from controversial topics due to the topic not being sugar-coated, the higher level of contemplation that the joke can reach, and the job of the comedian—to make the current issue manageable. To start-off, …show more content…
Another positive for freedom of speech for comedians is that the jokes made can lighten the mood of the subject. A comedians function in society is to challenge authority, and talk about subjects that may be unacceptable (Hartsell). Comedians are expected to go too far, but when they do, they are disapproved for it. Although, the audiences may only laugh at a joke because of how awkward it is going to be if no one did. “People like to mask their feelings due to not wanting others to really know how they feel—so people may laugh in times of nervousness because they are trying to balance their anxious feelings” (Kaminski). The uncalled for joke may trigger feelings of anxiousness and nervousness. Simultaneously, stand up comedy takes dark subjects and makes light of them. “In 2014, Louis CK remarked on NPR that comedy is intended to ‘go to a scary place and laugh’, to defuse and demystify that fear. It is part of the darkness, uncertainty, and ineffability of this ‘scariness]’ that allows comics to connect with a deeper, human truth” (Henry). By doing this, it makes the subject manageable. Making the subject manageable lets the comedians restrict what they say about it, which will affect the response of the audience. In support of freedom of speech, comedians boost the mood of the subject from a dark place to a wittier
Humor is part of everyone’s personality. Anyone can crack a joke or pull a prank to make someone laugh, but what happens when the joke goes too far? Who stands up for you when a prank ends up hurting instead of helping? Dashka Slater's 57 Bus explores what happens when what was supposed to be a funny prank turns into hospital rooms and court hearings. This book follows Richard, a black teen who is called "the funny one" by his friends and lives in east Oakland battling racism and poverty, and Sasha, a non-binary teen, as they struggle with their gender expression.
“The Influence on the Unconscious” As young adults, we have laid around our homes for countless hours watching different types of television programing. Many of us, have a good idea on whether a program tries to offend viewers with their content. For over a decade, the popular television show “Family Guy” created by Seth MacFarlane, has shown controversial content that many people throughout the world have either loved or hated. In the writing piece titled, “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious” by Antonia Peacocke that is discussed below encourages us to distinguish between offensive and insightful content that airs on Family Guy.
Comedy has become a part of a vast majority of television shows, especially satirical comedy, rising to the top with shows such as: The Daily Show, Chappelle’s Show and Saturday Night Live to name a few. These satirical comedies have had a vast and continuing impact on the discourse in today’s society. By examining “Black White Supremacy,” by Dave Chappelle and “Conservative Libertarian,” by Jon Steward, through their use of satire, we can see that skits such as these have a lasting impact on society by creating discourse on the objects being mocked. “A Black White Supremacist,” by Dave Chappelle highlights the absurdity of racism by parodying members of white supremacy groups such as the KKK. Whereas, Chappelle is addressing a social justice
The Impact of Humor As Leo Rosten, an American humorist and author states, “Humor is the affectionate communication of insight” Humor is an intelligent way to enforce an argument to your audience. With the employment of humor, the authors are able to persuade their readers into understanding, and sometimes agreeing with their opinions. Humor allows authors to have the insight about their topic thus, giving the author credibility and zealousness. In Laura Fraser's essay, “Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian”, she employs the element of humor to strengthen her essay in a myriad of ways.
In their essay, “The Coddling of the American Mind”, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathon Haidt express their concern about this movement. They point out how there has been a previous movement similar to this one in that they both seek to restrict speech and broaden diverse-prospective. However, they conclude that, “The current movement is largely about emotional well-being.” and, “…it presumes and extraordinary fragility of the collegiate psyche…” (4). Due to this oversensitivity of college students, some popular comedians have even stopped performing on college campuses.
Humorists provide these busy people with means by which they can quickly learn about ongoing issues or events. My mother could never find time to read long news articles; therefore, she got all her information from morning news programs where the hosts would dilute the subject and only present valuable information very quickly and effectively. In the absence of humorists many busy people would not be able to keep up to date with current events; therefore, they play a crucial role in our society by providing many people, who lack time to read long articles, with valuable
This is an example of changing the situation. B. Based on Critchley’s article humor functions as anti-depressant by allowing the cognitive relation to, oneself and the world. “Humor has the same formal structure as depression but it’s an anti-depressant”. It’s a way to suppress depression by being able to find positive functions for the superego.
America is pushing the constitution by trying to stop the freedom of speech, by the state governments and the capital. The first amendment (Freedom of speech) says “Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment.” They are trying to stop us from saying what we want by shutting us up when the police come, we have the right to say what we want to, the police can’t stop it. They don’t want us to say what we want to because they think it will be hurtful to the government, like saying against a law they put out, or protesting to something they do. They are canceling out what we are trying to tell them.
Dave Barry In society today, people are becoming more and more easily offended. A simple joke is often times blown way out of proportion instead of being laughed off and taken as just that. Dave Barry, a comedic essayist, understands that idea, which is why he uses self-deprecating humor to distract the readers from the fact that he is making fun of them. Along with the use of sarcasm and hyperboles, this form of humor is, at times, relatable and allows him to get certain points across without offending his readers.
Saving the Modern World: One Satire at a Time There are so many problems that the world faces today, some more urgent than others. Some individuals choose to focus on the newest fashion style or celebrity breakup rather than focus on one that could bring about the doom of a nation. The use of satire in great literary works, television entertainment, and comics is an effective way to enlighten the world on the difficulties it faces.
Humor and irony play very important roles in Everyday Use. The humor found
One of the most valuable aspects of personality is humor – we value one’s sense of humor and make friends often based on finding certain things funny. But how and why do we consider things to be funny at all? Human beings have strived to uncover fundamental truths about human nature for centuries – even millennia – but humor itself is still yet to be pinpointed. Henri Bergson is only one of many who has attempted this feat, and his essay Laughter: an essay on the meaning of the comic from 1911 breaks down comedy into what he believes to be its essential forms and origins. While Bergson makes many valid points, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times that was brought to screens only twenty years later seems to contradict many of Bergson’s theories, while Bergson seems to contradict even himself over the course of his essay.
By taking away the seriousness out of these topics through humor, allows readers to take their focus away from the negativity to
Behind the Smiles are the Tears Everyone knows at least one person who frequently uses self-deprecating humor. People respond with laughter, and it passes for a nice joke, but there is true pain hiding behind the joker 's smile. This can become offensive if someone other than that one person speaks about an insecurity they have. The side effect being, possibly, depression which could lead to self-harm.