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Staged slapstick doesn't have the same appeal to a generation accustomed to people recording others doing stupid things with their cell phone, which is the new

Staged slapstick doesn't have the same appeal to a generation accustomed to people recording others doing stupid things with their cell phone, which is the new physical comedy (even though many of those viral clips are staged too). The demise of comedy in general is a much more pertinent issue. Political correctness and outrage culture has hobbled the ability to confront hard subjects through humor.

Broken_Hippo 7y ago
Do you really need to make fun of someone disadvantaged to have comedy? Do folks not approach things like rape and discrimation and dealing with American cops with comedy? Have you not seen the bit by.. Josh Johnson? ... where he accidentally catfishes the KKK? Or watched Frankie Boyle? Or the Mash Report? It is pretty obvious there is plenty of comedy out there that approaches difficult and tough subjects through humor. Society is becoming less tolerant of racism and sexism and homophobia and things like that - you know, the political correctness of it. If your comedy includes making fun of men for being too "gay" or women for being too manly... sure, political correctness has caused a demise in your sort of humor, and good riddance.
- aantix 7y ago
  In order to confront truths, you're going to risk being offensive. There are plenty of logical inconsistencies, fallacies, half-truths, that every social tribe adopts that need a mirror to reveal their ridiculousness. Some may only be observed as an outsider from the group. This is the service comedy has always provided. We are humans. We are fallible.
  - notadoc 7y ago
    Unfortunately there is historical precedent to comedic intolerance. Royalty would occasionally have their court jesters put to death, for example.
  - Broken_Hippo 7y ago
    I specifically mentioned Frankie Boyle because folks tend to find him offensive. He also hosts a show talking about serious-ish topics, generally in a funny tone. The others were just comedic takes on more serious stuff. But really, they were examples of comedy that the person claimed was hobbled as a result of political correctness - and I don't see it as the case at all. Comedy simply isn't what it was 30 years ago, but at the same time... comedy isn't what it was 50 years ago either.
    - aantix 7y ago
      >If your comedy includes making fun of men for being too "gay" or women for being too manly... sure, political correctness has caused a demise in your sort of humor, and good riddance. The very idea that there couldn't be any funny perspectives left on the above topics shows that the idea of being emotionally protected has been elevated above free speech. The vocal minority of Twitter do not represent the general public. https://www.pewinternet.org/2019/04/24/sizing-up-twitter-users/#nws=mcnewsletter https://www.pewinternet.org/2019/04/24/sizing-up-twitter-use...
- notadoc 7y ago
  Do you think creating strawman arguments are effective and is that how you typically engage in a discussion?
  - Broken_Hippo 7y ago
    "Political correctness and outrage culture has hobbled the ability to confront hard subjects through humor." If these are not examples of what you claim are being hobbled, please better explain what you mean. Have I misunderstood you?
lukebitts 7y ago
You can still find a lot of people confronting hard subjects through humor, it is just that lately these things are better received if you are a part of the group you are making fun of. I know lgbt comedians who are great at confronting the hard subjects of being lgbt for example. I feel like the "demise of comedy" is overstated. Every time I see a comedian complaining about that, his netflix special is just a few clicks away.
- 0xcde4c3db 7y ago
  > these things are better received if you are a part of the group you are making fun of Or at least know something about their experiences and come from a place of those experiences being real. I think a major reason that e.g. anti-LGBT jokes don't land the way they used to is simply that too many people know anything at all about LGBT experiences. Comedians can't get away with just making stuff up or leaning on cartoonish stereotypes, because it just rings hollow to so many people now. Likewise, "white guy does X like this / black guy does X like this" jokes are so dead that even jokes about the ineffectiveness of those jokes are trite. > Every time I see a comedian complaining about that, his netflix special is just a few clicks away. Also, even when comedians are ostensibly telling actual jokes about "political correctness" or "safe spaces", it often comes off as somewhere between inept trolling and outright whining. Somebody could probably make a "Stand-up comedy bit about political correctness or Rush Limbaugh rant?" quiz.
dec0dedab0de 7y ago
Contrary to what it seems like on the internet, most people are not actually getting outraged about every little thing. Even the people that are posting about being outraged on the internet usually don't really care that much. If anything, the popularity of standup comedy is at an all time high. It's just that some critics have a slightly louder voice than they used to.
standardUser 7y ago
Written like someone who has definitely not yet watched Big Mouth.
- monksy 7y ago
  Big mouth grazes tough subjects, and came off way too preachy in this latest season. It's more like drawn together: vulgar over comedy.

Broken_Hippo 7y ago

Do you really need to make fun of someone disadvantaged to have comedy? Do folks not approach things like rape and discrimation and dealing with American cops with comedy? Have you not seen the bit by.. Josh Johnson? ... where he accidentally catfishes the KKK? Or watched Frankie Boyle? Or the Mash Report? It is pretty obvious there is plenty of comedy out there that approaches difficult and tough subjects through humor. Society is becoming less tolerant of racism and sexism and homophobia and things like that - you know, the political correctness of it. If your comedy includes making fun of men for being too "gay" or women for being too manly... sure, political correctness has caused a demise in your sort of humor, and good riddance.

aantix 7y ago
In order to confront truths, you're going to risk being offensive. There are plenty of logical inconsistencies, fallacies, half-truths, that every social tribe adopts that need a mirror to reveal their ridiculousness. Some may only be observed as an outsider from the group. This is the service comedy has always provided. We are humans. We are fallible.
- notadoc 7y ago
  Unfortunately there is historical precedent to comedic intolerance. Royalty would occasionally have their court jesters put to death, for example.
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  I specifically mentioned Frankie Boyle because folks tend to find him offensive. He also hosts a show talking about serious-ish topics, generally in a funny tone. The others were just comedic takes on more serious stuff. But really, they were examples of comedy that the person claimed was hobbled as a result of political correctness - and I don't see it as the case at all. Comedy simply isn't what it was 30 years ago, but at the same time... comedy isn't what it was 50 years ago either.
  - aantix 7y ago
    >If your comedy includes making fun of men for being too "gay" or women for being too manly... sure, political correctness has caused a demise in your sort of humor, and good riddance. The very idea that there couldn't be any funny perspectives left on the above topics shows that the idea of being emotionally protected has been elevated above free speech. The vocal minority of Twitter do not represent the general public. https://www.pewinternet.org/2019/04/24/sizing-up-twitter-users/#nws=mcnewsletter https://www.pewinternet.org/2019/04/24/sizing-up-twitter-use...
notadoc 7y ago
Do you think creating strawman arguments are effective and is that how you typically engage in a discussion?
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  "Political correctness and outrage culture has hobbled the ability to confront hard subjects through humor." If these are not examples of what you claim are being hobbled, please better explain what you mean. Have I misunderstood you?

lukebitts 7y ago

You can still find a lot of people confronting hard subjects through humor, it is just that lately these things are better received if you are a part of the group you are making fun of. I know lgbt comedians who are great at confronting the hard subjects of being lgbt for example. I feel like the "demise of comedy" is overstated. Every time I see a comedian complaining about that, his netflix special is just a few clicks away.

0xcde4c3db 7y ago
> these things are better received if you are a part of the group you are making fun of Or at least know something about their experiences and come from a place of those experiences being real. I think a major reason that e.g. anti-LGBT jokes don't land the way they used to is simply that too many people know anything at all about LGBT experiences. Comedians can't get away with just making stuff up or leaning on cartoonish stereotypes, because it just rings hollow to so many people now. Likewise, "white guy does X like this / black guy does X like this" jokes are so dead that even jokes about the ineffectiveness of those jokes are trite. > Every time I see a comedian complaining about that, his netflix special is just a few clicks away. Also, even when comedians are ostensibly telling actual jokes about "political correctness" or "safe spaces", it often comes off as somewhere between inept trolling and outright whining. Somebody could probably make a "Stand-up comedy bit about political correctness or Rush Limbaugh rant?" quiz.

dec0dedab0de 7y ago

Contrary to what it seems like on the internet, most people are not actually getting outraged about every little thing. Even the people that are posting about being outraged on the internet usually don't really care that much. If anything, the popularity of standup comedy is at an all time high. It's just that some critics have a slightly louder voice than they used to.

standardUser 7y ago

Written like someone who has definitely not yet watched Big Mouth.

monksy 7y ago
Big mouth grazes tough subjects, and came off way too preachy in this latest season. It's more like drawn together: vulgar over comedy.