has recently had a lot of discussions about whether "political correctness culture" is "killing comedy", whether Dave Chappelle's controversial performance in the talk show special, or SNL's decision to cancel the hiring of Shane Gillis. This is a bit stupid. It's really a very mentally handicapped discussion. Mainly because this is just a cliché. This kind of controversy pops up every few years, like a Halley's comet made up with nonsense.
Are people too sensitive now? Is there a way for comedy to survive in such an environment? As comedy historians and hosts of the podcast "Why You Mad?" Nesteroff and Luisa Diez pointed out on Twitter, people have been asking the same questions throughout the 20th century. Columnist Corey Ford declared in 1958 that society at the time was "killing laughter." why? Because because of the "minority groups", "cross-border" themes like "racial jokes" can no longer be staged in comedies. Ford claimed that it was all because of the existence of these overly sensitive people, "We may never see comedic geniuses like Will Rogers, Mark Twain and WC Fields anymore." Or as young people today understand, there are two They may have vaguely heard of the dead person, and they pretended to read the book written by the third dead person in junior high school.
also had a televised debate on this topic at the time, with two arrogant young men confronting...Mort Sahl and Steve Allen.
does not mean that the situation has not changed. They have changed. But to a large extent, today's comedians are more free than ever. Although today a controversial topic will make a comedian become the target of public criticism, or cause them to lose a career opportunity, in the past, they have to face legal consequences. It's not just famous comedians like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, but even the lesser-known comedians. It's like Belle Barth who was teasing "banging" before William Hung was born. She was sued by two teachers in compensation of $1.6 million because her performance "corrupted them morally." Later, George "Hoppy" Hopkins was sent to the police station by an offensive audience while performing.
This is why some comedians repeatedly bring up this kind of argument can be very confusing. Some of the most famous critics of today’s political correctness culture will encounter even worse cultural barriers decades ago. Take Mel Brooks as an example. He said that most of his films will not start shooting today because "We have become brainless and politically correct, and this is the death of comedy." We like Mel, but his remarks are a bit letting Surprisingly, after all, his career was almost completely destroyed by political correctness in 1967.
Brooks' directorial debut "Producer" has almost become a total disaster because of its controversial plot. First of all, the legendary actor Zero Mostel almost stopped appearing in the film because his agent thought the script was too rude and not suitable for him. The original box office was also terrible. Critics say that the film "only 23 years have passed since the end of World War II" is still parodying Hitler as "cheap" and "not tasteless". Today it is praised as a comedy classic, and its stage adaptation version still holds the record of winning the most Tony Awards.
Jerry Seinfeld famously said: "There is a crippling and politically correct thing that really annoys me", and then said that he will never perform in college again because they are "too politically correct." But even Song Fei encountered great cultural resistance. When making "Sein Fei's True Story", NBC forced him to delete a scene where George said he "never saw a black man order a salad". And NBC had to publicly apologize to the Puerto Rican community because Kramer burned their national flag in the penultimate episode. The issue of "Puerto Rico Day" was so controversial that it was deleted from the package of the Seinfeld Collection and was not broadcast again until 5 years later.
and then there are members of the legendary Python group of six, and starred in the less legendary "BeduoActor John Cleese of "Fin Christmas Adventure". He, like Seinfeld, no longer plays in college, and he commented that “it’s easier to do comedy when people are not at a loss for everything”. Considering the strong resistance surrounding "Brian's Life", it was particularly shocking that he would say that sentence. Due to the religious content involved, throughout Europe, the film was either rated X or directly banned. In the United States, there have also been protests. You would think that among all comedians, Cleese should feel that people today are not so tense, because during the 40 years, "Brian's Life" was regarded as a classic, and Pope Francis also praised the film as "right The extraordinary hymn of the life of Jesus".
Of course, although people's humor on Christian subjects is relaxed, if the tolerance for other types of jokes is not completely disappeared, it will be reduced. And this is nothing new. What is accepted by the audience in a comedy is always advancing with the times. For example, before the future Prime Minister of Canada spends a surprising amount of time experimenting with it, actors acting as blacks are still an important part of the touring light musical performance. Even Bob Hope used to be a comedian who played black people. The reason why he would give up this business was because once he missed the tram and then it was too late to put on makeup before an important performance.
is not just an actor who plays black people. Racially exaggerated actions like "The Merry W*p" are commonplace in vaudeville (remember, Italians are not always considered white). Not because no one is offended, but because the offended person "has nowhere to reason." A well-known former light song and dance performer finally "started a struggle to erase racial discrimination performances from the light song and dance drama."
Groucho Marx specifically pointed out two vaudeville actors, saying that their entire set of funny actions involved racial stereotyped images. The two of them argued that racial jokes "are not rude if done well," and they have never complained about "Scots" or "Swedes". Groucho shot back, saying, "Actors like Sandy McPherson and Yonny Yohnson are not a minority group that is oppressed, restricted, segregated, or persecuted."
and later comedy master George Carlin, now people who complain about comedy overly sensitive always like to cite. his words. Carlin said that political correctness is "the latest form of intolerance in the United States." But Carlin, like Groucho, is outspoken when it comes to comedians' sarcasm of minorities. Recently, in an interview he had in 1990, Carlin talked about the controversy about Andrew Dice Clay. Carlin upholds Clay's right to freedom of speech, but added: "His ridicule targets the inferior, and comedy traditionally picks up those with power and those who abuse power. Women, homosexuals and immigrants, I It seems that they are all disadvantaged.” He also pointed out that it seems that Clay's “core audience is young white men threatened by these disadvantaged groups.” The point of
is that comedy has been improving, and it is inseparable from those who stand up against certain attitudes or The efforts of prejudiced people. Recently, Todd Phillips, the director of "The Hangover", claimed that he had to make a movie about killing clowns simply because "people are so boring in this awakening culture." Phillips' argument was almost immediately affected by the actors of "Joker" Marc Maron’s challenge, he responded to Carlin’s sentimentality: “A lot of people are very interesting now...At this particular moment, for the pure fun, excitement and laughter of some people, the minority groups are used to make fun of them and hurt them. It is unacceptable to make them feel uncomfortable and let them feel excluded."
Those who complain about social development and the discord with comedy are nothing more than boring complainers in the great wheel of history. Comedians should understand better, but some of them seem to mistake the subject matter they consider "avant-garde" for cliché and unrealistic. Seinfeld’s "Gay King" stem did not lead any new comedy pioneers. If college students didn’t laugh after listening to it, it might be because they didn’t think this coffee addicted millionaire in his 60s was talking more funny than what they just saw on Twitter.
comedians should be able to distinguish obsoleteThe difference between subject matter and provocative talent. Patton Oswalt publicly expressed regret for the "gay and mentally handicapped" paragraph in his first special. He did not defend himself on the principle of freedom of speech, because in the end he understood that it was just a superficial piece created for "simple and funny". But the easy-going comedian is not alone. They have co-conspirators in the effortless media. In detail, their co-conspirators are the reporters who asked the question "[Insert new advancements in society] is killing comedy?"
Want to maintain the vitality of comedy? Then go to your local club from time to time to support them.
This article is translated from Cracked and published by the translator Diehard based on the Creative Commons Agreement (BY-NC).
