AliceFraser
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Good Comedy
🕑 Added 2021-10-07 02:04:11 +0000 UTCOkay, the new Chappelle special is out and causing controversy, so it’s probably time to dust off my “good comedy” vs “good” comedy, knee-jerk reaction. I’ve not yet watched the show, but I’m already seeing the arguments and so I’ll do the gritty reboot about how people conflate moral good with artistic effectiveness in order to question or buffer the validity of a piece of work. This is a bit upstream of whatever particular joke is causing the Merry-go-round of mutual point-missing that seems to happen when someone talented does a joke that upsets people, but I think that makes it a little more evergreen.
Please don’t construe this as either a defence of, or a condemnation of the new Chappelle special, because as I said, I haven’t watched it, and what’s interesting to me about it right now is the discussion, rather than the inciting incident.
- Comedy can be funny and well constructed, skilful and effective AT THE SAME TIME as being hurtful, cruel, degrading or damaging. In fact, if it is funny, it will be more effective in its cruelty. It will have a more damaging impact.
- Laughing together at an ‘other’ group of people is an incredibly powerful and effective rhetorical tactic that can be used in many ways. The critical frame of “punching up” or “punching down” is a way of deciding whether this tactic is being used fairly or not, but is pretty much a red herring if you’re assessing whether something is funny or not.
- Some comedy can be morally beyond reproach and still not funny. Or vice versa, or both good (funny) and good (enlightening, improving, epiphanic, cathartic), or neither.
- Moral intent is only relevant to whether a piece of language is Good Comedy insofar as a joke will be more likely to be persuasive of its moral point if it’s also very funny (well done as comedy can mean well done as a piece of moral influence).
- Saying something is offensive and therefore not funny is facile and annoying and pointless. Because comedy is subjective, you end up in a recursive loop of someone saying ‘well it IS funny to me, and therefore can’t be offensive’. Blech.
- A joke being cruel or hurtful or relying on lazy stereotypes CAN reduce it’s effectiveness as comedy doing the job of comedy (which is to make people laugh), because some audiences can’t relax into laughter if they feel the comedian has contempt for them, or people like them. Part of the job of a good comedian is to understand and work with the crowd, so in that instance a ‘good’ (well written), but cruel (morally bad), joke is not ‘good’ (effective) comedy, because effective comedy requires the comedian to read (and control) the room.
- Obviously reading the room is harder when the room is the whole bloody world via social media, and your speech is delivered in a form moderated by someone else’s judgment to an audience that trusts them, not you, and that audience is many people in a variety of different moods and places, rather than a small space where you can smell the vibe.
Etcetera forever!
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As ever, if you like any of my work, do share it around. It makes a huge difference to me, and also sharing things you like is a pro-social act strongly associated with good health outcomes!
Comments
Thankyou! It’s very exciting!
Ian Stark
It's Monday the 11th of October and I just heard some restrictions are being lifted in Sydney. I'm happy for you all. Just take care out there! Aloha!
There are comedians whose views and politics I know are different to mine. But I still enjoy them and find their work funny. Even when I do not agree the premise of jokes I still laugh. I like the connection and sometimes the challenge in it. But with this I often have some feeling of sadness that the comedian may not like that I enjoy it, may not like me and given the right circumstances I could be the subject of their jokes.
Ian Stark
BTW, sorry, but I fell asleep listening to the Gargle and woke up believing the tooth fairy is a dog. I'd better listen again. Aloha.
Mike Machin
I did a lot of nodding in agreement while I red this post and wondered if I really had anything to say. I started thinking about your 'This is a really stupid letter' responses in The Last Post. Those type of comments have the potential to be read as cruel or mean. I think it was well understood by your fanbase that it was all part of the joke but would somebody coming across it 'cold' get that straight away? I want to say something about the importance of intention. If somebody makes a joke about Queers with the intention of giving people who don't like people like me permission to laugh at me then it's not OK. On the other hand I have to own that I have laughed at plenty of Anti-Trump or Anti-Boris Johnson jokes - admittedly from a place of near despair - without stopping to think if their feelings might be hurt. On a completely different point I just want to add that I listened to the latest Bugle in which Andy mentions that it's your last before childbirth and I want to wish you all the best for that momentous event(process?)
Ian Stark
Great article! I've heard some very "funny" jokes over the years that are incredibly hurtful. Even the old man slipping on a banana is making fun of someone's misfortune. I always liked the one about the dog limping into a bar, growling "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw." But I'm old...
