Louis C.K.’s self-deprecating and offensive humor has made him one of the most popular comics of the last ten years, as with plenty of comedians one of C.K.’s character flaws is his perceived lack of empathy. C.K. doesn’t seem to care that his jokes could lend offense to people, two of his uttermost notorious jokes are bits touching on pedophilia and even rape. A legion of critics would say these subjects should not be exploited through humor by virtue of the effects they might have on victims. This, quite ironically, also inhabits C.K.’s strengths his unwillingness to conform to a certain moral code of humor is what makes him great. In addition to C.K. the intent of innumerable other comedians is to provide a perspective on a topic that is
not politically correct or watered down by any sense of righteous humanity. This doesn't denote that C.K. agrees with all of his jokes, he even goes out of his way to explain that people shouldn’t agree with what he says and follows one quip up by saying “Wow, that was the worst thing I’ve ever said.” In light of the self-awareness that C.K. possesses it has to be appreciated that he knows what he is doing, that he is aware of his perceived lapse in morality, and that he meticulously crafts his words to make people ponder their established beliefs. This is why stand-up comedians are of note in our culture, they bend the boundaries of what is acceptable and refuse to be constricted by the totality of socially enforced morality. That is not to say people shouldn’t be offended by what C.K. says as much of it is offensive, but that doesn’t attest to it not being said at all because what more amiable way is there to pose a distasteful idea than with a joke?
What is the most common perception held in this country concerning the people and the way they live in the South? The perception most of the country has about life down here in the South is one of slow-paced living, simple-minded people, and stubborn, unwarranted pride. One of the best ways to combat this perception is through the use of humor; Lewis Grizzard was one of the best at this, because he could take the experiences from his own life as well as the lives of others in the South and turn them into humorous semi-fictional stories. He was one of the preeminent fictional authors this country has ever seen because of his ability to connect with people and joke about everyday life in the south, without offending the subjects of those jokes, despite the popular opinion the rest of the country held.
In the early seventies and into the early eighties there was a storied and sometimes highly controversial television series called “M.A.S.H” which stood for “Mobile Army Surgical Hospital”. The series was a follow on to the wildly successful movie by the same name. In both cases the story revolved around a group of Doctors and Nurses and supporting cast who operated a forward field hospital in Korea during the Korean War, the 4077 MASH. The characters were lovable, laughable, affable and endearing to viewers. However, the show was not without its recurring controversy. Everything from Anti-War sentiment to adultery to alcoholism were broached during its run on national television. One controversial issue that surrounded the show on a recurring basis was that of comedy in a surgical unit where blood, guts and pain were the order of the day, and in an environment where many thought that attitudes and demeanor should have been more serious. Specifically regarding the relationships between men and women, (Doctors and Nurses) and superiors and subordinates. The one-liners, the sexual innuendo, the practical jokes and surgical suite humor were all part of the allure of the series. In any case, whichever side of the controversy you found yourself on, “MASH” was tremendously successful and maintained a huge following.
As I sit in the auditorium of the school I attend, I listen to the speaker of the day make his fatal mistake. He has done well up until now, relating to us only facts and ideas. Now, he has suffered from a lapse in judgment, and seems to have forgotten his surroundings - an all male audience. He has the audacity to display genuine, vulnerable emotion. I wait for the response I know he will get. The sound fills my ears. The all male audience brings forth a sarcastic and mocking chorus of "awwwwwww."
The Mark Twain Prize for humor is awarded by the John F. Kennedy Center for performing Arts every year since 1998. This award is given to leading actor/comedian in the American industry. In 2011 Will Ferrell received the Mark Twain Comedy award. This is an analysis of the speech acceptance speech that he gave.
Throughout Cosby’s speech there is a comedy element hidden in a tragedy element. When Cosby discusses the blame on Caucasians in African American communities, he jokes, “... ...
In the beginning of the article, Lukianoff and Haidt explain how one word can offend a college student really quickly, even if the person saying it didn’t intend to insult them. The authors then tell the audience how popular comedians, like Chris Rock, have stopped performing on college campuses, because the students cannot take a joke.
Analysis of Dave Chappelle's For What It's Worth Stand-Up Comedy Dave Chappelle’s stand-up comedy can be raunchy, grotesque, and
As a society, we are confronted daily with pornographic images, they feature in our newspapers, on our film screens, and even in our novels. This voyeuristic obsession the media holds has for a long time been desensitizing us to depictions of violence and sex, but has it also disabled us in being able to see the difference between what is carefully constructed satire and what is merely pornography?
While bigotry and misogyny are profound ills that pollute America, the so-called Nipplegate controversy made for a poor rallying cry against these problems simply because one can safely assume Jackson was a willing conspirator rather than an innocent victim. The overproduced, tedious dance act that raised the nation’s ire can more accurately be viewed as a product of the bad taste and warped values that currently define mainstream American society.
... immensity of its horror finally makes him drop the pretense of knowing detachment he has held for so long. As he drunkenly sobs, “What’s funny? What’s so goddamned funny? I don’t get it” (Ch. 2, 23) his lurking humanity becomes evident. The subtly of interplay between The Comedian’s persona, his humanity, and even his hypocrisy strongly support his status as a living person alongside Dr. Manhattan.
On the other hand, the Chief, in “The Laughing Man”, experiences a situation in which his hopes slowly died and, in turn, changed into a never-ending path of despair, much like Seymour and Sergeant X. His hopes, in this case, are set within his girlfriend, Mary Hudson (95). Despite having a god-like effect on the children, the Chief is nothing more than a skinny law-student, and must create a fictional in order to compensate for his love-less life. This is exemplified when the narrator states, “his hair-line extremely low, his nose was large and fleshy, and his torso was just about as long as his legs were”, implying that he was less than fortunate when it came to girls (85). However, once Mary Hudson is introduced, she changes the Chief by
How is humour created in the story? Discuss Beth’s obvious respect for mother despite her irreverent attitude.
Everyone is supposed to go to college. Very few people find it personally and occupationally fulfilling to flip burgers for a living, so many opt for higher education. You get to leave the nest, meet new people, and have new experiences. The fallout from these experiences is exactly what this paper is going to talk about. Not everyone’s background is the same and some people are just dealt a bad hand, emotionally and psychologically. For these people, seeing and hearing things that most people would look at as being unpleasant, and coming from the minds of dead people that lived thousands of years, can bring trauma and embarrassment when mixed with the right circumstances. At Colombia University in New York, situations like these are being addressed by a call for “Trigger Warnings.” Trigger warnings, according to Dictionary.com are “a stated warning that the content of a text, video, etc., may upset or offend some people, especially those who have previously experienced a related trauma.” These kinds of warning have proponents and opponents on both sides
The nature of comedy has always left it somewhat resistant to critical analysis, and to some extent the same can be said for comedic actors. The class-clowns of Hollywood like Will Ferrell are often times constructed as being nothing more than amusing, so they seem lik...
You can find wide varieties of these crude pieces on the internet, and it is not uncommon to hear them in the hallways of schools, or whispered among students and followed by unjustified giggles. Attempting to lighten the seriousness of things such as sexual assault or terrorism is not comedy, no matter what people may say. Comedy is about laughing with the people being mocked, not lessening the seriousness of their situations. When we try to make ‘jokes’, we must keep one thing in mind: comedy is about laughter and joy. A joke is only funny when it is not blinding us to the reality of cruel