Comedy is aggressive. But that doesn’t mean every stand-up routine or video should turn into a slasher movie.
But laughs generally depend upon some kind rule-breaking is. Sometimes the joke is that we’re violating rules; certainly, we’re outside of some expected norms, or it wouldn’t be funny.
But the fact that you’re breaking a rule or an expectation of some sort doesn’t automatically make something funny, on the face of it.
I mean, come on: anyone’s husband can do angry humor, if he weren’t way the hell above that shit.
And anyone can do blue humor, or tell “just for the hell of it” jokes. I mean, when my grandmother was alive I used to tell her jokes about avoiding the California Highway Patrol because I knew she had a lead foot just like I did—but I don’t tell those jokes to everyone’s grandma. I don’t even tell ’em to my mother. (Hi, Mom. No, the Cruiser doesn’t even go up to 80 mph, as far as I know, much less . . . hey: look over there! It’s a Democrat. Maybe you should vote for it!)
Part of humor is knowing your audience, and to presume that everyone in the room is down with woman-hating is not the way to make friends, influence people, or become the majority party again.
Unless Obama tries to pass this health-care plan, that is. In that case, all bets are off, and I’ll die laughing.
Sorry, Stephen: you’ve got great sideburns, and you can act the whatchamacallit off any metaphor that might elude me this time of night after a day at the office. But I’m not going to give you any charity laughs, and neither am I handing ’em out to Dave Letterman or Wanda Sykes. I sort of smiled at the Barack Obama line about the Special Olympics, because the guy can throw out a bit of well-placed self-deprecation, but to say such a thing on national television was, I thought . . . kind of lame.
I’m interested, however, in seeing the tape of Reagan making jokes about how single mothers are sluts. Send it along; I’ve got all evening.
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“…kind of lame.” Ha! I get it!
I am so glad you posted this!
I just dared Crowder to make a video and post it on YouTube of him doing all the Letterman material from June 8 and 9 about Gov. Palin and her daughters, only substituting the names of Michelle Obama and Malia and Sasha.
I gave him some other good advice, too.
It’s too bad I don’t care for popcorn. I hear it’s de rigeur at times like this.
Seems to me that imitating Letterman hurts the case, doesn’t it? Doesn’t that play into the Left’s defense? We are better. Cynthia Yockey is better.