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Are there any jokes that should be banned?


Are There any Subjects that Should be Off Limits to a Comedian?  

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Being a comedian right now is a double edged sword.

The availability of free platforms for you to use to push your work out globally, provides comedians with unprecedented options.

However, it seems that being too offensive could have you barred from comedy shows, as pressure can be applied by activists to have your act shut down.

Should there be a line? Should it be firm in the sand?

Are there any jokes or subjects that should be banned from comedy?

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No. Banning is a government action, and while free speech isn't unlimited it's hard to think of a scenario in which a comedian telling a joke crosses any of the legal lines.

But absolutely people, including comedians, who exercise their speech in socially unacceptable ways can and should bear the consequences of those actions. Venues and platforms will disassociate. Protests may be mounted. Etc. This is how societies have always policed themselves and is distinct from "banning."

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The biggest problem with jokes that are too offensive is that they're often not funny.

Richard Pryor used to put in visciously racist material - against all racists - but he was a genius and could make you laugh quickly even if he shocked you.  Dave Chapelle had that skill too, as did Louie.

Sadly, all of them seemed to succumb to the urge to become an elder Socrates... telling young people that their values are shallow etc. etc.

Make me laugh, clown.  If you make me think, that's ok, but your job overall is to make me laugh.

My two cents.

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49 minutes ago, Hodad said:

in socially unacceptable

Who gets to determine acceptability? 

Chapelle made trans jokes. These in the industry are deemed unacceptable, yet his shows sell out.

So activists find his jokes unacceptable, but society still finds him funny. 

Where should a line be drawn?

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6 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Who gets to determine acceptability? 

Chapelle made trans jokes. These in the industry are deemed unacceptable, yet his shows sell out.

So activists find his jokes unacceptable, but society still finds him funny. 

Where should a line be drawn?

There's not a line. It's a marketplace of ideas. Chapelle can say whatever he wants and what happens to his marketability is whatever happens to his marketability.

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22 minutes ago, bcsapper said:

Nobody has a right not to be offended.  If you don't want to hear a joke, don't listen to the joke.

People also have a right to boycott or tell Networks to deplatform views.

And since it's a business, at the heart, comedy will be subject to the whims of the majority.  There's no right to be offensive AND get paid for it.

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Just now, Michael Hardner said:

People also have a right to boycott or tell Networks to deplatform views.

And since it's a business, at the heart, comedy will be subject to the whims of the majority.  There's no right to be offensive AND get paid for it.

Absolutely.  That's their freedom of expression, the same as that of the comedian. 

 

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3 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

People also have a right to boycott or tell Networks to deplatform views.

Thats part of the problem. Before, if you didn't like a joke, you didn't go see that comedian.

Now if you don't like a joke, you can choose to ruin it for all those in attendance, and demand the show stops, because you were offended by it.

Sure, that is your right to do so am sure, but at what point do we tell ourselves what is the bottom of the barrel we can't joke about it?

The goal posts keep getting moved.

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1 hour ago, Perspektiv said:

1. Thats part of the problem. Before, if you didn't like a joke, you didn't go see that comedian.

2. Now if you don't like a joke, you can choose to ruin it for all those in attendance, and demand the show stops, because you were offended by it.

3. Sure, that is your right to do so am sure, but at what point do we tell ourselves what is the bottom of the barrel we can't joke about it?

4. The goal posts keep getting moved.

1. Before when ?  Before when Lenny Bruce was arrested for indecency for swearing on stage ?  Before when the NAACP successfully boycotted Amos and Andy ?  
2. I don't think that happens very often if at all.  People walk out, though.  That has always happened.
3. That's the ongoing discussion we're talking about here.
4. Well the world doesn't stop changing.  You can't expect the social aspects of life to stay the same.  

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1 minute ago, Michael Hardner said:

1. Before when ?  Before when Lenny Bruce was arrested for indecency for swearing on stage ?  Before when the NAACP successfully boycotted Amos and Andy ?  
2. I don't think that happens very often if at all.  People walk out, though.  That has always happened.
3. That's the ongoing discussion we're talking about here.
4. Well the world doesn't stop changing.  You can't expect the social aspects of life to stay the same.  

I walked out on Peter Gabriel once.  I just thought he was boring.

I regret it now. 

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20 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

Cancel culture.

 I yelled at him to get on with it, and he looked at me.  I think he was hurt.

I still feel bad about it, and it was in 1977. 

I wonder if he remembers.

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32 minutes ago, bcsapper said:

 I yelled at him to get on with it, and he looked at me.  I think he was hurt.

I still feel bad about it, and it was in 1977. 

I wonder if he remembers.

I think I would feel bad about it until my last breath. ? ? 

I am sure he has seen worst and like most of the artists, he learned how to spend energy and love to the people that love what is doing and avoid those who do not like. They learn how to build a shell and heal from that but, he probably got hurt for a moment.

Before he became my favorite singer of all time, I thought he was just another boring singer trying to get attention with his weird videos. (I grew up in the Much Music channel era) Then I saw this average movie Say Anything and got impressed by the music played when Cusak made love to his girlfriend and when he brought his radio standing above his head. I thought it was a good song and I wanted to know more about the artist. I listened more carefully to his works and also when he was with Genesis and bang, I became fan for life.

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1 hour ago, Benz said:

I think I would feel bad about it until my last breath. ? ? 

I am sure he has seen worst and like most of the artists, he learned how to spend energy and love to the people that love what is doing and avoid those who do not like. They learn how to build a shell and heal from that but, he probably got hurt for a moment.

Before he became my favorite singer of all time, I thought he was just another boring singer trying to get attention with his weird videos. (I grew up in the Much Music channel era) Then I saw this average movie Say Anything and got impressed by the music played when Cusak made love to his girlfriend and when he brought his radio standing above his head. I thought it was a good song and I wanted to know more about the artist. I listened more carefully to his works and also when he was with Genesis and bang, I became fan for life.

Yeah, I liked Genesis when he was lead singer.

 

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15 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Its happening with jokes people don't like. Its not even about being offensive anymore. If one is too sensitive, don't go to a comedy show.

I follow the comedy scene.  You're describing a specific action, which I have never heard as happening.

14 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Change isn't always for the better. Ask Hong Kong.

How do you propose to evaluate the "good" if moral change such as happens in an open society?

Majority rules.  Minority rights guaranteed through law.  This is proven to work.

12 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

If more people did this, there would be a lot more comedians pushing boundaries vs making safe jokes.

You don't know what audiences like as much as the comedians themselves.

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23 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

I follow the comedy scene.  You're describing a specific action, which I have never heard as happening.

Heckling is the norm. Nowadays, people escalate this to bring a show to a screeching halt. While uncommon, it has happened, and even made headlines a few times.

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10 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Heckling is the norm. Nowadays, people escalate this to bring a show to a screeching halt. While uncommon, it has happened, and even made headlines a few times.

Ok, with the details you have provided I believe you now.

If it's uncommon, can we say that this is a new phenomenon or an artifact of our current situation even?

I suspect angry audience members react all the time based on whatever offends them.  But ok.

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