When Does Dark Humor Stop Being Funny?(nautil.us)
nautil.us
When Does Dark Humor Stop Being Funny?
http://nautil.us/blog/when-does-dark-humor-stop-being-funny
55 comments
I can totally picture Anthony Jeselnik's first album Shakespeare causing a huge backlash these days. That album was released a few years ago, but the state of "offense sensitivity" is so heightened now that it would not have gotten him very far today. It's one of the greatest comedy albums of the last 15 years, but considering he's a white cis male, the amount of fire he would get today would be unbearable.
Let's see how some examples go down:
"People say it's easy to make fun of retarded people, but it's not. You really have to explain it to them."
"My great grandmother threw herself in front of a bus. The police tried to say she had committed suicide but the family knew she was just trying to stop civil rights."
"I’ve spent the past two years looking for my ex-girlfriend’s killer... but no one will do it."
http://scomedy.com/quotes/Anthony-Jeselnik
The last special he made, he bombed so hard I just stopped following him. It's just hard to find things funny when absolutely no one else is smirking...
Let's see how some examples go down:
"People say it's easy to make fun of retarded people, but it's not. You really have to explain it to them."
"My great grandmother threw herself in front of a bus. The police tried to say she had committed suicide but the family knew she was just trying to stop civil rights."
"I’ve spent the past two years looking for my ex-girlfriend’s killer... but no one will do it."
http://scomedy.com/quotes/Anthony-Jeselnik
The last special he made, he bombed so hard I just stopped following him. It's just hard to find things funny when absolutely no one else is smirking...
>The last special he made, he bombed so hard I just stopped following him. It's just hard to find things funny when absolutely no one else is smirking...
I thought it was his best yet, but you touched on a good point: If his (or anyone else's) comedy isn't your style anymore, that's fine -- you just stop following/listening to them. If you're at a club, you get up quietly and leave. Maybe ask a manager for your money back if you feel you deserve it.
I thought it was his best yet, but you touched on a good point: If his (or anyone else's) comedy isn't your style anymore, that's fine -- you just stop following/listening to them. If you're at a club, you get up quietly and leave. Maybe ask a manager for your money back if you feel you deserve it.
I'm not offended by it, and they are somewhat funny, but your examples just feel lazy to me. They're just very basic wordplay, and not particularly clever. I think there are a lot of comics who use offensive topics to spice up mediocre jokes, but adding an offensive element doesn't actually make the humor better. You might attract an audience because of the shock value, but I don't know that it's the sort of thing that's going to keep an audience long-term.
Nothing wrong with incorporating offensive subjects in comedy, but there needs to be more meat to it.
Nothing wrong with incorporating offensive subjects in comedy, but there needs to be more meat to it.
It's all about delivery. You can't read those jokes and get the same experience. I could read those lines on stage and no one would laugh at all. Anthony has great stage presence and his deadpan delivery really enhances his jokes.
With Jeselnik it's all about the delivery and the persona he has. You're right, though -- it's classic misdirection which can be a bit cliche.
> the state of "offense sensitivity" is so heightened now
Is it? This keeps being repeated, but I'm not seeing it in the general population. Sure, there are some loud people here and there, but overall it seems exaggerated to me. Of course, that's anecdotal, but still, I'm not buying it just yet.
Is it? This keeps being repeated, but I'm not seeing it in the general population. Sure, there are some loud people here and there, but overall it seems exaggerated to me. Of course, that's anecdotal, but still, I'm not buying it just yet.
In doing a quick search for research on the topic all I could find was an essay on why 2015 was the year of the SJW http://www.salon.com/2015/12/31/5_reasons_2015_was_the_year_...
I am aligned with the positions explored for the most part, but it seems like self-righteous offense inevitably emerges as a defense mechanism for these types of views.
I am aligned with the positions explored for the most part, but it seems like self-righteous offense inevitably emerges as a defense mechanism for these types of views.
Fake moral superiority for the purpose of subjugating others.
Some people value being 'right' more than they value being happy. Some have an agenda or hidden motivation to talk down to others.
As long as there's an advantage to be gained from it there will always be individuals who bully others. Old school bullying has been replaced with 'moral' grandstanding and public shaming.
We used to teach kids, "sticks and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me." At some point, that tradition was abandoned and some individuals shifted to assume the stance of 'perpetually offended' so they have a justifiable platform to attack others.
Some people value being 'right' more than they value being happy. Some have an agenda or hidden motivation to talk down to others.
As long as there's an advantage to be gained from it there will always be individuals who bully others. Old school bullying has been replaced with 'moral' grandstanding and public shaming.
We used to teach kids, "sticks and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me." At some point, that tradition was abandoned and some individuals shifted to assume the stance of 'perpetually offended' so they have a justifiable platform to attack others.
On the other hand, that kind of outrage is my most reliable source for finding great comedians that I didn't know about.
Also check out Stewart Lee.
Check out Kurt Metzger.
I hear this "people are being silenced" thing a lot, and it always makes me think.
If other people find those jokes offensive, and want to raise a stink about it, would you "silence" them?
Especially since this is all happening entirely in the marketplace of ideas--people aren't passing laws banning jokes, comics aren't being arrested or shot--if the general tide of public opinion has turned and a comic can't make a living telling jokes of a certain type of offensiveness, isn't that just the way a society evolves?
If other people find those jokes offensive, and want to raise a stink about it, would you "silence" them?
Especially since this is all happening entirely in the marketplace of ideas--people aren't passing laws banning jokes, comics aren't being arrested or shot--if the general tide of public opinion has turned and a comic can't make a living telling jokes of a certain type of offensiveness, isn't that just the way a society evolves?
I was speaking more to the comedy club setting, in which case yes, I would absolutely attempt to silence a heckler (and have). In no other public performance is it acceptable to cause a ruckus because you don't agree with what the performer is doing or saying.
I don't think that's true. Tchaikovsky's "Rite of Spring" caused riots when it was premiered. The audience was laughing derisively, getting into fights, throwing things... and this was at a ballet!
Galleries and museums are often the site of protests about their own content. I've been in the theater during a really terrible movie where the audience starts loudly heckling the movie itself as if the people who made it could hear them.
When you make the case for acceptable behavior on the part of the audience as an attack on someone else's idea of acceptable behavior on the part of the comic... that seems like shaky ground to me.
Galleries and museums are often the site of protests about their own content. I've been in the theater during a really terrible movie where the audience starts loudly heckling the movie itself as if the people who made it could hear them.
When you make the case for acceptable behavior on the part of the audience as an attack on someone else's idea of acceptable behavior on the part of the comic... that seems like shaky ground to me.
At least I will say that my feelings here are consistent -- those examples you provided are also unacceptable.
You know what? I'm totally off my rocker, not sure what I thought I was responding to. Sorry! Wish I could delete my original comment!
In the comedy club itself, I'd say yeah, definitely! The proprietor ought to be able to set any rules they want, definitely including "no heckling" or whatever. I didn't realize that in-the-moment heckling was going on for "offensive" comedians in any widespread way.
I always hear about it through social media, like someone on twitter calling out someone for making jokes they didn't like--and that's the speech I can't imagine silencing (even if some people can't get gigs anymore).
I always hear about it through social media, like someone on twitter calling out someone for making jokes they didn't like--and that's the speech I can't imagine silencing (even if some people can't get gigs anymore).
Market forces will prevail, absolutely, but in my opinion the biggest factor in criticizing comedy should be one question: is it funny? One problem is, or so I hear, that people aren't even listening long enough to make that determination. Some people will hear "trigger words" and then it doesn't matter if the joke is funny or not because they've already passed judgement.
Take for instance the account of comedian Kurt Metzger beginning one of his bits with "Are you guys for gay marriage? Well I'm not," (I believe it was this joke told in a club [0]) at which point a woman sitting in the front row grabbed a drink, not even her own, and threw it at him because he said he was "against gay marriage". In what world is that okay to do?
And of course my analysis of it being a growing trend is purely anecdotal from the shows and festivals I've been to and the podcasts I listen to.
[0] http://www.cc.com/video-clips/h6f2uv/stand-up-kurt-metzger--...
Take for instance the account of comedian Kurt Metzger beginning one of his bits with "Are you guys for gay marriage? Well I'm not," (I believe it was this joke told in a club [0]) at which point a woman sitting in the front row grabbed a drink, not even her own, and threw it at him because he said he was "against gay marriage". In what world is that okay to do?
And of course my analysis of it being a growing trend is purely anecdotal from the shows and festivals I've been to and the podcasts I listen to.
[0] http://www.cc.com/video-clips/h6f2uv/stand-up-kurt-metzger--...
There's a lot to unpack there. Who's doing the silencing? Can the comedian not get gigs because enough people are offended by them? What is meant by "silencing"? Is it just complaining or are they actively preventing that person from working?
Obviously, in a specific venue, only the proprieter has the right to remove the comedian (also, for those of you that go to standup shows: no one wants to hear what you have to say, be quiet). I fully support the comedian's right to say whatever they want to say and bear the full brunt of what that means for their career.
Obviously, in a specific venue, only the proprieter has the right to remove the comedian (also, for those of you that go to standup shows: no one wants to hear what you have to say, be quiet). I fully support the comedian's right to say whatever they want to say and bear the full brunt of what that means for their career.
Well, one bad joke against the pregnant wife of someone with high-connections caused a stop in the career of a Brazilian Comediant some years ago. But the same kind of joke, now made against a not-so-popular target, went flawlessly
I think all the comments asserting that somehow "dark humor" is no longer acceptable in this age of political correctness have it precisely wrong. I give Louis CK as example #1. Louis is arguably one of the darkest comedians that has ever existed. In fact, he's almost not even doing comedy anymore sometimes, he's pushing into really profoundly dark existential territory and then occasionally allowing the audience to come up for air. If you've followed along with his whole career, you've seen his jokes evolve to where he's "punching down" less and less, and now almost not at all. But his humor is no less dark for it, it's MORE dark for it. It drives the bus straight into the strange and absurd and uncomfortable parts of the human experience and parks it right there. I can't find the interview right now, but he talks a lot about how having to get rid of the easy "shock/offend" jokes has made him a much better comic.
If what you are looking for is jokes about mentally handicapped people and lesbians, you can always turn on the morning show of your choice in most major American cities. To me, that's not dark humor, it's dumb humor.
If what you are looking for is jokes about mentally handicapped people and lesbians, you can always turn on the morning show of your choice in most major American cities. To me, that's not dark humor, it's dumb humor.
> having to get rid of the easy "shock/offend" jokes has made him a much better comic.
I don't think he's gotten rid of it at all, unless this was very recent. I just saw his opening monologue from last year's episode of SNL, which exactly epitomized that style of joke.
> you've seen his jokes evolve to where he's "punching down" less and less, and now almost not at all. But his humor is no less dark for it, it's MORE dark for it.
Why is punching up (i.e., insulting high-status people rather than low-status people) more dark?
I don't think he's gotten rid of it at all, unless this was very recent. I just saw his opening monologue from last year's episode of SNL, which exactly epitomized that style of joke.
> you've seen his jokes evolve to where he's "punching down" less and less, and now almost not at all. But his humor is no less dark for it, it's MORE dark for it.
Why is punching up (i.e., insulting high-status people rather than low-status people) more dark?
I think we disagree on what that monologue was about. To me it wasn't about shock comedy at all, it was about pushing the boundaries of empathy and getting the whole audience at once to realize they are, on some level, empathizing with the human experience of being a pedophile and also playing with what is on or off limits on mainstream television. It was even mentioned in the article here. To me a super long form joke about how child molesters are people too that pushes everyone who watches it into deeply uncomfortable territory is a far different animal that cracking a joke about someone being fat and ugly, for example, or Jay Leno's jokes about Monica Lewinsky, etc.
Independent of whatever trojan-horse message you want to read into it, the humor clearly comes from saying something shocking and offensive: that children could be sexually attractive in some circumstance. This is obviously much more shocking and offensive than someone being fat and ugly or Jay Leno's jokes about Monica Lewinsky. There are lots of other places where we might "push the bounds of empathy", e.g., "What would it be like to be an ant? Should they be angry we step on them all the time?". But that wouldn't be shocking and offensive, and consequently it's not nearly as funny.
I encourage everyone to watch the bit and see where you think the humor comes from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crjrWF-RRlg
It's funny, but it's not deep or intellectual.
I encourage everyone to watch the bit and see where you think the humor comes from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crjrWF-RRlg
It's funny, but it's not deep or intellectual.
> Independent of whatever trojan-horse message you want to read into it
Well, someone wasn't an English major! Didn't know their was anything dastardly about trying to parse the context of any particular text.
Like I said, we disagree about what he is doing in that bit.
Well, someone wasn't an English major! Didn't know their was anything dastardly about trying to parse the context of any particular text.
Like I said, we disagree about what he is doing in that bit.
Yes, I understand we disagree. That's why I was explaining why your interpretation didn't seem to square with the things people do and don't find funny.
I absolutely agree, everyone who's only familiar with Louis CK's standup should watch his brilliant shows "Louie" and "Horace & Pete", especially the latter is totally ground-breaking in its approach to comedy, which no doubt was only possible because it was entirely self-financed and -distributed.
I wouldn't categorise H&P as a comedy. There are funny moments in it, but it is much more a drama or a character study than anything else.
Overall I really liked it (except for the ending). I was only vaguely aware of CK as a standup comedian from a few youtube videos I'd seen, so his depth of writing, character creation, and also his acting chops really impressed me.
Overall I really liked it (except for the ending). I was only vaguely aware of CK as a standup comedian from a few youtube videos I'd seen, so his depth of writing, character creation, and also his acting chops really impressed me.
"Louie" is just too damn pathetic. It's such a sad loser of a character that I couldn't bring myself to watch.
That kind of comedy works for a movie or maybe one season but for me it gets old.
That kind of comedy works for a movie or maybe one season but for me it gets old.
The author suggests that dark humor has an inoculative effect on tragedy. It can also be remedial. I was reminded of how Mel Brooks explained why he makes fun of Hitler.
Of course it is impossible to take revenge for 6 million murdered Jews. But by
using the medium of comedy, we can try to rob Hitler of his posthumous power
and myths.
That is actually a very interesting topic. Why and when is perverted humor appropriate.
Slavoj Zizek like to talk about dirty jokes as a sort of a way to forge an in-group, or a way to let the guards down.
He mentions it here for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri0qiAita4s
Jokes are a way to probe and see if the other party is sincere. One example he brings up is how there used to be racial jokes between ex-Yugoslavian countries. They would meet and tell jokes about themselves basically. However as soon as tensions started jokes stopped. So another way to think about, dirty jokes are a bit like a canary in a mine. If jokes are allowed, other party is laughs at jokes, everything is still ok, it means they don't harbor hidden hatred or resentment. As soon as jokes stop, beware. You could be back-stabbed.
Not advocating telling dirty jokes everywhere obviously, just present that particular take on that.
Slavoj Zizek like to talk about dirty jokes as a sort of a way to forge an in-group, or a way to let the guards down.
He mentions it here for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri0qiAita4s
Jokes are a way to probe and see if the other party is sincere. One example he brings up is how there used to be racial jokes between ex-Yugoslavian countries. They would meet and tell jokes about themselves basically. However as soon as tensions started jokes stopped. So another way to think about, dirty jokes are a bit like a canary in a mine. If jokes are allowed, other party is laughs at jokes, everything is still ok, it means they don't harbor hidden hatred or resentment. As soon as jokes stop, beware. You could be back-stabbed.
Not advocating telling dirty jokes everywhere obviously, just present that particular take on that.
This is a nice video, I wasn't aware of Zizek's opinion on the topic. It could also be that jokes coming from hostile parties sound more like threats.
> It could also be that jokes coming from hostile parties sound more like threats.
Exactly. He talks about the second type of jokes in the story about the doctor in the army. How humor and jokes was used for oppression.
Exactly. He talks about the second type of jokes in the story about the doctor in the army. How humor and jokes was used for oppression.
Dark humor is like a child with terminal cancer. It never gets old.
This reminds me of this blog post regarding “how to make a rape joke” — http://jezebel.com/5925186/how-to-make-a-rape-joke
tldr: “do not make a rape victim the butt of the joke, QED”
I think that applies quite well to this topic; dark humor ceases to be funny when it becomes an actual attack against another person.
tldr: “do not make a rape victim the butt of the joke, QED”
I think that applies quite well to this topic; dark humor ceases to be funny when it becomes an actual attack against another person.
This is creating an arbitrary line where the writer is saying (gestures here) "THIS is okay', but (gestures there) "THIS is not okay". But since comedy is all about surprise, misdirection, and transgression, all that the writer is saying is some kinds of transgression are allowed and some are "too serious" to be allowed.
But what if someone told a joke that made fun of rape victims that also caught people by surprise and made people laugh? Trying to create some arbitrary lines about what kind of comedy is permissible and what kind is forbidden just makes the forbidden stuff into more of a sacred cow. And humor is all about slaughtering sacred cows.
But what if someone told a joke that made fun of rape victims that also caught people by surprise and made people laugh? Trying to create some arbitrary lines about what kind of comedy is permissible and what kind is forbidden just makes the forbidden stuff into more of a sacred cow. And humor is all about slaughtering sacred cows.
Comedians dance a fine line. The best can waltz back and fourth across the line with practiced precision.
Rape is about power. Power conceded by the victims and forcefully taken by the attackers.
A rape joke could make fun of how, useless, sad, an worthless a person would have to be to force themself on others.
How the act itself is nothing but a pathetic act of desperation.
Use perspective, artful storytelling, crafty dialog/writing to take the power from the attackers. Face the fear behind their actions and reduce it to reality; that rape is a sad, terrible, pathetic thing to do to somebody.
Take away the power from fear and gove it back to the victims in the form of empathy and support.
The 'sacred cows' as you say aren't just topics with shock value. They're topics that people are afraid of. Whether because they're taboo, morrally wrong, or legitimately terrifying.
Some may say that the victims suffer more due to living dealing with the shame and lying to loved ones to keep their past a secret.
In the right hands a truly talented comedian could make a great rape joke that is actually empowering to rape victims. One that makes the topic less taboo and helps victims feel less shame in a past that they had no power to shape.
Tasteless humor is noyhing but an ad-hominem dressed up with a fancy delivery. Good comedians don't attack people, they shine light on the ridiculousness of life and in doing so bring people together.
Rape is about power. Power conceded by the victims and forcefully taken by the attackers.
A rape joke could make fun of how, useless, sad, an worthless a person would have to be to force themself on others.
How the act itself is nothing but a pathetic act of desperation.
Use perspective, artful storytelling, crafty dialog/writing to take the power from the attackers. Face the fear behind their actions and reduce it to reality; that rape is a sad, terrible, pathetic thing to do to somebody.
Take away the power from fear and gove it back to the victims in the form of empathy and support.
The 'sacred cows' as you say aren't just topics with shock value. They're topics that people are afraid of. Whether because they're taboo, morrally wrong, or legitimately terrifying.
Some may say that the victims suffer more due to living dealing with the shame and lying to loved ones to keep their past a secret.
In the right hands a truly talented comedian could make a great rape joke that is actually empowering to rape victims. One that makes the topic less taboo and helps victims feel less shame in a past that they had no power to shape.
Tasteless humor is noyhing but an ad-hominem dressed up with a fancy delivery. Good comedians don't attack people, they shine light on the ridiculousness of life and in doing so bring people together.
>... dark humor ceases to be funny when it becomes an actual attack against another person.
If that were true, South Park would not be successful.
If that were true, South Park would not be successful.
Actors are free game because they're public personas aren't 'real' people to begin with.
Reduced to childhood terms, they're the kids on a playground playing doctor. Yet, as adults we treat people who play doctor with equal or higher regard than those who actually are doctors.
It's pretty idiotic but we all tend to attribute image as a viable replacement for substance.
South Park just points out the ridiculousness of it all by poking fun at those who take their image too seriously or make a mockery out of their status as a public figure.
Reduced to childhood terms, they're the kids on a playground playing doctor. Yet, as adults we treat people who play doctor with equal or higher regard than those who actually are doctors.
It's pretty idiotic but we all tend to attribute image as a viable replacement for substance.
South Park just points out the ridiculousness of it all by poking fun at those who take their image too seriously or make a mockery out of their status as a public figure.
Laughing at our stupid selves is one of the best coping mechanisms for the absurdity of being marginally intelligent apes living short irrelevant lives in an uncaring universe.
Never, people have different taste in humor.
You can laugh at everything but not with everyone. (Pierre Desproges)
Before you make an offensive joke, check who's around you.
Before you make an offensive joke, check who's around you.
Just because you personally find something offensive doesn't mean it isn't funny. Humor is subjective. It might just mean you have a shit sense of humor.
tldr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crjrWF-RRlg (from the article)
hmm -- surprising that the article doesn't talk about the role of surprise / novelty in humor. If there's a semantic metric for humor, it's that -- a surprising link between topics your brain normally separates.
in-group out-group also matters. second cousins shouldn't be cracking jokes at a funeral but immediate relatives are often under so much stress that they can laugh at almost anything.
in-group out-group also matters. second cousins shouldn't be cracking jokes at a funeral but immediate relatives are often under so much stress that they can laugh at almost anything.
It never stops being funny, but you might not want to be the last one in the crowd to cease laughing at it openly.
It never stops being funny. Many famous comedians suffer from depression and/or mental health issues because that is one of the primary sources of their inspiration. Laughter, and specifically dark humor is an inoculation to misery. A perfectly healthy response to an unhealthy mental stare. When it feels like the world is crashing down, it's best to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all and move fowrard then be paralyzed by fear.
Laughter is also a common social signal, it signals safety and increases happiness for all who join in. Dark jokes specifically, increase our threshold to face terrible things and help distract from the anxiety of -- otherwise -- trivial matters in out day-to-day lives. It increases empathy and connectedness among people, even strangers who have little or nothing in common.
Just look how Austin Powers uses puns to lighten the situation. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3wafhDIMU6w. It's cheesy and over-the-top to match the character but the effect is the same. We joke about the things that make us uncomfortable because it makes us feel better.
The only people up-in-arms about dark humor are individuals seeking to use their own false sense of moral superiority to subjugate others.
In a way, I'd be more scared of somebody who can't find it in themselves to laugh at all. To laugh at an awful joke requires self awareness and a clear understanding of the separation of truth from reality. People who lack those characteristics lie to themselves as much as others and live to project an 'ideal' image of themselves rather than face the humility of accepting their own weaknesses. Whet her the reason is big or small, they project a facade because they have something to hide. Is the person secretly a 'political activist' with an agenda or a murderous psychopath a hair-trigger response away from going off the deep end?
Of the dark comedians, Doug Stanhope is one of the darkest. Just watch the following skit https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hY3W9Z4bdS8. It's a clear middle finger to the 'Breast Cancer Awareness' movement for distracting from one of the few things in life that he truly enjoys. Not only is it extremely shocking but it artfully shines light on the ridiculous hypocracy of a movement that is more marketing than substance.
As shocking as his comedy usually is it's surprisingly endearing and disarming. Look past thr 'bitter old guy' image and it's hard not to see an intelligent young idealist who gave up one day and said, "fuck it, I'm going to ride out this existence until the wheels fall off."
BTW, the dead baby joke the author didn't have the courage to share was, "how do you get a dead baby out of a blender... with a spoon."
In short, don't feel bad about laughing at terrible jokes but be on guard when it comes to those who can't find it in themselves to join you.
Laughter is also a common social signal, it signals safety and increases happiness for all who join in. Dark jokes specifically, increase our threshold to face terrible things and help distract from the anxiety of -- otherwise -- trivial matters in out day-to-day lives. It increases empathy and connectedness among people, even strangers who have little or nothing in common.
Just look how Austin Powers uses puns to lighten the situation. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3wafhDIMU6w. It's cheesy and over-the-top to match the character but the effect is the same. We joke about the things that make us uncomfortable because it makes us feel better.
The only people up-in-arms about dark humor are individuals seeking to use their own false sense of moral superiority to subjugate others.
In a way, I'd be more scared of somebody who can't find it in themselves to laugh at all. To laugh at an awful joke requires self awareness and a clear understanding of the separation of truth from reality. People who lack those characteristics lie to themselves as much as others and live to project an 'ideal' image of themselves rather than face the humility of accepting their own weaknesses. Whet her the reason is big or small, they project a facade because they have something to hide. Is the person secretly a 'political activist' with an agenda or a murderous psychopath a hair-trigger response away from going off the deep end?
Of the dark comedians, Doug Stanhope is one of the darkest. Just watch the following skit https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hY3W9Z4bdS8. It's a clear middle finger to the 'Breast Cancer Awareness' movement for distracting from one of the few things in life that he truly enjoys. Not only is it extremely shocking but it artfully shines light on the ridiculous hypocracy of a movement that is more marketing than substance.
As shocking as his comedy usually is it's surprisingly endearing and disarming. Look past thr 'bitter old guy' image and it's hard not to see an intelligent young idealist who gave up one day and said, "fuck it, I'm going to ride out this existence until the wheels fall off."
BTW, the dead baby joke the author didn't have the courage to share was, "how do you get a dead baby out of a blender... with a spoon."
In short, don't feel bad about laughing at terrible jokes but be on guard when it comes to those who can't find it in themselves to join you.
[deleted]
Torture scenes.
When Aaron hangs himself.
There is a new right to never be offended, with the concomitant privilege of defining what is offensive.
It's an interesting phenomenon you don't see in other artistic performances. Comedy is the one realm where an audience will show up, uninformed by reviews or any research into who they're seeing perform (as opposed to say, watching a movie trailer, for example), and be so offended (and entitled) that they feel they must take public action against the performer directly.
A comedian's jokes may very well be unfunny to a group of people, but does that inherently give anyone the right to try to silence it from being said? And should a joke someone finds offensive cost a comedian opportunities in their career?
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11533219