Political correctness - actually helping comedy?

[ehtheist]

Was just visiting my favourite feminist site, Everyday Feminism, and saw a very interesting article on political correctness and comedy. While some major comedians (Jerry Seinfeld and that other guy who isn't as funny) have come out to say that political correctness hurts comedy, could these dinosaurs of comedy actually be behind the curve on this one? Consider Everyday Feminism's points. (all points are just excerpts - link to full article below)

"It Instigates Creativity

PC culture isn’t suffocating comedy – it’s just testing it. Just like comedians test their material by going up on stage and seeing what works.
...
West has a good point: Jokes whose punch line exists at the expense of someone’s identity or traumatic experience can be uncomfortable and unsolicited to someone who had otherwise come out to a show just to laugh.

1. The Audience Matters
...
Comedians develop their careers by constantly working with new material, testing it out on stage, and then measuring the audience’s reaction as a direct indication of what needs to be worked on.

A comedian that doesn’t care about their audience is foolish, because the audience is ultimately what’s driving their career. It’s like being an accountant and not caring about numbers, hoping that all the formulas will somehow fall into place as long as you put in the hours.

...

Because comedy isn’t being attacked, obviously. Good comedy will always rise to the top."


http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/02/pc-culture-not-ruining-comedy/

So, what do you all think? Is PC culture not actually attacking comedy by coming in and demanding certain types of jokes be censored? Is the process of effectively banning certain kinds of jokes the process by which "good comedy will always rise to the top"? Are jokes that hurt some peoples feelings jokes that probably shouldn't be told because some people just want to come out for a laugh?

Thanks for weighing in

 

[JAEGERX]

PC is the cancer of the west

 

[ehtheist]

PC is the cancer of the west

Maybe... But is it actually helping comedy, like the article argues? Do you have any reason to suggest their many points are incorrect?

 

[JAEGERX]

Maybe... But is it actually helping comedy, like the article argues? Do you have any reason to suggest their many points are incorrect?

I dont find stand up comedy funny, its retarded, the only thing it does is making fun of other people, on how different they are, its childish shit, and to refute a point, are you serious with saying comedy is creative? its not, never has been it just repeats because the audience, we all that watch the same plot on series on TV are already bred on repeating our viewing experience gives us, so they give us what we want, they repeat, everything is a copy

 

[Islam Imamate]

I don't feel like giving everydayfeminism a click so I'm responding based off your OP.

No I don't think it has a point because its conflating those who advocate for a PC culture with the audience in its entirety. Its essentially assuming there is no audience who would not react well to the humor that is not PC and that's false.

Seinfield and Rock have solved the audience problem; they don't go to college campuses where the audience is much more likely to be PC with the implication that elsewhere they have more freedom to employ the jokes they'd like to. So its not that they don't care about the audience, they've thought of the audience and acted accordingly.

 

[Eyepokesftw]

Considering there are only like 3 good comics left that are still alive...

I'm pretty sure PC is going to be the new craze for stupid young people for the first good looking guy that enters the scene.

Dane Cook 2.0

 

[sub_thug]

This seems to assume an audience that prefers a PC approach. Based on someone like Trump's popularity, I would argue that there is a large segment of America that is opposed to said PC approach. I would argue that there is probably an even larger section that prefers some off-color humor. The appeal of a Katt Williams or others would suggest this to me. I would also argue that this article takes the "PC bully" approach, claiming to speak for the masses without actually doing so, all while suppressing those who want to speak out against them.

If you want to find out if these points are correct, then you need to see which comedians are making money. Is it the sensitive ones, or is it guys like Jim Jeffries (a man who is willing to offend anyone)? The market will do the talking here.

 

[ehtheist]

This seems to assume an audience that prefers a PC approach. Based on someone like Trump's popularity, I would argue that there is a large segment of America that is opposed to said PC approach. I would argue that there is probably an even larger section that prefers some off-color humor. The appeal of a Katt Williams or others would suggest this to me. I would also argue that this article takes the "PC bully" approach, claiming to speak for the masses without actually doing so, all while suppressing those who want to speak out against them.

If you want to find out if these points are correct, then you need to see which comedians are making money. Is it the sensitive ones, or is it guys like Jim Jeffries (a man who is willing to offend anyone)? The market will do the talking here.

What if the market is discriminatory, playing into major trends of privilege? Would it be taboo to enquire as what gender you identify as and your ethnicity?

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Is the process of effectively banning certain kinds of jokes the process by which "good comedy will always rise to the top"?

Absolutely not. That argument defies logic. If "good comedy will rise to the top" you wouldn't need to censor anything. Censoring certain jokes doesn't allow the comedy to succeed or fail on its own merits of what is or isn't funny.

You can have good comedy that just happens to be offensive, but it wouldn't be allowed to rise to the top if the joke is banned.

 

[punky brewster]

PC is killing comedy.

The SJWs that get offended over the slightest mislabeling of how someone identifies don't care about some higher morality or concern for others feelings. They will laugh at a joke about republicans dying in a plane crash faster than you can say "check your privilege".

So, three non-descript humans walk into a bar...... yeah, fucking hilarious. What makes great comedy is a great audience with good sense of humor and self awareness.

 

[theskza]

PC is killing comedy, except for the ones that don't care about it.

Compare the "PC" comics to the ones that don't give a shit. It's no competition.

 

[dc007]

Didn't read but yeah it's easier to make jokes when everyone is so uptight and easily offended. Comedy often comes from saying things that make people uncomfortable. Fuck PC people by the way. Bunch of pussies.

 

[AgentSmecker]

I don't know about all that but the topic of pc-ness certainly gave me one of the funniest stand up routines I've ever pml at.

 

[sub_thug]

What if the market is discriminatory, playing into major trends of privilege? Would it be taboo to enquire as what gender you identify as and your ethnicity?

Then what you're talking about would be a theoretical problem that applies to society as a whole, not an issue of whether or not being PC improves comedy. And I don't mind saying that I'm a white male. Mostly Eastern European descent.

 

[Fatchops]

Could be onto something. These millennials provide good material to make fun of.

 

[EndlessCritic]

Everydayfeminism.com is the definition of extreme feminism.

Their articles are indistinguishable from satire.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

You should say what you want when you want. This PC shit is getting out of control

 

[RollSonnenRoll]

It helps comedians who don't give a fuck. Bill Burr is 10x funnier today than he was throughout his career because those brutal honesty routines he's always done were just the norm in the early 2000s but now he sounds refreshing.

 

[Serana]

There's nothing wrong with choosing your words wisely, and not trying to offend people. Obviously, there are people out there who will be offended by anything. I just believe that as a general rule of thumb, we should watch what we say around people. As far as comedy is concerned, it's like walking a tightrope. This is a good video about it.

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

It helps because it gives them more material.

Don't let them kid themselves. Comedy is largely about observing the annoying/stupid, and the PC police are leaving everyone in the dust on those fronts.