Humour or Bad Taste?

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Seeing that Jimmy Carr has got himself in the news following complaints about his Netflix concert where he made reference to the Holocaust and Gypsies, I wondered what posters think about the parameters of humour.

Is anything fair game? Does every situation have a funny aspect? Or are there lines that can be crossed and become insulting? Are we a society now that has to be aware of other people's feelings before we make jokes or statements?

 

[Indy 3,314]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

Seeing that Jimmy Carr has got himself in the news following complaints about his Netflix concert where he made reference to the Holocaust and Gypsies, I wondered what posters think about the parameters of humour.

Is anything fair game? Does every situation have a funny aspect? Or are there lines that can be crossed and become insulting? Are we a society now that has to be aware of other people's feelings before we make jokes or statements?

 

We as a society have become offended by the slightest thing and even third party’s get offended by earwigging on other’s conversations.

I think as Ricky Gervais says humour is very subjective and if things offend you the question you need to ask yourself is why are you offended? It’s the small world we now live in on social media which is a global platform, so there’s a huge audience now and pretty much someone will take offence at any remark.

I’ve always been of the opinion that positive discrimination can be as corrosive as any discrimination! Very difficult to form a real view as yes definitely bad taste but lots of comedians have made a career on bad taste. He’s not my cup of tea and I don’t particularly find him funny, so won’t be watching it.

I do however like Gervais in his stand up and he’s very close to the mark in his humour and pretty sure his shows offend lots of people.

One thing I don’t like is when we’re now as a society trying to erase and change history because it suits us. A society which hides its history will in time repeat it!

Edited February 5, 2022 by Indy

[Icecream Snow 762]

5 hours ago, Indy said:

We as a society have become offended by the slightest thing and even third party’s get offended by earwigging on other’s conversations.

I think as Ricky Gervais says humour is very subjective and if things offend you the question you need to ask yourself is why are you offended? It’s the small world we now live in on social media which is a global platform, so there’s a huge audience now and pretty much someone will take offence at any remark.

Kind of, but having owned Jimmy Carr's first five or six DVDs and having seen him live, his whole schtick is trying to make a joke out of shocking materials or situations in a cheeky way. One of his opening jokes from one of his shows was "What do you get if you put a a baby in a blender?", and I'm not doing the punchline. I like  the guy, but he is deliberately trying to shock people, it's just that normally people don't take it personally.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Icecream Snow

[Mr Angry 1,570]

I would be really worried about a society in which we weren’t offended by jokes about the Holocaust. It hasn’t been a subject that you should joke about for 80 years, and it shouldn’t be a subject that you should joke about for the next 8,000,000 years.

[TheGunnShow 5,986]

My sense of humour is as black as the Ace of Spades, and I do take the p*** out of a lot of things. That said, I would say some of the best satire and comedy in particular has to go very close to the bone.

They say the best art makes you think. I take a relatively similar stance re. humour, but it often needs to shake people out of comfort zones.

Comedy = tragedy + time, as one comedian said.

 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

Nothing should be taboo. We laugh in the face of adversity. But if you want to go to the edge you need to be funny 

I cannot imagine that a "joke" exists about the holocaust that could possibly be funny 

Jimmy Carr certainly wasn't funny 

[The Real Buh 3,479]

The special came out like 2 months ago so it took a while to get outraged, yeah?

 

absolute b0llocks as usual

[Van wink 2,994]

11 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

Seeing that Jimmy Carr has got himself in the news following complaints about his Netflix concert where he made reference to the Holocaust and Gypsies, I wondered what posters think about the parameters of humour.

Is anything fair game? Does every situation have a funny aspect? Or are there lines that can be crossed and become insulting? Are we a society now that has to be aware of other people's feelings before we make jokes or statements?

 

He warns his audience that he is going to spout some pretty nasty racist, sexist etc stuff, if they chose to stay then that’s their choice. I wouldn’t, but it’s not for me to tell others what to do. If he steps outside of what is legally acceptable then that’s a different matter.

[dylanisabaddog 4,970]

If he made that joke to an audience of dog owners he would get a standing ovation

[Herman 9,819]

11 hours ago, The Real Buh said:

The special came out like 2 months ago so it took a while to get outraged, yeah?

 

absolute b0llocks as usual

It does have a smell to it. The joke is bloody awful, let's be honest, but dragging it up months later to cause outrage??

[Nuff Said 5,163]

I maybe be over-simplifying, but “don’t punch down” is a fairly good rule/yardstick. If you do, you’re either a bully, a sadist or at best, a bit thick. 

[Surfer 1,547]

Free speech means just that, and I think there is also a world of difference between a comedian crossing the line and thereby making you think and a bunch of thugs threatening physical harm.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

I have mulled over this question for forty odd years now. The eclipse of the old style Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman jokes with acerbic destruction of personality, looks and even race by many comedians today still does not overcome the right for people to be offended. But just like the age ratings of a movie, anyone who doesn't know that Boyle or Carr are not going to attack any and everything shouldn't be going to comedy shows. Just the same with Manning or Davidson.

Carr's joke was received with raucous laughter at the concert. Probably tinged with relief that he was picking on someone else. A bit like watching the brilliant club scenes in Cabaret.

Netflix certainly could have edited what they thought was contentious out of the programme. I assume as the provider they have some sort of control over editorial content.

Maybe a pertinent question is how offended are people? Does it hurt deeply or is it just a rude remark easily forgotten? There were never jokes about the Moors Murders. It was a crime that shook the whole nation. Now one or two have surfaced. Because it was sixty years ago. But because it was so long ago, is it necessary to tell these jokes as they hardly have any relevance. Is it only the families that would now be outraged? It won't be relevant in another 60 years certainly.

And I still cannot make up my mind. I suppose if it was a life and death decision, I would have to choose non censorship.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

As an instance, the joke going round is Son saying that cat was lucky, I would have eaten the little fcuker.

[ricardo 7,396]

2 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

As an instance, the joke going round is Son saying that cat was lucky, I would have eaten the little fcuker.

I'm reporting you for racial anti cat jokes.🐱

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

32 minutes ago, ricardo said:

I'm reporting you for racial anti cat jokes.🐱

Are you feline alright?

Or is that anti people who are feeling alright?

Edited February 10, 2022 by keelansgrandad

[ricardo 7,396]

26 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

Are you feline alright?

Or is that anti people who are feeling alright?

Everyone should enjoy stroking a  pu$$y🐈

Edited February 10, 2022 by ricardo

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

1 hour ago, ricardo said:

Everyone should enjoy stroking a  pu$$y🐈

Steady on Blofeld. Or is that Blofield?

Is the Globe still there?

[The Real Buh 3,479]

When will people question mass censorship?

[Mello Yello 2,302]

5 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

As an instance, the joke going round is Son saying that cat was lucky, I would have eaten the little fcuker.

KItten tikka masala?.....