Offensiveness in comedy
CONTROVERSIAL COMEDY. Ricky Gervais, a British comedian famously known for crossing the line at times, will often time bring up subjects in his routine that most comedians do not even dare to touch upon. Even after being called out for his actions and speech multiple times, he still persists to shed light on a form of comedy that has died through the passage of time. As Gervais famously stated on Twitter, “Offense is taken, not given. No need to disarm the world. Just make yourself bulletproof.”
Comedy through its many rigorous and transformative years of evolution has permanently established itself as a part of our and many other cultures. Not only has it been used as a way to entertain and arouse good feelings, but to subtly infect political and social awareness.
But when does it occur that a joke crosses the line or goes too far: when does it offend someone? Well according to some, there really is no line to cross in the first place.
Ricky Gervais is famously involved in this topic, voicing the opinion that nothing in comedy should be taken seriously. You should not walk into comedy expecting every topic and ounce of material to work in your favor or specific taste.
In an interview conducted by the Sydney Morning Herald, Gervais said “Offense, is never given, it is taken. If you’re not offended by something, then there was no offense, it’s as simple as that. If you are offended by something, walk away.”
On the other side of the argument, you could differ in that as a more open society, we should always maintain that mentality of openness and acceptance.
As a comedian, the subject you may think to be funny and non-aggressive can mean a lot more on the inside to someone else, such as with jokes on different types of people or certain individuals.
In an article written for the Columbian Spectator, writer Liberty Martin states that “This is the issue with telling jokes about other people’s identities: It’s hard to grasp the intricacies of a life you haven’t lived.”
In the end, there should be boundaries on where not to take jokes, but at the same time, you should not slander someone just because it crosses the line of offense for you personally because comedy is not just meant to appeal to you but to others as well who might find what you think to be vulgar, actually funny.
Nothing in comedy is meant to change your whole life perspective or advocate an evil regime, all it is are a bunch of opinions. And that is the beauty of opinions, none of them are actually correct.
Source:
https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/qa-with-ricky-gervais-20120106-1pnu4.html
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