I'm not sure if this question has been covered before but I'm gonna ask it anyway.
When you look at the really great comedians, Bruce, Pryor, Hicks, etc. it is clear that they were saying things that offended just as many people as they amused.
Now, we live in a society and perform to an audience that generally has become highly desensitised. Very few people stand for anything anymore and this contributes to the fact that generally there are virtually no taboo's anymore.
Would you guys agree with this?
If not, what would you consider to be still untouchable areas of discussion?
GB
What's Taboo
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What's Taboo
You get born, you keep your head down and you die - if you're lucky.
Re: What's Taboo
garfy1974,
Since it's being conveyed as a discussion or even a heated debate, such as with as touchy a topic as the sexual abuse of a child, through comedy or for further exploration in word and thought I don't believe anything is, or should be, too taboo.
Comedy is for the sharing of the dark side of life more than the lighter side of it in order for us to be able to laugh through some of this terrible shit going on around us so it's at least a little, if barely, bearable, which in turn opens up lines of communication and possible discussion between people and then, hopefully, helps us all deal with and fight things such as abuse, neglect and murder, to name just a few.
Inkblot
Since it's being conveyed as a discussion or even a heated debate, such as with as touchy a topic as the sexual abuse of a child, through comedy or for further exploration in word and thought I don't believe anything is, or should be, too taboo.
Comedy is for the sharing of the dark side of life more than the lighter side of it in order for us to be able to laugh through some of this terrible shit going on around us so it's at least a little, if barely, bearable, which in turn opens up lines of communication and possible discussion between people and then, hopefully, helps us all deal with and fight things such as abuse, neglect and murder, to name just a few.
Inkblot
Re: What's Taboo
Inkblot,
Is there some 'Comedy Dictionary' that you're quoting from there that I'm not aware of .
That was a good answer - I'll subscribe to that.
Is there some 'Comedy Dictionary' that you're quoting from there that I'm not aware of .
That was a good answer - I'll subscribe to that.
You get born, you keep your head down and you die - if you're lucky.
-
NickFlanagan
- Posts: 1
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Re: What's Taboo
I don't really think anything should be taboo, but I do believe that there are a lot of subjects that you can't expect people to necessarily accept as comedy; that's not to say you can't keep joking about anything, but there's no reason to expect everybody to laugh with you. I've mentioned before that I'll say pretty much anything, but I'm still trying to figure out if I even have a right to speak on things I haven't been through.
I justify it to myself though, because whether or not I personally go through the horrors of life, they still exist, and thus must be made light of and laughed at, in order to make it easier for all of us to accept the world in all its terrible greatness. Basically, I say 'say what you want--but be prepared for a reaction that may not be positive'.
I justify it to myself though, because whether or not I personally go through the horrors of life, they still exist, and thus must be made light of and laughed at, in order to make it easier for all of us to accept the world in all its terrible greatness. Basically, I say 'say what you want--but be prepared for a reaction that may not be positive'.
Re: What's Taboo
garfy1974,
hello...well the thing is...i don't think that the audience has become desensitized...too much ...there are still things out there that people will take offense at. Bruce was more for saying things that offended some people..an was arrested for that...his arrests were about as famous as what he said. Pryor went more into storytelling...an comedy an stories about his life or life he knew. where as Bruce was a forerunner...Pryor took that an ran..with it..but added his own...when i seen that Pryor had by his name.....what u do...an he sed..f*cking legend...that cracked me up...but then u think about it..an it is true..i respect the man...for what he has done...an he is a legend...an there are very few..real ones out there...what this had to do with ur question?...i don't know..but see u later mang......
hello...well the thing is...i don't think that the audience has become desensitized...too much ...there are still things out there that people will take offense at. Bruce was more for saying things that offended some people..an was arrested for that...his arrests were about as famous as what he said. Pryor went more into storytelling...an comedy an stories about his life or life he knew. where as Bruce was a forerunner...Pryor took that an ran..with it..but added his own...when i seen that Pryor had by his name.....what u do...an he sed..f*cking legend...that cracked me up...but then u think about it..an it is true..i respect the man...for what he has done...an he is a legend...an there are very few..real ones out there...what this had to do with ur question?...i don't know..but see u later mang......
Re: What's Taboo
garfy1974,
I have been running an open mike room since August 2003 and I see a lot of open mikers come and go and the ones I hate to hear call me back to book in to do 5 minutes are the ones who touch on taboo subjects. It would be ok if they were funny but most of the time they are not. They just want to shock and to me shock is not humor. Any guy in the local watering hole can shock but it takes a truly great comedian to change a taboo subject into comedy. And not too many people can do it including myself. I believe that you should always put yourself in the audidence when you are creating comedy around these touchy subjects. Would you laugh at the joke? Would you skwirm in your seat at the mention of it? Would you wish you weren't in the room while the comic rants and raves about child molestation or incest? I know I would. When I go out to a comedy show I want to leave feeling better than I did when I came in not worse. I feel you should write comedy based on what you are passionate about first, exhaust all those avenues and then go down the dark path of comedy if you like. I think there is a myth out there that all comics are tortured and twisted souls who have been through some heavy shit and their comedy is what helps them through it. I don't believe it. Yes some comics have been through hell and back and they come out amazing on stage because of it but other comics have fairly normal lives and just want to talk about every day stuff. Look at Jerry Seinfeld the man made a career about talking about nothing he is the first to say he had a normal life. If you don't have issues don't search for them. Just be honest to yourself and put your audience first because they are the ones who drove to see you, reached into their pockets to listen to you and if you don't do right by them they won't come back or worse yet tell other people not to come and see you.
I hope this helps.
xoxo
Daria
I have been running an open mike room since August 2003 and I see a lot of open mikers come and go and the ones I hate to hear call me back to book in to do 5 minutes are the ones who touch on taboo subjects. It would be ok if they were funny but most of the time they are not. They just want to shock and to me shock is not humor. Any guy in the local watering hole can shock but it takes a truly great comedian to change a taboo subject into comedy. And not too many people can do it including myself. I believe that you should always put yourself in the audidence when you are creating comedy around these touchy subjects. Would you laugh at the joke? Would you skwirm in your seat at the mention of it? Would you wish you weren't in the room while the comic rants and raves about child molestation or incest? I know I would. When I go out to a comedy show I want to leave feeling better than I did when I came in not worse. I feel you should write comedy based on what you are passionate about first, exhaust all those avenues and then go down the dark path of comedy if you like. I think there is a myth out there that all comics are tortured and twisted souls who have been through some heavy shit and their comedy is what helps them through it. I don't believe it. Yes some comics have been through hell and back and they come out amazing on stage because of it but other comics have fairly normal lives and just want to talk about every day stuff. Look at Jerry Seinfeld the man made a career about talking about nothing he is the first to say he had a normal life. If you don't have issues don't search for them. Just be honest to yourself and put your audience first because they are the ones who drove to see you, reached into their pockets to listen to you and if you don't do right by them they won't come back or worse yet tell other people not to come and see you.
I hope this helps.
xoxo
Daria
Re: What's Taboo
Daria,
Another great answer - noone can say that this board isn't philosophical.
GB
Another great answer - noone can say that this board isn't philosophical.
GB
You get born, you keep your head down and you die - if you're lucky.
Re: What's Taboo
garfy1974,
Im brand new to the board and hope im not over stepping my bounds but i have a list of things that offend me. I know that we are comics, a group that makes a career out of turing anything we can into comedy, but some stuff i just think is plain old offensive. Call me old fashioned.Such topics as why woman go to the bathroom together(back me up fellas) ew. Offensive. What if the croc hunter was a ...inset hillarty here. Call the fcc. And puppets.
~Jamie
Im brand new to the board and hope im not over stepping my bounds but i have a list of things that offend me. I know that we are comics, a group that makes a career out of turing anything we can into comedy, but some stuff i just think is plain old offensive. Call me old fashioned.Such topics as why woman go to the bathroom together(back me up fellas) ew. Offensive. What if the croc hunter was a ...inset hillarty here. Call the fcc. And puppets.
~Jamie
Re: What's Taboo
From a commercial perspective I guess you should toe-the-line and not go taboo as most folks don't want to fork over their hard-earned dough and not have a laugh-a-second, knee-slapping and quite forgetful good time.
I stay away from open mikes and 4 minute spots as that just wouldn't work at all with what I do. I wouldn't even have gotten started and it'd be time to get off the stage and let the next guy/gal on. If that means that I'm very limited on the amount of shows that I perform, and it does mean that, then that's fine with me. Again, I'm not really a stand-up comic but more of a storyteller and performance artist, though stand-up is incorporated into it.
This is why it's all so bland and seen-it-before today. No taboo and run them through and through. Comics are run through like sheep and people don't even have time to breathe in between one-liners with the quick set-up and punchlines that follow joke after joke after joke, much less be able to take in and absord the comic in their 4, 6 or even 10 minute set, if that.
The day of comedy and storytelling as a performance art are long gone. You need retrospection and dead space. The audience needs time to connect with the artist on stage, as well as the artist connecting with the audience. You need that emptiness followed by a hit to your senses.
It would be like having a music festival where 10,000 people are in the audience waiting to hear their favorite bands and each band comes up and does one song, they've only got 4 minutes after all, and off they go to let the next band up to have their shot at their one song. How about 'Free Bird' man? They couldn't play it, it would have went over the 4 minutes. And you leave the show with a limp and very disappointed dick.
I guess I'm just old fashioned or just out-of-place. Or maybe just out-of-touch...
Inkblot
I stay away from open mikes and 4 minute spots as that just wouldn't work at all with what I do. I wouldn't even have gotten started and it'd be time to get off the stage and let the next guy/gal on. If that means that I'm very limited on the amount of shows that I perform, and it does mean that, then that's fine with me. Again, I'm not really a stand-up comic but more of a storyteller and performance artist, though stand-up is incorporated into it.
This is why it's all so bland and seen-it-before today. No taboo and run them through and through. Comics are run through like sheep and people don't even have time to breathe in between one-liners with the quick set-up and punchlines that follow joke after joke after joke, much less be able to take in and absord the comic in their 4, 6 or even 10 minute set, if that.
The day of comedy and storytelling as a performance art are long gone. You need retrospection and dead space. The audience needs time to connect with the artist on stage, as well as the artist connecting with the audience. You need that emptiness followed by a hit to your senses.
It would be like having a music festival where 10,000 people are in the audience waiting to hear their favorite bands and each band comes up and does one song, they've only got 4 minutes after all, and off they go to let the next band up to have their shot at their one song. How about 'Free Bird' man? They couldn't play it, it would have went over the 4 minutes. And you leave the show with a limp and very disappointed dick.
I guess I'm just old fashioned or just out-of-place. Or maybe just out-of-touch...
Inkblot
