Pulling punchlines: Comedy can be offensive. But should it be reined in?
| Boston and New York
Stand-up comic Dan Crohn is telling a joke about the first time he flew Spirit Airlines. It鈥檚 Comedy Tuesday at Night Shift Brewing in Everett, Massachusetts. Standing on a spotlit stage, Mr. Crohn forms a wishbone with his arms 鈥� elbows lifted high and hands pressed together 鈥� as he holds the microphone.聽
鈥淚magine the Maury Povich show at 31,000 feet,鈥� riffs the comedian. 鈥淭he flight attendant comes up to me, and she鈥檚 like, 鈥楪ot any food?鈥欌��
Mr. Crohn鈥檚 subject matter is fairly innocuous. Well, apart from an oceanic joke about cuttlefish having sex, which is probably a first in the annals of comedy. Nonetheless, in an interview prior to the show, he says comedians are suddenly hyperaware of getting in trouble for saying the wrong thing. On the same day, nearly 3,000 miles away, a small group of Netflix employees staged a high-profile walkout at the streaming service鈥檚 Los Angeles headquarters. They were protesting Dave Chappelle鈥檚 latest comedy special, 鈥淭he Closer,鈥� for its subject matter about transgender people. It鈥檚 a third-rail topic.聽
Why We Wrote This
Comedy often causes offense. But it can also be a uniter, helping us see a fresh perspective. As cancel culture sweeps the United States, often targeting comedians, the question looms: Is it protecting people from harmful laugh lines or stifling a valuable form of expression?
鈥淚 had a joke in before where I said, 鈥楧o you think transgender fetuses should get angry at gender-reveal parties?鈥欌�� says Mr. Crohn, who has appeared on NBC鈥檚 鈥淟ast Comic Standing.鈥澛�
鈥淎nd I go, 鈥楪uys, that鈥檚 not offensive. That鈥檚 pro-transgender, pro-fetus, and pro-parties.鈥� But I haven鈥檛 done it in a while.鈥澛�
Is it safe to laugh anymore? There鈥檚 long been a tradition in comedy of joking about taboo topics. But in recent years, comedians have either embraced or run away from making light of gender, race, and the #MeToo movement. They鈥檙e very conscious of the occupational hazards. Famous people and ordinary citizens alike have been fired from jobs, stripped of opportunities, and banished to a social-pariah wilderness for transgressing new language conventions or for expressing heterodox views. There鈥檚 some argument about just how widespread cancel culture is and whether it鈥檚 predominantly a left-wing phenomenon. But there have been sufficient examples that many people now self-censor what they say or write no matter what the political tilt of the topic.聽
For many comedians, freedom of expression is a fundamental value. That鈥檚 why John Cleese, Bill Maher, David Spade, Bill Burr, Ricky Gervais, and Mr. Chappelle complain that so-called wokeness has a chilling effect on comedy and societal customs. In response, critics counter that their jokes are sometimes unnecessarily cruel, are in poor taste, or even have a dangerous influence on how people think and act. They worry that these laugh merchants are undermining efforts toward social progress and the protection of marginalized groups.聽
A lot of comedy causes offense. (Spare a thought for all the cuttlefish out there.) Comedy may be the closest thing society has to a Rorschach test 鈥� what people can, or should, tolerate. We often don鈥檛 know where the ever-shifting boundaries are until comedians venture out to test the edge. These days, there鈥檚 a greater risk of toppling over it. If a new Puritanism is sweeping the nation, the comedy club or Netflix special may be the place where the new cultural arbiters in their knee breeches and petticoats are being the most vociferous.
Yet humor can also be a uniter. It can help us see something from a fresh perspective, making us laugh in acknowledgment of the illumined truth. Jokes often reveal that even those wholly unlike ourselves share common experiences, reminding us that maybe we鈥檙e not that different after all. Amid the push and pull of cancel culture versus free speech, is it possible for high-toned humor to facilitate mutual respect based on recognizing our shared humanity?
鈥淐omedians are sort of battling with what they can say, what they can get away with,鈥� says Omotayo Banjo, an associate professor of communication at the University of Cincinnati, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on Mr. Chappelle and how audiences react to racial humor. 鈥淚 think it is a healthy moment. I think we really need to figure out 鈥� and I don鈥檛 know that we really will 鈥� but I think it鈥檚 still good to have the conversation of what is acceptable, what is not acceptable, and why not.鈥�
Peter McGraw isn't a comedian, but his job entails making people laugh and then observing them when they do. As the director of the Humor Research Lab, he along with his colleagues is trying to answer a 2,500-year-old question: What makes things funny?聽
More specifically, Dr. McGraw and his colleagues are trying to understand when and why people laugh about situations that involve tragic circumstances, inappropriate situations, and immoral behavior.
鈥淭his is something that Plato and Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, Sigmund Freud each puzzled over,鈥� says Dr. McGraw, professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder. 鈥淲e just had a tool that was unavailable to them, and that is the experiment.鈥�
The Humor Research Lab sounds like something out of a Monty Python sketch. It conjures up images of scientists in white coats who make notes on clipboards when unsuspecting human guinea pigs sit down on whoopee cushions. The research team does appear to have a sardonic sense of humor 鈥� the lab鈥檚 acronym is HuRL. And the researchers鈥� work is pretty sophisticated. In a series of studies, HuRL found that its subjects often laughed at potentially benign moral violations. Yet malign moral violations tended to elicit negative reactions. Joke writers have to navigate between those poles.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got these two levers you can pull, right? Make it more benign; make it more of a violation,鈥� says Dr. McGraw. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 hard to do. You have to have some natural talent. You鈥檝e got to be smart. But you also have to be an empiricist.鈥�
Indeed, some jokes rely on discomfort in the setup as the stand-ups venture into embarrassing or disquieting territory, explains Kliph Nesteroff, author of 鈥淭he Comedians,鈥� an encyclopedic history of comedy. Comics get a laugh when they release the tension with a punchline, especially if it takes the listener by surprise.聽
In the pursuit of the biggest laugh, edgy humorists test the boundaries of subjects and conversations that are taboo. Some of them consist of topics you鈥檙e supposed to avoid over a Thanksgiving dinner: sex, politics, religion, mothers-in-law.聽
鈥淭heories of humor suggest that we enjoy humor when we鈥檙e not the target,鈥� says Dr. Banjo of the University of Cincinnati. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always easier to laugh at other people, but when our group is the target, we become a little more defensive.鈥�
In 鈥淭he Closer,鈥� Mr. Chappelle takes on transgender people (as well as many other groups). At times, the comic appears to side with the LGBTQ community by railing against the bathroom bill in North Carolina, which required transgender people to use facilities that corresponded to the sex on their birth certificates. He also tells a heartfelt story about his friendship with a transgender woman named Daphne Dorman, who died by suicide. His comedy special on Netflix is a critique of the hierarchy of victimhood. Mr. Chappelle鈥檚 contention is that some people appear to get more upset about transgender issues than they do about racism.聽
鈥淗e draws a kind of proverbial line in the sand against Black people and Black communities and queer communities. That line in the sand has massive erasure for Black queer folks,鈥� says Brandon Manning, an assistant professor of Black literature and culture at Texas 海角大神 University in Fort Worth. 鈥淓ven his ability to bring in Daphne Dorman towards the end, in many ways that鈥檚 the equivalent of saying, 鈥業 have a Black friend, so I can鈥檛 be racist.鈥欌��
In trying to illustrate his claim that nothing should be off-limits when it comes to humor, Mr. Chappelle also makes merciless fun of the physique and pronouns of transgender people. Indeed, he seems to be following the maxim of George Carlin: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.鈥澛�
But the line of what鈥檚 socially acceptable keeps shifting.
Protests of comedy shows聽date back at least to the early 1900s. Wayne Federman, author of 鈥淭he History of Stand-Up,鈥� recalls Roman Catholic organizations in the Midwest in 1905 being upset over vaudeville performers who trafficked in stereotypes about the Irish and drinking.聽
These days, those types of jokes are frowned upon, especially if the humorist isn鈥檛 a member of that group. It鈥檚 an example of how humor has always had to adapt to changing standards in society even if, at times, it鈥檚 slower than some might wish.聽
At the time of those Catholic protests, stand-up was a relatively new art form in the United States, which pioneered the genre. The first comic, Charles F. Browne, hit the lecture circuit in 1861 and adopted the pseudonymous persona of a country yokel named Artemus Ward. (Think a 19th-century Larry the Cable Guy, or perhaps we should say Larry the Telegraph Guy.) Mark Twain and others soon followed. Ethnic and immigrant stereotypes were a comedy staple in vaudeville shows.
Blackface also got its start in minstrel shows in the late 1800s. It persisted as a tool of comedy until the early years of the millennium. In 2020, Jimmy Fallon apologized for inappropriate use of shoe polish on his face two decades ago on 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥� Tina Fey withdrew four episodes of 鈥�30 Rock鈥� from circulation because various characters had worn blackface.
In the early 1960s, Lenny Bruce was arrested several times, ostensibly for obscene language. But Mr. Federman, who is filming a documentary for HBO about Mr. Carlin, speculates the real reason was that 鈥渉e was a Jewish guy attacking religion.鈥澛�
By the last few decades of the 20th century, the seven words that Mr. Carlin observed you couldn鈥檛 say on television had become common in clubs and on subscription cable channels. When Andrew Dice Clay made history in 1990 by selling out two nights at New York鈥檚 Madison Square Garden, he famously recited vulgar nursery rhymes that would have made Mother Goose lay an egg. Yet Mr. Clay鈥檚 sexist and homophobic material had become so controversial that Hollywood studios wouldn鈥檛 go near him. Protesters gathered outside his shows. By 1995, even Mr. Clay opined that he鈥檇 taken his sexist alter ego persona too far and changed his act. A year later, Eddie Murphy similarly apologized for his gags about gay people and HIV in his 1987 hit stand-up comedy film, 鈥淓ddie Murphy Raw.鈥�
Those atonements arrived during another cultural shift 鈥� one that began to play out not just on comedy stages but also on TV.
鈥淥ver the course of the 鈥�90s this kind of popular understanding of what political correctness is, is developing,鈥� says Philip Scepanski, author of 鈥淭ragedy Plus Time: National Trauma and Television Comedy.鈥� 鈥淭hen 鈥楽outh Park鈥� and 鈥楩amily Guy鈥� premiered by the late 鈥�90s and really make up an art form of being anti-PC.鈥澛�
In the 1990s, that tension between those in favor of political correctness and those who chafe at speech codes played out as skirmishes. In the early millennium, it developed into a full-blown culture war. Some comedians are still very much on the front lines, lobbing jokes from the trenches. 聽
Allison Gill used聽to feature jokes about rape in her stand-up routines. Dr. Gill is a survivor of sexual assault from her time in the Navy. (She appeared in 鈥淭he Invisible War,鈥� an Oscar-nominated 2012 documentary about rape in the U.S. military.)聽
鈥淎 lot of my humor was around rape and rape culture,鈥� says Dr. Gill, whose comedy special 鈥淏enefits of a Misspent Youth鈥� was released in 2017. 鈥淎nd that helped me. It was sort of an exposure therapy, right? Talk about what had happened to me, but in a humorous way.鈥�
But she no longer includes some quips about the issue in her comedy. She discovered that the irony was getting lost on audience members. It鈥檚 often a generational thing. Many observers say that millennials and Gen Zers don鈥檛 respond well to irony and satire anymore. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very literal and straightforward,鈥� says Dr. Gill, adding that they want you to say exactly what you mean because otherwise it can be interpreted as a microaggression.聽
Younger audiences not only eschew archness in comedy but also see humor as a kind of therapeutic exercise that鈥檚 more personal, more rooted in pain. Comedy specials such as Hannah Gadsby鈥檚 鈥淣anette,鈥� Bo Burnham鈥檚 鈥淚nside,鈥� and James Acaster鈥檚 鈥淐old Lasagne Hate Myself 1999鈥� explore mental health issues in a delivery that鈥檚 highly confessional and often completely serious.聽
鈥淚鈥檇 argue that a younger millennial or younger Gen Z generation has made comedy and the stand-up stage a site of wellness and vulnerability,鈥� says Dr. Manning from Texas 海角大神 University. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e able to create humor in a way that doesn鈥檛 laugh at their pain.鈥�
Some millennials and Gen Zers are leery of comedy that makes light of victimhood and identity 鈥� in their eyes, Mr. Chappelle鈥檚 鈥淭he Closer鈥� probably constitutes a macroaggression. They worry that style of comedy diminishes the struggles of marginalized groups. Some believe words that cause emotional discomfort are dangerous.聽
That鈥檚 why so many colleges that hire comedians these days contractually stipulate what they can鈥檛 say onstage. In response, comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock have said they will no longer play campuses. Having to preface each joke with a warning label does tend to put a crimp in a stand-up routine. But confining comedy to subjects that don鈥檛 make people feel unsafe isn鈥檛 just limited to college auditoriums 鈥� it鈥檚 permeated society.
An offensive joke, captured on a tweet or a cellphone camera or TV special, can lead to a headline-making furor. Sometimes protesters claim that such humor endangers marginalized groups by dehumanizing them and inviting physical attacks. The case for safety, and concern about ridicule, were invoked by some 鈥� including members of GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) 鈥� who urged Netflix to yank 鈥淭he Closer鈥� from its platform.聽
In response, Netflix co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos wrote, 鈥淰iolence on screens has grown hugely over the last thirty years, especially with first party shooter games, and yet violent crime has fallen significantly in many countries. Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse 鈥� or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy 鈥� without it causing them to harm others.鈥�
Despite the blowback, Netflix hasn鈥檛 removed 鈥淭he Closer.鈥� On Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates reviews, media critics gave the special a paltry 44% rating. Yet the audience score is 95%.
Mr. Chappelle鈥檚 popularity means that he can still command large crowds at shows. But he claims that film festivals have withdrawn invitations for him to screen his upcoming documentary and distributors are now steering clear of it. In the wake of the controversy, it鈥檚 unlikely that he鈥檒l ever be invited to host the Oscars.
Judy Gold is聽fond of quoting her fellow comedian, Eddie Sarfaty: 鈥淕oing to a comedy club and expecting not to get offended is like going on a roller coaster, expecting not to get scared.鈥澛�
That quote appears on the first page of her 2020 book, 鈥淵es, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble.鈥� But these days, umbrage at a joke 鈥� even one uttered many years ago 鈥� can have serious consequences. For Kevin Hart, it meant losing the chance to host the 2019 Academy Awards ceremony after a tweet from 2011 surfaced in which he joked about worrying that his young son was gay. For Shane Gillis, it meant getting fired from 鈥淪NL鈥� four days after he was hired because of homophobic and racially controversial lines he had used on a podcast.
Cancel culture is predominantly a far-left phenomenon, but it also exists on the right. Samantha Bee and Kathy Griffin have had to apologize for jokes at the expense of former President Donald Trump and members of his family.
鈥淚鈥檓 observing comedians being scared to say things they normally would say,鈥� says Ms. Gold, who adds that some of the edgiest comedians are running jokes past her out of fear of a backlash. 鈥淚t鈥檚 stifling the writing.鈥�
The tension between cancel culture and comedy comes down to this: Should a comic be fired or ostracized for ... uttering words?聽
Ms. Gold observes that when you hear a song on the radio you don鈥檛 like, you can change stations. So why do those who take offense at comedy feel the need to marshal campaigns against the comic?聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 called a sense of humor,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just like you have a sense of taste. You like salty food; you don鈥檛 like salty food. You like sarcasm; you don鈥檛 like sarcasm.鈥�
Telling people they鈥檙e not allowed to laugh at something, she says, doesn鈥檛 mean we won鈥檛 find those things funny, because laughter is an involuntary response.聽
In 鈥淭he Closer,鈥� Mr. Chappelle tells the audience, 鈥淪ometimes the funniest thing to say is mean. Remember, I鈥檓 not saying it to be mean: I鈥檓 saying it because it鈥檚 funny.鈥�
Mr. Nesteroff, the comedy historian, says some people think the role of the comedian is to convey truth. He counters that a comic has just one job: to make people laugh.聽
鈥淟ess than 1% of the world鈥檚 population is funny,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a real superpower. Any person can speak truth to power 鈥� not everyone can be funny.鈥�
But if some find a joke hurtful, is it worth the trade-off of getting the laugh? Many comedians abide by the ethos that one should punch up, not down.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 almost a hierarchy,鈥� says Dr. Gill, the former Navy recruit turned political podcaster. 鈥淩ule No. 1, make fun of yourself. Rule No. 2, make fun of the oppressors. And rule No. 3, never make fun of those that you would want to protect from either of those first two things.鈥�
Dr. Gill believes that rant comedy 鈥� the sort of angry opinionated humor exemplified by the likes of Bill Hicks and Lewis Black 鈥� is dying out because fewer people find it funny anymore. Similarly, insult comics such as Gilbert Gottfried seem pass茅.聽
鈥淚f we鈥檙e swinging the pendulum to be more conscientious than we need to be, where鈥檚 the harm in that?鈥� asks Dr. Gill.
Instead of deploying jokes as a weapon of cruelty, the rape survivor believes comedy can be used to heal. Hope springs from humor, she says. To quote the old adage, 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 laugh, we cry.鈥�
Ultimately, if a comedian鈥檚 goal is to make as many people laugh as possible, it makes sense to be inclusive. At heart, humor springs from a desire to be social. When people laugh collectively, they bond, and that experience creates community even if it鈥檚 just for a moment in a comedy club.
Ms. Gold can attest to that. In the 1990s, she came out as a gay parent. Onstage, she found that when she started quipping about her children, audiences related to her as a parent. That common ground helped to foster acceptance.聽
Back at the comedy club聽in Everett, Mr. Crohn is musing on what a great time it is to be a comedian, despite all the politically correct restrictions. The industry is experiencing a boom, and the comedy classes he teaches have a waiting list for the first time. Credit the proliferation of platforms available to purveyors of laughter: YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and podcasts. Mr. Crohn鈥檚 comedy album 鈥淚t鈥檚 Enough Already,鈥� which often riffs on his Jewishness, is on Spotify. (Sample joke: 鈥淚 saw a bumper sticker that said, 鈥楯esus for president.鈥� I said, 鈥榃ho鈥檚 going to elect a Jew?鈥欌��) The parameters of what comedians can say may be narrower now, but he says it challenges them to write better jokes.
鈥淎udiences now are so great because they do appreciate really well-crafted material that鈥檚, like, personal and about you,鈥� says Mr. Crohn. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why everybody goes to comedy. They want to hear something about themselves said by somebody else.鈥澛�
