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[–] 123 points 2 years ago (35 children)

I hate this relatively new idea that comedy has to be mean. If you have to rile the audience to be funny, you're not funny.

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  • [–] 36 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    [relevant]

    I just saw this posted on lemmy a while back. It's so good. lol

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    If you're the kind of person that thinks no comedy can be mean, you're helping to destroy comedy

    Just my opinion. If you don't like it, don't watch it. Don't hate those that understand centuries upon centuries of schadenfreude is what made us a funny species

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  • [+] -10 points 2 years ago (10 children)

    Reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.

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  • [–] 45 points 2 years ago (8 children)

    His reading comprehension is fine, the guy said

    If you have to rile the audience to be funny, you’re not funny. <-- A declarative statement with no gray option

    Whereas Mr_Blott is saying that sometimes, it is

    The guys even right that a lot of this isn't even new ideas. Mean or even dark humor has been around for centuries.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Thanks for having comprehension 😅

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    If you have to rile the audience to be funny, you're not funny.

    But there is a "gray option" here. I read this as "you can rile up the audience and be funny, just not if that's the only thing you do", in context with the previous point that this sort of humour is overused and loosing its impact.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    If the only way you can make pizza is by sticking a frozen one in your oven you can't make pizza; if you choose to use a frozen pizza that doesn't mean you can't make pizza.

    You're conflating two subtly distinct concepts. Only being able to do something one way isn't the same as choosing to do something one way. If your only option is to rile people up, you're not funny. That's what these comedians are complaining about; their one joke is to punch down, which is frowned upon.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    That's just a bad analogy. That's more like if a comedian can only copy someone else's jokes, they're not funny. If you wanted a pizza analogy, it'd be more like if you can only make thick crust pizza, but can't make any other types of pizza's, you can't make pizza.

    Which is just not true. You just find an audience who enjoys being constantly given thick crust pizza.

    Mean/dark humor isn't an incorrect type of humor. It is a different type of humor. If someone is good at it then they just need to stick with that audience. Is it what you'd consider high class or in good taste? Maybe not, but it's still their humor.

    I mean it's not like punching up is any harder than punching down. Just the audience of that comedian is more likely to not be in the group affected by it.

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  • [+] -8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Convenient of you to completely omit and ignore his first sentence, which happened to contain the core message. That's why you're both being dinged for (lack of) reading comprehension.

    Just trying to make this as stupid-simple as possible.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    No? You are completely welcome to hate that kind of comedy. In fact that kind of comedy by it's nature will have people who can't handle it. But it's acting like it's some new terrible idea someone thought of recently instead of a long-standing form of comedy that just happened to hit a bad spot for some.

    It's basically re-contextualizing it as something that has no basis when it in fact should be a type of comedy that goes without saying at this point....

    Like it wasn't removed out of convenience it's the core of nothing.

    At worst you could argue he is trying to say that people actually think all comedy has to be mean...which would be stupid in it's own right because he just argues the opposite extreme in his second sentence then....Black/White instead of any form of gray argument. Like I really hope we're not saying that the extreme point is the core of his argument....

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    These people aren't riling up the audience. They're riling up people the audience doesn't like.

    Also, I'm ok with comedy being "mean", so long as the target deserves it and it's delivered in a witty way. Too many "edgy" comedians are just recycling the same joke, which runs counter to the idea that comedy is the Subversion of Expectations.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (18 children)

    Mean comedy and riling people up can be funny.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (17 children)

    Sure if you the listener is also mean spirited.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (15 children)

    Or they recognize them as what they are, jokes.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (14 children)

    What constitutes a joke? If I punch you in the face then say, "hey it was just a joke" is it a joke? If the punch hurt you is it because you're soft?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    You mean slapstick?

    The humor that is funny mainly because you suspend disbelief and watch something else get hurt?

    That type of comedy that practically dominated for several decades?

    The key to a lot of humor regarding misfortune is that it either isn't regarding you, hits a point that is true but not the core of who you are, or is far away enough that you can suspend disbelief.

    In other words, yes, because they're jokes

    I mean you can literally just watch three stooges and people will laugh at someone getting punched in the face.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    That isn't even the close to the point or even relevant to what I said. Slapstick isn't random; it's a setup situation. It isn't attacking a stranger oh the street then expecting them to laugh about it... Goddamn you people cannot be this thick.

    Misfortune humor is commiserating. It's punching up to the unfairness of a situation. Targeting trans people is punching down and if you can't wrap your head around that, then I don't know what to tell you. Just admit you lack empathy and move on.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    Goddamn you people cannot be this thick.

    I'd say the same thing to you honestly. You seem too stuck up for humor. You aim for extremes for everything.

    I can have empathy for others, but not for you, who seems to purposely put yourself in situations to be offended.

    edit: wait standup is also setup comedy...come on man. You're literally writing situations for you to be offended in.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    If you're genuinely unsure whether punching someone is a joke then I don't think you should be joking with people

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (3 children)
  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    You this?

    What constitutes a joke? If I punch you in the face then say, “hey it was just a joke” is it a joke?

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Does a mean statement hurt your body in the same physical way as a punch to the face? That's a really stupid comparison.

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  • [–] -2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Spoken like someone who hasn't experienced any hardships or loss.

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