What's shakin Party People!
I'm up early on a Thursday morning and I'm trying to fix the worlds problems from my studio. Keep in mind, when I say "Fix the World" I mean I'm just trying to find a way to make it do what I tell it to do.
The topic of censorship has been coming up a lot in stand up comedy and rather than have a thoughtful discussion with a way to move forward as a society, a lot of us have chosen to pick a side and show up to the war with merch. Meaning in the argument there are a few valid points, and with those points come many selfish self serving interpretations that suit many a selfish needs.
In my opinion, censorship is trying to ruin comedy but it's making it better by accident. I think anytime you try to control thought and expression it comes back with even more force and meaning. We've already seen this in every decade going back to the 50's when it comes to music and film.
Censorship has evolved along with our technology in the way of demonetizing and search engine results. These tactics are effective in this day and age but I wonder if they will have the same influence in the next few years. At this point I think YouTube is begging for someone to come along and knock them off their perch. The same can be said for Google. Keep in mind that 20 years ago, the power and influence they wield was then possessed by the 24 Hour news cycles, 15 years prior to that it was the 3 major networks, before that the newspapers and so on. In the end , it always backfires.
This week I read an article trying to state the case that comedians George Carlin and Eddie Murphy wouldn't be on the "side" of UN-PC comedy. That whole premise stinks of someone who hasn't been in comedy for a very long time. First thing is first, putting words and intention into a dead person's mouth is fucking gross. Secondly, if you were going to state a person's ideals in an article, maybe ask the person who is still alive instead of just watching a video of someone else's work and using that for your argument. The weird thing about comedy is no matter how offensive the joke is, there are a lot of us who will always ask the question, was it funny? We're people laughing?
I'll try to be cheerful and inspirational here but life and existence is pain and suffering. A big part of life is being able to see through the misery that comes in two forms, constant and in abundance. When we can see through all of that bullshit and laugh, to find joy in the cosmic joke of humanity, we are able to rise above the muck and see the true joy in life. That being our thoughts, our feelings, the way we have bonds of love and friendship in a reality that craves conflict and evolution. Laughter is very human, it also spits in the face of power, now matter if that power is above you or below you.
I see both sides of the debate , you won't like either, I'll just tell you now.
I see the comic who cries at how he can't say anything offensive and that his rights are being taken away from him. He's usually a young comic (0-4 years in stand-up) who hasn't figured out how to be funny yet. For the life of them they can't figure our why the baby raping jokes aren't going over.
On the other side , is a comic who doesn't think other comics should say anything offensive and is more interested in influencing the world for the better. They also are about 0-4 years into comedy and haven't found a way to be funny yet. They have a tendency to perform in their support bubbles and mistake clapter for laughter.
The point is, a great cause is an even greater distraction from creating something personal and real in their art. When that work is finally created, you're going to need that freedom of expression to get it to as many people as possible, so be careful what you wish for. Causes have a bad habit of swallowing up the individual if we're not careful.
Till next time Party People, keep on a chooglin!
I'm up early on a Thursday morning and I'm trying to fix the worlds problems from my studio. Keep in mind, when I say "Fix the World" I mean I'm just trying to find a way to make it do what I tell it to do.
The topic of censorship has been coming up a lot in stand up comedy and rather than have a thoughtful discussion with a way to move forward as a society, a lot of us have chosen to pick a side and show up to the war with merch. Meaning in the argument there are a few valid points, and with those points come many selfish self serving interpretations that suit many a selfish needs.
In my opinion, censorship is trying to ruin comedy but it's making it better by accident. I think anytime you try to control thought and expression it comes back with even more force and meaning. We've already seen this in every decade going back to the 50's when it comes to music and film.
Censorship has evolved along with our technology in the way of demonetizing and search engine results. These tactics are effective in this day and age but I wonder if they will have the same influence in the next few years. At this point I think YouTube is begging for someone to come along and knock them off their perch. The same can be said for Google. Keep in mind that 20 years ago, the power and influence they wield was then possessed by the 24 Hour news cycles, 15 years prior to that it was the 3 major networks, before that the newspapers and so on. In the end , it always backfires.
This week I read an article trying to state the case that comedians George Carlin and Eddie Murphy wouldn't be on the "side" of UN-PC comedy. That whole premise stinks of someone who hasn't been in comedy for a very long time. First thing is first, putting words and intention into a dead person's mouth is fucking gross. Secondly, if you were going to state a person's ideals in an article, maybe ask the person who is still alive instead of just watching a video of someone else's work and using that for your argument. The weird thing about comedy is no matter how offensive the joke is, there are a lot of us who will always ask the question, was it funny? We're people laughing?
I'll try to be cheerful and inspirational here but life and existence is pain and suffering. A big part of life is being able to see through the misery that comes in two forms, constant and in abundance. When we can see through all of that bullshit and laugh, to find joy in the cosmic joke of humanity, we are able to rise above the muck and see the true joy in life. That being our thoughts, our feelings, the way we have bonds of love and friendship in a reality that craves conflict and evolution. Laughter is very human, it also spits in the face of power, now matter if that power is above you or below you.
I see both sides of the debate , you won't like either, I'll just tell you now.
I see the comic who cries at how he can't say anything offensive and that his rights are being taken away from him. He's usually a young comic (0-4 years in stand-up) who hasn't figured out how to be funny yet. For the life of them they can't figure our why the baby raping jokes aren't going over.
On the other side , is a comic who doesn't think other comics should say anything offensive and is more interested in influencing the world for the better. They also are about 0-4 years into comedy and haven't found a way to be funny yet. They have a tendency to perform in their support bubbles and mistake clapter for laughter.
The point is, a great cause is an even greater distraction from creating something personal and real in their art. When that work is finally created, you're going to need that freedom of expression to get it to as many people as possible, so be careful what you wish for. Causes have a bad habit of swallowing up the individual if we're not careful.
Till next time Party People, keep on a chooglin!
