As media strives for greater tolerance and inclusion, there comes a need for greater sensitivity and comedy is not immune, especially, comedy concerning race or gender.
There is admirable intent in most efforts to enforce PC standards: proponents argue that in order to weed out bigotry and ignorance from society, words and actions that perpetuate such things should also be discouraged. But there does seem to be an inherent contradiction in conformation for the sake of progress – is sanitization really the key to cultural growth?
Our society is full of semantic contradictions:
Republicans tout personal freedom and limited government, yet push to legislate a woman’s body. A group called “liberal” opposes a free market and seeks to limit school choice. These are, of course, simplifications of nuanced issues but even some of our most fundamental values seem to contradict each other at times. Children are taught each of them are unique and that everyone is equal; to have empathy and to “treat everyone as you want to be treated.” Do not talk to strangers and always listen to adults.
Last year, a Massachusetts’ school made headlines after it reportedly forbade children from using the term “best friend” to prevent exclusivity. An example of PC culture at its most cringe-worthy.
Over the last few years, many successful comedians (Issa Rae, Pete Davidson, Roseanne Barr, Dave Chappelle, and Kathy Griffin to name a few) encountered varying degrees of criticism for insensitive and offensive material in their comedic work. Most notable of late, Louis C.K. faced tremendous backlash for a stand-up bit in which he mocked the survivors of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, FL, and questioned their authority to testify in front of Congress:
Strip away the lazy crass and the core of the joke is plausible: involvement in a single traumatic event doesn’t qualify a person as an expert in sociology or public policy.
However.
The Parkland survivors, particularly their de facto leader Emma Gonzalez, have demonstrated tremendous courage and impressive conviction since the horrific incident at their high school. They are victims and some are children; a poor choice of target for anyone, especially for a rich, white, serial sexual harasser.
Jim Carrey tweeted the drawing below with the caption, “Louis can’t C, K?”
But it wasn’t all vitriol towards C.K. Some of his peers defended the comic, explaining this is par for the course in comedy:
And this is the crux of the conversation: should comics be held accountable for material that offends? As a culture, how do we gauge offensiveness? If a third of an audience is offended and the rest roar with laughter, has the comic succeeded or failed?
More Perspectives
Nicer and Tougher
I don’t have a solution to the double-edged sword of political correctness; it’s often very necessary and sometimes abused. It does seem to dilute comedy but maybe that’s because political correctness is especially difficult for men like Louis C.K., who too often seem to be punching down rather than up.
Despite all of my research for this issue, it was a text from a friend that produced most succinct resolution:
