Rape jokes Page 5

Quote: Nat Wicks @ May 11 2011, 2:52 PM BST

I think you guys have hit the nail on the head; if a joke is there to laugh at, normalise or degrade the victim then it is bad- if it is subverting the act or degrading the rapist then it is fair game. Anything that perpetuates the 'she was asking for it' myth is automatically bad. The most common ones I hear are roofies jokes where the act is the drugger and there is no negative implication or subversion. These are bad, and the acts generally get a stony silent response from the audience.

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Totally agree, except I'd add if it blows the subject wide open and starts a discussion that can be a good thing.

N.B. have you noticed how many Carry On films etc seem to be completely offe with rape and sexual violence?

People who think any subject is off limits is a f**king idiot. No subject is off limits if given the correct treatment.

Quote: Nat Wicks @ May 12 2011, 2:12 PM BST

People who think any subject is off limits is a f**king idiot. No subject is off limits if given the correct treatment.

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What about Geography?

Quote: Nat Wicks @ May 12 2011, 2:12 PM BST

People who think any subject is off limits is a f**king idiot.

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Are f**king idiots.

Quote: Nat Wicks @ May 12 2011, 2:12 PM BST

People who think any subject is off limits is a f**king idiot. No subject is off limits if given the correct treatment.

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I agree, comedians have the right to do jokes about any subject they chose, however comedians need to remember than audiences have the right to dislike, and show their dislike of, any material that a comedian is using and that ultimately, the comedian is there to entertain the audience not for their own amusement.

If you are going on stage with the sole intention of upsetting the audience (as quite a lot of newer acts seem to) then perhaps comedy is not the right medium for you.

Quote: Tony Cowards @ May 12 2011, 2:16 PM BST

I agree, comedians have the right to do jokes about any subject they chose, however comedians need to remember than audiences have the right to dislike, and show their dislike of, any material that a comedian is using and that ultimately, the comedian is there to entertain the audience not for their own amusement.

If you are going on stage with the sole intention of upsetting the audience (as quite a lot of newer acts seem to) then perhaps comedy is not the right medium for you.

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That said, an audience can be upset and at the same time thoroughly entertained. Andy Kaufman made a career out of playing the bad guy and pissing off his audience and now he's considered a comedy legend.

I agree absolutely that a comedian should be ready to take flak from the audience if all they want to talk about is gang rape, cancer and kiddy fiddling though. There's little worse than a comedian berating his audience because they're just not getting his edginess.

Quote: David Bussell @ May 12 2011, 2:14 PM BST

Are f**king idiots.

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Damn. Phone screens are not conducive to good proof reading. Neither is not proof reading

I think he engaged and confronted the audience more than disgusting them.

I mean a crappy old racist gag or rape gag. Is like a cat dropping a dead bird on your front door step to see how you react.

Andy Kaufman responding to an audience he do his old act by reading the entire of The Great Gatsby, is him drawing his rapier wit and shrieking
"engarde!"

Quote: Nat Wicks @ May 12 2011, 2:23 PM BST

Damn. Phone screens are not conducive to good proof reading. Neither is not poof breeding

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It's so hard to get them enthusiastic.

Also I would like to echo what TC and DB said, but can't be bothered. So, "I concur."

As for comedians doing what ever they like.

Yeh, but, erm. Look have you ever seen a Chubby Brown or a Manning audience?

They're sitting there getting some really nasty jokes that reflect a cosy acceptance of sexual violence, racism, rape etc.

And gently having their prejudices reinforced. I knew a black guy who went to a Bernard Manning show (he was a standup and I think was curious). It was a very disturbing experience for him.

I think you have missed the point a bit, Sooty.

In what way?

I was talking about what happens when the hateful joke isn't a challenge?

Quote: David Bussell @ May 12 2011, 2:21 PM BST

That said, an audience can be upset and at the same time thoroughly entertained. Andy Kaufman made a career out of playing the bad guy and pissing off his audience and now he's considered a comedy legend.

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This may be a bit bitchy of me but I would guess mostly by people who never saw him live, it's one thing to laugh at Jim Carrey's representation of him reading out "The Great Gatsby" in it's entirety to an audience but I would imagine it would've been pretty dull to have actually been there.

By the way, I'm not saying that Andy Kaufman wasn't a "comedy legend" (whatever that actually means) and I appreciate that without people pushing the boundaries comedy would be static and, hence, very dull, but sometimes the people who do the pushing are not actually very funny (even if they are paving the way for funnier people who follow).

Quote: sootyj @ May 12 2011, 2:24 PM BST

Andy Kaufman responding to an audience he do his old act by reading the entire of The Great Gatsby, is him drawing his rapier wit and shrieking
"engarde!"

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That was only one of his acts though. There was also the whole wrestling women portion of his career where he sent videos to the press educating the South on the use of toilet paper. That was pretty provocative at the time. He made himself the villain and the audience hated him and lapped it up in equal measure.

Well that pretty much is an example of the exact types of jokes people in here are NOT defending. Plus I kind of feel like this sort if comedy is totally defunct nowadays. It only got to survive because of the WMC comedy culture, which no longer exists. Acts who have material which is overtly racist/sexist/cruel amply do not survive current comedy circuit.

(That was in reply to Sooty.)