Simple, are there any?
Is there anything you would never joke about?
Sketch taboos...
there probably are
there probably is
I can't think of anything, off the top of my head.
And if I could, I'd probably try to write a sketch about it anyway.
Hey Afinkawan do you know any escaped war criminals?
Quote: Afinkawan @ October 17 2011, 10:20 AM BSTI can't think of any, off the top of my head.
And if I could, I'd probably try to write a sketch about it anyway.
wouldn't it be better to call the police?
Taboos around subjects, yes & no, there are plenty of sketches that comment on everything from depicting Mohammed, paedophilia, rape, holocaust, you name it. But the skill comes from how you present those subjects.
South Park test this line frequently, they have a doctrine that "everything is fair game", they take the piss out of everything in equal measure on the grounds that if everything is fair game, there is no discrimination.
I like that argument, but the reality of our world is very different and not the comedy utopia SP presents.
I guess my response is that there is no skill in setting out to offend people. No-one will think you're edgy unless you have a well thoughtout point...because if you don't, you'll just look ignorant. "Know your audience" comes into it as well, typically 9/11 material will not go down well in NYC and Mohammed gags will not go down well in a mosque. That said, there are exceptions, a lot comes down to delivery and context.
Basically if you're seeking just to shock, you're going to fail, so tread intelligently.
Tis true that comedy is tragedy plus time. It's up to the individual to judge how much time is appropriate for which audience, but it tends to balloon outwards; I may have made jokes and laughed at my friends' jokes on the same day as the London terrorist attacks, because humour is a way of dealing with shock and fear- but if a comedian said the same things on stage or TV or in writing straight away I would have thought they were a twat.
Quote: sootyj @ October 17 2011, 10:23 AM BSTHey Afinkawan do you know any escaped war criminals?
Not that I'm aware of, although Commander Zardad did live in my home town.
Does he still have a human dog?
Hard to tell, in Mitcham.