Jim'll Fiddle It: When Can The Dark Jokes Start?

I stumbled upon this article about Jimmy Savile just recently. Not only is it pretty accurate but it made me laugh my face off...

http://bouncesin.com/news/general/item/416-jimll-fiddle-it

I've since shared it with friends and other people I know and got the same reaction every time. 'You can't make jokes about that! It's too awful! Think about the kids!'

Rubbish. It's a witty article, I'll laugh as much as I please. But it did make me think about the way that people still stigmatise humour in this way, particularly stand up comedy.

Why isn't humour considered a suitable way to cope with tragedy? If anything its the best coping mechanism we have. Is it not better to laugh at something rather than let it break you down? If an event is so appallingly evil (like the Savile case)surely the ONLY suitable thing to do is to confront it with humour, BECAUSE it is so incomprehensible otherwise.

We MUST make society's demons anything but that. Laughing at them takes away their power. It's all about context people, it's all about context.

But would you have that opinion if say your sister or daughter had been mauled by that animal?

Just a thought

There's quite a difference between laughing / sending up the monster that we now know Saville to be and laughing at the acts he committed.

Quote: Sam666 @ October 23 2012, 12:55 PM BST

Why isn't humour considered a suitable way to cope with tragedy?

View original

I thought it already was.

I realise that humour and what makes something funny is a personal thing but I've just read that article and failed to see anything even vaguely funny about it.

I'm not being all prudish. It's just not a humourous article and doesn't even appear as if it was ever meant to be.

There is one joke. The opening line that reads: "Now then, now then, Jim'll Fix It for you to be sexually assaulted."

After that, it's just a rather poorly cribbed piece of writing that lifts a load of info from the original ITV documentary that broke the story without having the courtesy to credit its sources.

How is it humourous or witty in any way? It's as funny as this article here but less well written: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-bp-rosneft-idUKBRE89L06720121023

If it's meant to be a humourous article, it falls flat on its face. Not because of the subject material but because there is nothing funny about it whatsoever.

In fact, it's just not a very good article. And yet, Sam, you laughed your face off.

What did you see that I didn't?

Or did you write it yourself?

Not sure there is a huge amount in that article to be either offended or amused by.

Quote: Sam666 @ October 23 2012, 12:55 PM BST

I stumbled upon this article about Jimmy Savile just recently. Not only is it pretty accurate but it made me laugh my face off...

http://bouncesin.com/news/general/item/416-jimll-fiddle-it

I've since shared it with friends and other people I know and got the same reaction every time. 'You can't make jokes about that! It's too awful! Think about the kids!'

Rubbish. It's a witty article, I'll laugh as much as I please. But it did make me think about the way that people still stigmatise humour in this way, particularly stand up comedy.

Why isn't humour considered a suitable way to cope with tragedy? If anything its the best coping mechanism we have. Is it not better to laugh at something rather than let it break you down? If an event is so appallingly evil (like the Savile case)surely the ONLY suitable thing to do is to confront it with humour, BECAUSE it is so incomprehensible otherwise.

We MUST make society's demons anything but that. Laughing at them takes away their power. It's all about context people, it's all about context.

View original

The wags have been satirising Savile since before the story even officially came to light, so the gate for "Jim's a padeo LOLZ!" jokes has been well and truly opened already.

As for why some people find this sort of material objectionable, a lot of it comes down to the type of person doing the telling I think. When the joke (and in regards to the link you've posted I haven't been able to locate one) is being told by some "I'm just telling it like it is, man!" teenager displaying a frightening lack of human empathy who's using a story about molested children in a desperate bid to blow minds with his uninformed, obvious and entirely recycled "edgy" opinions... well, it's easy to see why no one's laughing. Present company excluded.

Quote: Sam666 @ October 23 2012, 12:55 PM BST

I stumbled upon this article about Jimmy Savile just recently. Not only is it pretty accurate but it made me laugh my face off...

http://bouncesin.com/news/general/item/416-jimll-fiddle-it

View original

Laugh your face off? Bloody hell, now I know who's watching In With The Flynns and buying all the Michael McIntyre O2 Arena tickets.

If I didn't know better, you and the blog author are the same person and this is a mindless bit of spam, but as I can't prove that, you may have the benefit of the doubt this one time.

As for the dark jokes, we've been cracking those on the Jimmy Savile thread as soon as the allegations came out.

It is surprising how many people join this forum for no other reason than to draw our attention to items that they happen to have stumbled upon on the internet, but hopefully Sam will stay to join in the fun...

Quote: Stylee TingTing @ October 23 2012, 1:37 PM BST

Apparently, Frankie Boyle was in a Top of the Pops audience in 1973, but he got kicked out of the studio after touching up Gary Glitter.

View original

If only you'd said fingering instead of touching up you wouldn't have had to cross it out.

Quote: Tursiops @ October 23 2012, 1:41 PM BST

It is surprising how many people join this forum for no other reason than to draw our attention to items that they happen to have stumbled upon on the internet, but hopefully Sam will stay to join in the fun...

View original

Yes, people are very nice like that.

Quote: Sam666 @ October 23 2012, 12:55 PM BST

I stumbled upon this article about Jimmy Savile just recently. Not only is it pretty accurate but it made me laugh my face off...

http://bouncesin.com/news/general/item/416-jimll-fiddle-it

View original

I don't understand.

It's not unfunny in a "try to be funny but fail" kinda way, but more in a "not trying to be funny" kind of way.

It reads like a serious article, and not a great serious article at that. What am I missing here?

It's just a very poor article.

In the meantime, I suggest Sam has a read of Viz, Private Eye, the Onion or the Daily Mash to help him familiarise himself with what constitutes humourous writing.

Just for the record, you get a much smoother ride around here if you're just honest about who you are and why you're posting.

Given the nature of the article in question, Sootyj's very valid comment will no doubt have the OP rolling about on the floor.

Walls are really funny as well.

Hey, where did the other posts go?

I mean it's a simple enough point. If you do a video stick it in showcase and say "this is my video I made it with my mates we all think it's ace, what do you think?" and most of us will watch it.

Or put an article or sketch in critique and alot of us will watch it and give you feedback.

Putting up a false persona to get feedback and then going "ha ha I got the feedback you were going to give anyway."

Is like shooting Father Christmas for your Christmas present or beating up a Hare Krishna to steal the free curry he was going to give you.