My must read of the day is "Make Fun of Everything," by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in Time:
Today it seems that we live in a world of extremes. On one end of the spectrum, we have anonymous Internet trolls looking for opportunities to dole out cruelty with impunity. But in mainstream culture, it often seems we’re drowning in a sea of political correctness that lapped up on our shores a couple of decades ago and has yet to recede. [...]
To not make fun of something is, we believe, itself a form of bullying. When a humorist makes the conscious decision to exclude a group from derision, isn’t he or she implying that the members of that group are not capable of self-reflection? Or don’t possess the mental faculties to recognize the nuances of satire? A group that’s excluded never gets the opportunity to join in the greater human conversation.
Luckily, a lot of people get this–at least when it comes to their own cultures. Like the burn victim in our sketch, they plead, "You skipped me! Do me!" […]
Where a lot of people get nervous, however, is when it comes to laughing at other people’s culture or perceived weaknesses. That’s when we worry that we’re being insensitive–that we’re being mean.
But ask yourself again what’s worse: making fun of people or assuming that they’re too weak to take it?
This is a week-old must read, but I didn’t see it until late yesterday morning. I only caught it because Mary Katherine Ham tweeted it out. I’m guessing a lot of other people haven’t read it, and they really should. It’s by far my favorite opinion piece in a while.
I’m a bit of a comedy nerd, and I’m rather fond of sketch comedy.
One of my all-time favorite sketch groups is the Upright Citizens Brigade, whose main members were Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts. They had a show on Comedy Central for three years. The concept of the show was that it was about this secretive, non-governmental organization of four people who monitored and semi-controlled the world. It’s a great show, and yes, you may borrow my DVDs.
The intro always started out with the group saying, "Our only enemy is the status quo. Our only friend is chaos … We believe the powerful should be made less powerful. We have heard the voice of society, begging us to destabilize it."
That’s exactly what comedy should be. It’s a check on present day society. What this Time article articulates so well is that great comedy is not just a check for "powerful" people, but for everyone, and that’s where its true value is.
I love being teased and poked fun of. I like laughing, and I know I’m riddled with flaws and annoying quirks. Like Key and Peele, I’m convinced most people feel that way about themselves. Dish it out; I’ll give it back. But I also understand it can be uncomfortable to laugh at jokes if they are directed at something, or someone, different from us.
We should get over it. We need people to make snide comments. Well-done mockery isn’t mean-spirited. When it becomes that, it ceases to be funny.
We’re so worried about saying the right things that we’ve stopped having fun. Comedy exists to be fun, to challenge the norm, and to light-heartedly remind everyone that yes, everyone sucks a little bit. When political correctness impedes that, it’s a shame.