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Neale Bacon Inner circle Burnaby BC Canada 1775 Posts |
My show is more ventriloquism than magic, but this still applies. I went to some comedy clubs as well as watch the comedy channel.
What ever happened to clean humour? Even material that is supposedly "family friendly" can be pretty questionable. I would never dare do a comedy club with my ventriloquism because it seems clean comics get zero respect, at least from what I have seen.
Neale Bacon and his Crazy Critters
Burnaby BC Canada's Favourite Family Ventriloquist www.baconandfriends.com |
stoneunhinged Inner circle 3067 Posts |
The answer is very complicated, I think. For one thing, dirty jokes are simply easier than other kinds of humor. Just think up a new slang word for ***, and people laugh. This is surely due to some basic human instinct, though I'm not sure what that instinct is. Aristophanes filled his plays with bawdy humor, so the tradition of unclean humor is at least as old as clean humor.
In addition, there was a kind of competition that began with Lenny Bruce--then with people like George Carlin and Richard Pryor (all exceptionally talented people)--to push the edge of the envelope regarding what one could say in public, and a HOST of less talented people copied them. Again, it was easier. But the funniest people to me are neither clean nor unclean: they are those who put a lot of time and care and practice into their acts, and who have a gift for being funny. Doing it clean requires more work, but there are a lot who have done it and still do it. I mean, I understand how you feel. I really do. But I don't think you're right. GOOD clean comics get respect. There are just a lot fewer of them. I remember a time during the mid-90s that I just stopped watching stand up acts: with the Comedy Channel and the proliferation of people doing it, watching stand-up became about as interesting as eating at McDonalds. Too many comedians. Too many people being funny. The quality of humor plummeted with mass production. At the same time, those who were at the top of the game--people like Jerry Seinfeld (a clean comic, unless he did some dirty routines that I've forgotten) or Stephen Wright (a clean comic, too)--managed to distinguish themselves and make boatloads of money. So it's complicated. There's a big market for people who are talented and funny and work hard and who don't have to resort to potty talk, but most just aren't talented enough to make it work. *** jokes get instant laughs. *** jokes from someone like Carlin or Pryor get GIANT laughs--so the motivation to be dirty is very high. But I know how you feel. I remember the Bill Cosby albums I listened to as a young boy, and I am convinced that it was some of the funniest stuff ever made. "To Russel my brother, whom I slept with" is such a classic that just remembering it makes me smile. But it also makes me weepy with nastalgia. Not because it was clean. Because it was funny. Jeff [edit] BTW, in case anyone thinks I was using inappropriate language in this post, I wasn't. I was using the proper Latin term for the male appendage, which in the context of adult discussion should not be considered "dirty", but which the automatic censor replaced with asterisks. Ironic, somehow. |
Neale Bacon Inner circle Burnaby BC Canada 1775 Posts |
You are right - GOOD clean comics get respect but they are hard to find.
Neale Bacon and his Crazy Critters
Burnaby BC Canada's Favourite Family Ventriloquist www.baconandfriends.com |
Dr. Delusion Special user Eugene, Oregon. 733 Posts |
Great topic Neale. It's getting tougher and tougher to find acts that have clean humor. As Stoneunhinged mention, it's hard to think of anyone performing today besides Bill Cosby, that's totally family friendly. I think it was Bill Cosby that I seen in a interview bashing today's comics, that feel they need to use profanity and adult subjects in order to get a laugh. I think he called it " Shock Humor ".
Bob. |
ERIC Inner circle New Jersey 1188 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-09-05 16:15, Neale Bacon wrote: And who could ever forget Red Skelton. I don't believe I ever saw him do anything "Blue" But with routines such as the "Smucker's Gin", there was no need. |
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
The goal of comedy is to create surprises, draw attention to things that others have not seen or dare not say.
Even a simple pun creates a new way of using a word or phrase. So when someone makes jokes about sex, swearing, race, gender, politics, sexuality, toilets, bodily functions etc, they are simply drawing attention to taboos, allowing us to see them in a new way. Sometimes, a lazy comic will add in a few ****s or ****s to a clean joke to add a sense of shock or surprise. It's like a little turbo boost for the joke. However, many comics perform blue humour which is intelligent, thought provoke and, FUNNY! |
Neale Bacon Inner circle Burnaby BC Canada 1775 Posts |
Eric, I am a huge fan or Red Skelton, and he was a big influence on my style.
BTW - that hilarious routine is Guzzler's Gin. Nicholas - I guess there are some who use the blue material to effect, but I guess my question is why do people expect it. When I have told potential clients my show is clean and family friendly, it is amazing how many have said "We don't want a kid's show" Why is clean kid's stuff? (Rhetorical question )
Neale Bacon and his Crazy Critters
Burnaby BC Canada's Favourite Family Ventriloquist www.baconandfriends.com |
magicoftomh Inner circle Cleveland, Ohio 3664 Posts |
Perhaps because these people have raised their kids where they DON'T HAVE TO explain the dirty jokes from shows their kids are seeing.
That's scary to me. |
nathanallen Special user Des Moines, Iowa, USA 522 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-09-15 23:54, Neale Bacon wrote: Send 'em my way!
Nathan Allen, The Maniac of Magic
www.maniacofmagic.com To buy a prop is nothing. To write a good routine is something. To really entertain an audience is everything. |
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