Newsflash: Not Everything is Funny
In a world where everything is funny, does it actually make nothing funny anymore?
The “flannel and jeans” era of comedy is shifting. Between the “hey bighead” energy of networking from repetitive open mic rooms and whinings on podcasts that comedy is getting censored, it’s clear that the landscape is changing. Jokes aren’t landing but it’s not the content getting blamed; it’s the audiences. But, is it the audiences fault? Is it censorship?
We’re often told that setting a standard is “censorship” or that wanting a better environment is “feminizing” the scene. The cry is usually that comedy isn’t “funny anymore” because the old, tired tropes don't land like they used to. Unfortunately, the repeat offenders of this lack of craft tend to be a particular kind of comedian, which I think is driving down the standards of comedy across the board - audiences are not liking it, but these comedians are crying “free speech” infringement in response to criticism.
Gentlemen, I promise, we’re not trying to silence you when we give you feedback... It’s just that mainstream and diverse audiences are increasingly less tolerant of low-effort misogynistic racist based shock humor. There is a room for your humor, but it’s not the only room anymore.
Let’s be clear: excellence isn't censorship. When a room relies on putting down your partner, trivializing trauma (which quite often, I’ve seen, is not your own you’ve experienced), or using shock value as a crutch for a lack of craft, the audience is left asking one simple question after the hostage situation we just endured: “Hey dipshit, u good?”
The defense I hear for this position is that “a good comedian can make everything funny.” However, I think when you say everything is funny, eventually, nothing is funny anymore. You’re trading craft for shock value and calling it “edgy” when it’s really just low-grade comedic slop.
You may think it works because you heard some nervous chuckles after you thought it was “funny” to shock the audience with a horrifying image brought on by your confusion of what’s funny and what’s terrible, but most of those laughs you hear are people experiencing second hand embarrassment.
The reality of the “censorship” retort is far more mundane: these types of jokes are just irrelevant to a broader audience now. This style of humor is clinging to tropes that haven’t been 'current' since the early 2000s. It’s like the jokes grandpa made 50 years ago that don’t hit anymore. Humor is a living language, and if you're still relying on the same tired, dehumanizing punchlines from twenty years ago, the audience isn't 'canceling' you - they’re just bored.
When you say everything is funny, eventually, nothing is funny anymore.
When a room goes quiet after a ‘shock’ joke, it isn’t ‘censorship’ - it’s a review. Refusing to adapt to that signal isn’t being a rebel; it’s being a bad listener. And in a craft built on connection, if you stop listening to the room, you’ve already lost.
I’ve watched these sets where comedians are joking about everything under the sun; unspeakable acts with animals, trivializing race and identity based hatred which endangers every day people, trying to find humor in sexual assault, thinking physical and emotional abuse is something that can be a punchline… I’ve watched everyone’s reactions ranging from disgust, shock and horror. For some reason, this is news to a majority of comedians at open mics:
No, not everything is funny.
This isn’t a crusade against ‘blue’ humor. I love a joke that pushes boundaries and plays in the dark, but it has to be smart. If you know me well, heard my sets at open mics and you’re reading this, you’re probably yelling: “Hypocrite!” Listen, I know. I am my father’s daughter. I’ll be the first to drop a weird joke when the vibe is off to dispel some tension and sometimes it’s polarizing when I do that, so I save it for people I know appreciate that humor.
So, obviously, I know there is a craft to being provocative; gallows humor is some of my favorite. But what we’re seeing isn’t provocative; it’s just stupid. It’s a cheap substitute for wit, used by people who would rather shock a room than actually write a set. Writing a set takes some thinking, trial and error.
Those early versions of the jokes may not work immediately - you may encounter a dead room while you’re working an intelligent joke. But it’s worth it. Comedians such as Ricky Gervais are an excellent example of powerful gallows humor that is anchored in emotional intelligence, and you’d catch this if you’ve ever taken time to watch the series After Life.
Humor anchored in craft and compassion, as much as I can do it in my own limitations and craft, is how I’ve been able to maintain a professional reputation as an English coach. This is how I don’t burn my reputation down while working with people of various backgrounds and national heritages, along with teaching kids and working for two churches and being involved at my local Temple.
As a result, I won’t do anything for a laugh, I tried before, it was embarrassing for everyone involved. I don’t need everyone to laugh at every desperate attempt at a joke I make. My professional work does make it more difficult in comedy, but I don’t have to remind anyone in the audience of the most awful experiences of their life to do anything for a hyuck.
As a result, other than some bombed jokes because my brain was running on a low RAM processing brain speed, I don’t have to worry I inflicted any trauma on someone or that my job is in peril due to a cheap joke I made. I think other current comedy audiences are tired of appearing polite while giving pity laughs to keep the peace when a joke was heinous, not simply offensive. I hope what you’re getting from this is:
Overuse of shock value and denigrating humor is a lack of craft in exchange for quick laughs; it is mediocre at best and traumatizing to the audience at worse.
If you completely disagree with me and think I’m a wet blanket, that is fine. No worries at all. My humor and perspective on the current state of comedy is most likely not for you, then. But keep in mind, I often hear the whispers repeatedly after hearing these sets:
“Is that comedian okay?”
“Why did they think that was funny?”
“I think that person needs therapy, not a mic.”
You are free to disagree with me and stay with your brand of comedy that you think is comedy, and keep those rooms running with that brand of humor. But I, and others, don’t have to be in that room with you, and it does not threaten your freedom of speech or free will to peddle your perception of what comedy is, and keep building that room.
I want to be part of the room with people who have been brave enough to express these criticizing whispers; those who want to laugh without guilt, who know everything isn’t funny, and they don’t want to walk into a room that trivializes the horrors they’ve endured in life.
If others want to keep playing in the dirt of that brand of cheap humor, that’s their business. I’ll be over here with the performers who are brave enough to write a joke that may not work immediately but didn’t sacrifice their dignity in the process.