I find bad taste humour absolutely invigorating. Some of my favourite comedians focus strictly on bad taste: Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle and Tim Minchin to name a few. It is offensive, granted; but it is not meant to be taken literally. Like a lot of comedy, if you read too much into it, the substance of the joke is lost. All that results is the ‘joker’ receiving menacing glances from the ‘jokee’. Take for example this joke by Sean Lock: “They say a woman’s work is never done. Perhaps that’s why you get paid less.” Bad taste? Yes, of course it is. But, does this mean that every person who laughs at it is a misogynist? Of course it doesn’t. It is merely the identification of the elephant in the room (women, for the same amount of work, are paid less than their male counterparts), with some comedic flair added for spice.
“If you saw someone sleepwanking on a train, would you wake them?”
Bad taste can be seen everywhere. We have all experienced something quite innocent that can be converted to a fantastic bad taste situation. Ed Byrne was discussing falling asleep in public. We have all had the public sleeping ‘nods’ and woken up feeling quite embarrassed. However, Ed goes on to explain “I’ve woken up in my own bed, doing things to myself that have really made me think ‘Fuck, I’m glad I’m not on a train right now’. ... Lads, I know there is only a slight chance of it happening, but imagine sleep-wanking on a train. It could happen. That to me is my ultimate fear: to wake up, my cock out, jizz all over my trousers, a few beads in the hair of the old woman next to me, and 50 commuters all just reading their papers furiously. ... You can laugh, groan, you can put your face in your hands. But, if you saw someone sleep-wanking on a train, WOULD YOU WAKE THEM?” Granted, that is quite a vulgar scenario. But, there is a distinct humour in that situation. This is what I love about this comedy. Bad taste, for all the preconceptions, is really quite innocent.
great insight into how people perceive bad taste. What essentially amounted in that discussion was: If you don’t like the comedy, simply don’t watch it. If you go to a Jimmy Carr concert, you are expecting to hear jokes about the most horrible of scenarios. But, it is just innocent piss-taking. Also during this discussion, one ‘concerned individual’ (an ignorant wanker with no knowledge of the subject matter) stated that Carr ‘used foul language’. Now, as a person who uses foul language, I am often bombarded with comments relating to my small vocabulary: “You don’t need to swear to get your point across; you lose all credibility in your argument; etc.” To this, I quote the great Stephen Fry: “I haven’t met anyone who’s truly shocked at swearing ... They’re only shocked on behalf of other people. Well, you know, that’s preposterous. ... It’s not necessary; as if that should stop one doing it. ... Things not being necessary is what makes life interesting. The little extras in life.” (I couldn’t agree more.)
Ricky Gervais, of recent Golden Globe fame, gives a great example of telling bad taste jokes. “Comedy comes from a good or a bad place; it is for you to decide what that is. ... The thing about sick jokes is: when we tell a sick joke, it’s with the express understanding that neither party is actually like that. I wouldn’t tell a sick joke to a known paedophile. I wouldn’t go ‘Here mate, you’re gonna fucking love this more than anyone, son”.
Swearing and bad taste do go hand in hand. It’s something that fans of bad taste would understand and appreciate. Sometimes, to further accentuate a point, swearing is a necessary evil. Yes, some people are against swearing. Does this mean that I shouldn’t enjoy the occasional (read: frequent) cuss word or epithet? I don’t think so. Sure, I’ll choose my audience. It’s not appropriate to swear in court or a lecture/ tutorial. But, I shall choose to exercise my freedom in most other aspects of my life.
Let’s delve into the above quote a little further. Paedophilia is a horrible circumstance. It is, by no stretch of the imagination, something to joke about. However, taking into consideration what Ricky Gervais says, we know that the joke is not meant to be taken seriously. You don’t tell a rape joke to a victim; that is just ludicrous. However, if the target audience is right, then opportunities to take something very serious in a light-hearted manner arise. Note: I am not condoning any of the actions mentioned. They are deplorable, vile acts.
With all this being said, the most important point to make is as follows. Bad taste humour has its place in society. The target audience is a select individual, and most certainly not the reasonable person. If you do not want to hear it, then don’t. But, don’t watch it and then write furious letters to the government demanding immediate action because you were offended. People who do this piss me off. If we wrote letters about all the things that offend or annoyed us, we would do nothing else
A debate was occurring in England regarding offence at some jokes told by Jimmy Carr. In a nut-shell, a parent was upset at some of the jokes told. Jimmy Carr said “Say what you like about the servicemen amputees form Iraq and Afghanistan; but we’re going to have a fucking good Paralympics team in 2012.” Search ‘Did Jimmy Carr go too far?’ on YouTube, and watch the talk show regarding this. It gives a
I may be no psychologist but we as a society gain pleasure from others peoples’ misery. We are simply trying to isolate the pitfalls of our existence and laugh at the misfortunes of others. As much as we empathise with their problems, we attain some sick sense of satisfaction by divorcing ourselves from our circumstances to see the beauty in our own lives. That is the beauty of bad taste.
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