Runa216 said:
Actual COMEDY has no bounds. Comedians do. Knowing the difference is key. |
But is that really a meaningful statement? Comedy comes from comedians, so saying "comedians have boundaries but comedy doesn't" is effectively the same as saying comedy has boundaries.
The only real rule is that comedy should be funny, or the audience won't laugh. But a comedian shouldn't have a boundary against telling bad and tasteless jokes - Andy Kaufman demonstrated this back in the 70s and 80s. He was a comedian with only bad and tasteless jokes, and it made him a massive comedy hit. I don't think our comedy landscape would be anywhere near as good as it's been if it weren't for Angry Kaufman and other comedians who offended people.
One idea of boundaries can be based around identity politics - Jimmy Carr satirizes the idea (sorry, a short so I can't embed): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Wgx9ZhxkRLg
Also on this topic - sure if Steve Carrell got up on stage and tried Chris Rock's jokes, it won't be nearly as funny because it lacks the context Chris Rock sets up for the joke. But, Steve Carrell said the joke and it was funny when he did - he just added proper context to make it funny - Carrell's Michael Scott being an ignorant white guy making his co-workers uncomfortable adds the context that makes the joke funny to the viewing audience :D
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
