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I agree. The first Chris Rock comedy special was so funny because he just made jokes about everything. His later shows were more race focused. He was still funny as hell, but not as good as that first show in my opinion. I get that he had something he wanted to say, but it does get old after a while. That may just be a conceit of more famous comics. They're free to give a message with their comedy instead of trying to break into the business. They sell out arenas, so obviously they're not going to turn off the audience so easily.
Yep, I can see that. There came a point when Carlin became so angry and political, I couldn't even watch him anymore. He did seem to lighten up a bit later.
Anyway, some people say only untalented comedians fall back on crude language/subject matter. Carlin didn't shy away from "offensive" language/material, but no one could accuse him of being unintelligent. Same goes with Chris Rock.
As my father used to tell me, being vulgar for the sake of being vulgar just isn't funny. However, there are some comedians who are vulgar, but their jokes are funny, so the vulgarity just adds to the humor (Bill Burr, Chris Rock). Then you have the Amy Schumers of the world who think that by being vulgar they can make up for the fact that they're just not funny. That's simply not the case.
If you pay close attention to the comics who use it often (Amy Schumer, for example), what they say is not THAT funny; we are just trained to laugh at certain moments.
Henry Cho is a comedian who is clean but still funny. His routines aren't goody-two-shoes or family-friendly, by any means, but he just doesn't need to cuss or talk about vulgar topics.
So true! And I love Henry! His accent cracks me up too! Mitch Hedberg is probably my all time fav - the way he viewed things is the same as me. When I heard his jokes, I could relate as I'd already thought some of the same things.
I can't stand Kathy Griffin - cheap, unintelligent, rude, juvenile humor. Not funny.
You probably are just seeing too many low quality comics. Good ones use offensive jokes much more effectively.
People like Lewis Black or Dane Cook are really funny and their off-color stuff is equally hilarious. Try listening to some of their routines on youtube and compare it to what you are hearing.
To me, there is a huge difference between off color and offensive humor, if you can call it humor. Off color. suggestive or even political can be funny, but too many comics have gone way to far in the past 20 years. At least that is my opinion. When every other word is F or similar, when a joke is too descriptive regarding body parts or sexual activity or when comics spend a good part of their performance putting others down, it is offensive. We were in a show called Crazy Girls in Las Vegas a few years ago, A lot of people actually got up and walked out. We did not, but I understand why some did. A little can go along way.
Ok, so I admit I am an old lady but I also know my 30 something grand kids agree with me on this. And let me add, I am certainly not a prude, old, but not a prude.
It's about how you construct the joke. George Carlin was one of the funniest and offensive comics who ever lived, but he was not unintelligent or lazy. Some of his routines involve what I would describe as not a dance, but a SWORDFIGHT of language. That man had a way with words. He was a cunning linguist He also didn't sugarcoat it with religion and other societal ills. He sniffed out BS like no other. Every comic has their schtick, though. George started out with a hippie type persona but he did grow into a more angry, jaded cynic as he aged, coupled with a strong New York accent, and that's part of what made him so enjoyable. His more "innocent" acts were based off observational humour on the little things we notice but never mention. All of it was funny. I don't agree with everything he said but it always made me laugh.
I also love Louis CK who shows that you can joke about anything if you do it right. Jim Gaffigan is a lot cleaner but he's hilarious. Bill Burr, Lewis Black, Kathleen Madigan, Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle, Bill Hicks, Sarah Silverman and Natasha Leggero are all comics I find funny, many of them use offensive humour but they use it differently. It's about delivery, persona, wit etc. The best jokes are the ones that make you think.
I posted this about Ryan Hamilton in another thread. He's so clean, he even jokes about a couple in a previous audience who actually found a way to be offended by his material.
IMO, dismissing things you dislike as 'lazy' is rather self-absorbed.
Forget IMO. Let me set forth a fact: "Self-absorbed" is an adjective which has nothing to do with one's opinion that being vulgar is commonplace today, and that such humor is construed by some to be lazy.
It's not the humor that is offensive. Humor is humor, and by that measure, it is funny. Being called offensive by someone does not make it offensive. Even if a lot of people form into a self-congratulatory pressure group and all call it offensive on behalf of somebody else's clinically wobbly sensitivities.
I'm reminded of the comments by UC president Clark Kerr, when they tried to ban a controversial speaker. "The purpose of the university is to make students safe for ideas, not to make ideas safe for students." If you find humor offensive, learn to deal with it. Dont try to make humor safe for a mature adult audience.
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He also didn't sugarcoat it with religion and other societal ills. He sniffed out BS like no other. Every comic has their schtick, though. George started out with a hippie type persona but he did grow into a more angry, jaded cynic as he aged, coupled with a strong New York accent, and that's part of what made him so enjoyable. His more "innocent" acts were based off observational humour on the little things we notice but never mention. All of it was funny. I don't agree with everything he said but it always made me laugh.
