A Joke Too Far?

Censorship of Comedy? A dangerous act, writes David Taylor

censorship comedy Comic Humour jimmy carr Joke ricky gervais standup unilad

In recent months there has been a lot fuss made over the censorship of comedy.

The reaction to Jimmy Carr’s Down Syndrome joke; the BBC having to issue an apology every time Jeremy Clarkson opens his mouth; Ricky Gervais’ “mong” tweet and most recently the closure of the UniLad website.

Here’s my top five reasons why this is a trend I find very worrying.

 

1. Free Speech – Yes, as clichéd as this attack on so-called liberals is when they get up in arms I feel it is a valid criticism. Surely it’s illiberal to censor someone for making a joke? Especially as these are probably the same people happy to laugh at a Dead Thatcher joke (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

 

2. A Question of Taste – To avoid hypocrisy I’ll come straight out and say that I am one of those people who gets a cheap laugh an offensive joke. I don’t feel that means someone else has the right to look down on me and tell me that I am wrong because of what I find funny. It makes you wonder how much of the ‘outraged’ reaction isn’t just the 'liberal guilt' from people who also get a laugh from these jokes!

 

3. A Matter of Choice – If you watch a Jimmy Carr stand up performance or spend hours viewing the fascinating and thought provoking articles on UniLad then it is safe to assume that you find their particular brand of humour funny and that you know what to expect from them. The problem with the media outrages is that they bring a niche brand of humour to the attention of people who have not chosen to be a part of its audience and so view the offending joke out of context. This doesn’t mean that these types of humour should be censored. If you don’t find it funny then you have the choice to change the channel or visit a different website, just like you do if there’s a particular style of music you hate!

 

4. It’s a Slippery Slope – To paraphrase a South Park episode: once one group of people get something censored, more and more groups will join in. For comedy to remain alive nothing can be off limits.

 

5. And Finally – At the end of the day, a jokes a joke. There are plenty of things happening in the world to get angry and upset about. The flippant musings or tabloid bating comments of a comedian or website are not at the top of that list though, especially as the outraged, morally repulsed reaction is exactly what they are trying to get, because without the edginess the joke would lose a lot of its humour.