Funny, Not Funny

With the good intentions of political correctness, our current Woke-ness used to be an admirable quality because of our aggressiveness to call out prejudice and bigotry. But humor is now asking for a break to assess the seriousness of a flawed and harsh cancel culture that’s no longer a laughing matter for the comedy community.  

By Ron Dulatre (Cainta, Rizal)

November 5, 2021

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Comedy has been on the rise lately. With stand-up special after special being released on Netflix featuring diverse comedians; unique and alternative genres of comedy films and series being produced and sought-after like never before due to social media, comedians from every walk of life are able to express themselves and be discovered now more than ever.

This comedy movement is not restricted to countries with mostly white people. As someone who lives in a third-world country such as the Philippines, I'm proud to see film production companies taking more gambles on independent comedy writers and a rise in the Filipino standup comedy scene.

But comedy is now in a delicate phase of serving a diverse and complicated audience with an evolving set of values and sensibilities shaped by both the successes and mistakes of the past. To be woke is very rampant nowadays but what do we do when comedy is being shaken to its core along with the world’s own paradigm shift?

When Comedy is Cancelled(t)

Political Correctness is defined as “a term used to describe language, policies or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society.” With this Google-copy-pasted definition or any permutations of such definition thereof, there is nothing quite wrong with political correctness per se. Not until jokes had to suffer the filter (or punishment) of its close cousin that is Cancel Culture.

Cancel Culture is a social movement that attacks groups or individuals that don't pass the test of being PC. It started out as a good thing. Its power was most palpable in recent events like the Me Too movement which was started by people supporting women coming forward with allegations of sexual abuse against powerful men of Hollywood - one of them in fact was a highly respected comedian Bill Cosby, who was once famous for his colorful sweaters but is now infamous for his colorful sexual abuses. 

But soon after, Cancel Culture has turned ugly and started targeting people for small mistakes done in the past - mistakes which in reality they regret and have most likely learned from. But that’s when Cancel Culture’s tough surveillance gets too simplistic with its approach. And comedy - with its innately derogatory nature - did not escape the mercilessness of being cancelledt.  

“Our endeavors may or may not work but making mistakes publicly is what makes it really hard. Yet, I offer a refuge by saying that mistakes can be turned into a teachable moments. And we are able to rise above the challenges and flaws of Cancel Culture by knowing that while comedy is about not taking life too seriously, no one can accuse you of not taking your job as a comedian seriously.”

For example, comedian Kevin Hart stepped down as the host of the 2019 Academy Awards because of homophobic tweets from the past and since then, the Oscars haven’t had a definitive host.

But that doesn't mean that Cancel Culture has completely taken over. In fact, there is an ongoing battle between people saying that this movement is ruining the lives of people who have changed for the better. Meanwhile, comedians try to defend their craft by saying that people these days are too sensitive. 

These are the same "comedians" whose type of humor has the tendency to “hurt” or “insult” - and yes, that includes the Pinoy Humor. 

So where do we draw the line? When do jokes cripple someone’s dignity and worth but when does comedy get crippled by society’s fight for humane values and basic virtues? Is there really an extent to which the demand for righteousness becomes exaggerated? 

Well, first of all, we need to look at all the aspects of modern comedy and comedians so we can know who to make fun of and whose lives to destroy.

In Political Correctness, for example, the main problems are the narrow-mindedness on BOTH sides of comedy, the comedian, and the subject of their jokes. Take for example Dave Chappelle’s joke in his Netflix Stand Up special “Stick and Stones” about transgender people. 

Transgender people are valid and there is no argument in that. But just like what most people do, transgender people must also laugh about our predicaments - not to demean one’s existence but to simply not take life too seriously. While Dave Chappelle could’ve gone a little easy on his words, it might also help for us to see where he comes from; Black men who never had the privilege to have the same problems as say, Caitlyn Jenner, a white, privileged, and celebrated transgender woman.

We also have to understand that comedians aren’t entirely against Cancel Culture but are simply calling out the toxicity that permeated the purity of the movement’s intentions. 

The perfect example for this is from comedian Daniel Sloss’ stand-up special on Netflix entitled 'Dark' wherein one bit he makes fun of his dead sister with cerebral palsy and calls her "Raggedy Ann" causing the crowd to get offended FOR her sister. He tells them that the audience doesn't have the right to be offended FOR her sister, because they don't know her, she's HIS sister and he knows better than all of them that his sister would be laughing at the joke. We can therefore look into the WHY behind an offensive joke instead of judging too quickly or refusing to see its other side.

Cancel culture's fuel also comes from what they read in an article online about a joke of a comedian. OF COURSE, people are going to be offended by that and it's very easy to see why because of one simple question: Where is Stand Up comedy performed? In a dark room or theatre where everything is staged and planned out. 

Okay, stay with me on this one for a while, and let me help you out. 

Imagine YOU, reading this. You are probably in a whole new environment and you weren't probably planning on going to a comedy or preparing yourself to watch comedy and you see a news article about a comedian being canceled for a joke that is told to you by some clickbait headline or a comedy deaf blogger who's telling you one thing: "He said this and this is bad". So you - consciously or unconsciously - agree with the framing of the article, then you cancel a comedian who never had the chance to tell you their joke in the right environment with the right context.

With Great Humor comes Great Responsibility

Now, you might be thinking: Are you saying that no comedian should be canceled? That any comedian can say anything and easily get off the hook? To ease your minds, I gently offer you my two cents and hopefully suggest a better way to know when and when not to cancel a comedian or anyone.

First, they should know what they're talking about. Comedians and comedy writers should write jokes that they should be able to relate to or at least come up with material that they have researched properly. Every art form, every craft - be it comedy or anything else that bears a public platform should simply be mindful of what they put out there. This actually applies even for non-comedy folks but for anyone who has a social media account. Perhaps the rule of thumb could be: when in doubt, just send it in your group chats. But to go back to comedy professionals, whether your audience is ten people in a small bar, or ten thousand people in a huge auditorium, or ten million people streaming from different territories, it will always boil down to RESPONSIBILITY. 

“Let’s try this one for size: Offending someone could be an indirect tool to challenge and hopefully stretch someone else’s narrow view. Conversely, getting offended could mean a lack of perspective. Meanwhile, HURTING someone simply is a lack of empathy. And whether or not it wasn’t our intention to hurt, this shouldn’t keep us from acknowledging that there are jokes that are simply not even funny anymore.”

Truth be told, no matter what we do and how much we prepare, an audience’s response is unpredictable. But that is perhaps the glitch in the LOL Universe we live in - the privilege of being funny comes with a trade-off. Our endeavors may or may not work but making mistakes publicly is what makes it really hard. Yet, I offer a refuge by saying that mistakes can be turned into a teachable moments. And we are able to rise above the challenges and flaws of Cancel Culture by knowing that while comedy is about not taking life too seriously, no one can accuse you of not taking your job as a comedian seriously.

For instance, when Black comedians like Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle talk about police brutality or make fun of white people, they are able to do so because of their own life experiences and the experiences that their communities suffer through. They make jokes about it not to make light of the situation but to give attention to it.

Another great example of this is the recent show called Reservation Dogs. It is a comedy show about pre-teen native American gangster wannabes, a show made by and composed of entirely Native American, filmmakers, actors, and producers. It has become a beloved and endearing show because its comedic story is told by those who know it.

Old Jokes, New Tricks

A lot of the “canceling incidents” against comedians and their jokes come from what they said in the past, more specifically posts they've made way back. That’s understandable as a lot of old movies don't hold up anymore. As they say, there are jokes that don’t age well. 

Locally, Vhong Navarro films definitely have a huge share of jokes and humor that didn’t age well. The 2003 film Mr. Suave had transphobic jokes. Navarro’s 2004 film Otso-Otso Pamela-Mela Wan also had offensive broken Asian accents and his 2008 film Supahpapalicious had a character with a face painted black to elicit laughter - because as we all know, in a Gluta and Likas Papaya-loving nation, to be dark-skinned is no option, at least in the period when the aforementioned comedy movie was produced. 

But I couldn’t emphasize this enough: PEOPLE MUST BE ALLOWED TO CHANGE. And if we can see that they have, we can’t judge them for being the same person that tweeted the “n-word” 8 years ago. I know YOU said it when you were in high school. But I won’t hold that against you.

Ultimately though, we have to work harder in knowing the difference between offending someone and hurting someone.

“Comedy has been one of the greatest weapons against injustices in the world by making fun of such issues but also starting a conversation so that people won’t be able to ignore the real problems.”

Here’s a good example: When men are generally targeted for rape, they are instantly offended and are quick to argue that people should not be labeled and stereotyped. Okay, noted. But while one gets offended with being associated with an issue, one also has to realize that such unfortunate generalization is just an aftermath of a bigger and more delicate issue.

In short, it isn’t about you. Albeit we must not tolerate prejudice, we must also understand that the prejudice is just symptomatic of a systemic problem - women suffering rape, assault, abuse, and dealing with microaggressions every single day. While it is unfair for you to be judged for something you say you are not, a grown-up response to this is to transcend one’s ego and realize that you aren’t exactly the victim here, brother.  

A lack of experience in certain circumstances or a lack of exposure to certain issues must not hinder us to understand where a person’s pain is coming from. So instead of getting busy defending our innocence, why don’t we look at it both from a micro and macro perspective - see the human emotions behind every reaction and the bigger web of issues that’ll make you think less about your privileged ass. 

Moreover, it is good to challenge people using jokes and comedy. Comedy could be a tool to bring light to sensitive subjects that must be questioned and talked about. 

Let’s try this one for size: Offending someone could be an indirect tool to challenge and hopefully stretch someone else’s narrow view. Conversely, getting offended could mean a lack of perspective. Meanwhile, HURTING someone simply is a lack of empathy. And whether or not it wasn’t our intention to hurt, this shouldn’t keep us from acknowledging that there are jokes that are simply not even funny anymore. 

Hannah Gadsby, an Australian lesbian comedian walked that line perfectly in her critically acclaimed stand-up comedy show "Annette" where she expressed her disdain for such form of stand-up comedy that doesn't actually do justice to the pain she's lived through as a discriminated lesbian and a rape survivor.

So now that we have all of that out of the way, the problem now is comedians are struggling to write comedy and make jokes with all the hoops of PC-ness they have to go through. But instead of looking at it as an obstacle, I’d like to offer some opinions and techniques that might help us evolve rather than impede our growth as a comedy community. 

Start with finding what’s funny about you. If you’re ugly? That’s even better. I know I am. Nobody is perfect so start with yourself. What do you laugh about yourself that you can make light off so that nobody can use it against you?

In British comedian James Acaster’s stand-up special entitled: “Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999”, a huge part of his jokes circle around his journey with depression back in 2018. He made it pretty clear to the audience that he’s comfortable telling them about this because he’s already dealt with these problems and that the audience will never be the first ones he’ll tell it to because that is just crazy.

We must also give the spotlight to where it’s supposed to be. With all the problems the world is facing now, everyone should know better than obsessing about 10-year-old Facebook posts. Comedy has been one of the greatest weapons against injustices in the world by making fun of such issues but also starting a conversation so that people won’t be able to ignore the real problems.

And finally, do it for the right reason. When you’re writing comedy, always remember that we’re doing it to make people laugh, to make them happy, to make them either forget their problems or make them accept those problems. We never do comedy to insult and hurt people. We do it to show that we are all ultimately on the same page... and that the world may be ending, but we can laugh about that because we simply deserve to.