I have to say in defense of rape jokes, they can be funny. This does not mean that all of them are funny or that one should encourage little Timmy to study the works of Andrew Dice Clay as if they were the talmud but they can be funny.
George Carlin challenged this idea thusly: http://artists.letssingit.com/george-carlin-lyrics-rape-can-be-funny-7j9zp7k
I think Sarah Silverman's Aristocrats joke about being raped by Joe Franklin was funny. Not just because of the absurdity of it but also because of the actualization she has within the joke where she goes from thinking it was something great to realizing it was something horrible, like many people actually do.
I blatantly stole that concept on my own show where I did a piece about being raped by Jesus while on vacation in Majorca. I stand by that piece it's offensive, yes. But funny.
Also keep in mind that rape literally has different definitions by law wherever you go. In California you can't give consent if you're under the influence. So every time you combined weed and sex, you were raped. At least you were by California's standards. Between the intent of that law and it's literal meaning, there's a lot of room for humor.
Finally, humor at best, is like a scab on societies wounds. It lets us bring out into the open things which we wouldn't feel comfortable talking about if we weren't making a joke. Which is why the best comedians make so many people uncomfortable. And why so many have bits that you can't really steal. Somebody else doing Richard Pryor's comedy would sound like a klan member. Same thing with Dave Chappele or Paul Mooney. Sarah Silverman, taken out of context, seems hideously offensive but because we know she doesn't mean it yet other people say the same things and aren't kidding, it's okay when she says it. Well... to some people anyway. I know you don't care for her.
Again, that doesn't mean that rape is hilarious or sexual violence against anybody is just a light matter or that all shock humor is deep social commentary in disguise. But because something is horrible doesn't mean it can't be funny. If anything the worse something is the more it needs humor to get people talking about it.
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Date: 2009-07-28 03:26 pm (UTC)George Carlin challenged this idea thusly: http://artists.letssingit.com/george-carlin-lyrics-rape-can-be-funny-7j9zp7k
I think Sarah Silverman's Aristocrats joke about being raped by Joe Franklin was funny. Not just because of the absurdity of it but also because of the actualization she has within the joke where she goes from thinking it was something great to realizing it was something horrible, like many people actually do.
I blatantly stole that concept on my own show where I did a piece about being raped by Jesus while on vacation in Majorca. I stand by that piece it's offensive, yes. But funny.
Also keep in mind that rape literally has different definitions by law wherever you go. In California you can't give consent if you're under the influence. So every time you combined weed and sex, you were raped. At least you were by California's standards. Between the intent of that law and it's literal meaning, there's a lot of room for humor.
Finally, humor at best, is like a scab on societies wounds. It lets us bring out into the open things which we wouldn't feel comfortable talking about if we weren't making a joke. Which is why the best comedians make so many people uncomfortable. And why so many have bits that you can't really steal. Somebody else doing Richard Pryor's comedy would sound like a klan member. Same thing with Dave Chappele or Paul Mooney. Sarah Silverman, taken out of context, seems hideously offensive but because we know she doesn't mean it yet other people say the same things and aren't kidding, it's okay when she says it. Well... to some people anyway. I know you don't care for her.
Again, that doesn't mean that rape is hilarious or sexual violence against anybody is just a light matter or that all shock humor is deep social commentary in disguise. But because something is horrible doesn't mean it can't be funny. If anything the worse something is the more it needs humor to get people talking about it.