For me, The Big Bang Theory always skirts the line. Sometimes we're being asked to laugh at the geeks; but the show is funnier when we're laughing because the geek in us can relate to what's going on. Jokes about Raj's "Indianness" aren't that funny or original. If we're going to have ethnic humor, let's at least have it from the people who live in those cultures and know it, like Russell Peters. But the jokes about his shyness with women, those never get old. Because shyness around the opposite sex is relatable.
In episode 1 of Freaks and Geeks we see the geeks in gym class playing dodge ball / murder ball. When you watch it you either laugh cause you've been the "victim" or because you were that asshole throwing the ball really hard and now you're seeing what it was like on the other side (my tough Italian ex-boss killed himself laughing at that scene.)
In Revenge of the Nerds there were good jokes about the nerdiness of the guys, but the humor was amplified by the general theme and feeling that we're meant to identify with them. Most of us know what it's like to be bullied, or to feel like an outsider. When they give their big stage show at the end, we laugh cause we're excited to see them showing off just what nerds can do--we're laughing near them, not at them, as Robin Williams said. ;-)
I don't have the quote right so I can't find it, but there's a comedian who said something like: Comedy isn't meant to humiliate, but to remind us that we're all flawed.
Now... another day I'd like to talk about ethnic humor, like Russell Peters and Sacha Baron-Cohen. Another day....
3 comments:
I like that: Comedy isn't meant to humiliate, but to remind us that we're all flawed. That's what I think about comedy and humor in general. It shouldn't be us vs. them. It should be about all of us in some way or another because even the ass-kickers are insecure.
There are some comedians that can get away with almost anything, though. Like Russell Brand. I laugh no matter what he does. He sometimes humiliates people from his audience, but they volunteer for it.
@Skye - "even the ass-kickers are insecure." Oh yeah, I saw my boss' vulnerabilities too. ...Brought them out a lot, lol.
@JJJ - I've only seen him in movies--he was HILARIOUS in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. But yeah, expectations play into this. I would expect something very different from a Brand show, than say Key & Peele who you see interacting with their audience in a really chummy way.
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