Why can’t we offend anyone anymore?

             I had a conversation the other day with a co-worker about how great Mel Brooks is and how it is utterly maddening that movies like History of the World: Part 1 and Blazing Saddles could not be made today because of public uproar over their lack of political correctness. When did society become so thin-skinned that we lost the ability to be creative? One of the reasons why people of my ilk love Blazing Saddles so much is that it turned a negative condition like blatant racism and turned it into comedy. There is nothing funny about being a racist. True. But the concept of racism is inherently comedic. I mean really………think about it. Of all the things that someone could be judged on; socioeconomic status, personal hygiene, intellect, physical attractiveness, style, religious affiliation, etc, and those people who are racist willingly choose to judge someone based on the amount of melanin in their skin. Seems pretty ridiculous, right?

            

            Moreover, society has decided to become so self-aware and self-conscious that “popular comedy” has been reduced to cheap parodies that have no merit or intent. To return back to the genius of Mel Brooks, he was able to take the ordinary conditions of life and elevate them. Did he use language that was controversial? Perhaps. But when that language is designed to make people think and start to analyze their own condition in life and have constructive conversations, isn’t the controversy worth it?

            

              Try watching reruns of Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, or All in the Family. Racial epitaphs were frequently. And also quite humorously. Fred Sanford, Archie Bunker, and George Jefferson were characters were cantankerous, loud, prejudiced, ignorant, arrogant, and short-sighted. They also were funny and hugely popular. The magic question is why? My guess is become they were readily apparent in the daily lives of the viewers in real life. I know I personally have SEVERAL family members who have Fred Sanford/George Jefferson characteristics, and I have them in both genders. Do I agree with what they say most of the time? Probably not, but it doesn’t stop conversations or relationships from happening. Moreover, the television shows exposed the ridiculousness of the philosophies of the protagonists they highlighted.

            

              Another example of political incorrectness that was both humorous and purposeful was the ‘word association’ sketch between Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor on Saturday Night Live (if you haven’t seen it, YouTube it). The two used language to explore race relations and the severity to which words can impact said relations. In a game of one upsmanship, both men proved that language, when manipulated in a certain way can augment a person’s entire mental and physical composition. Again, I will say that racists are not funny but the purpose of satire is to expose the flaws in a certain subject that the creator deems to need changing.

            

               The current state of comedy is pitiful. No originality. No real purpose. There is an abundance of vulgarity but it doesn’t come from a place of creativity or activism. Woody Allen had it nailed perfectly in Melinda and Melinda where the characters debated the root of comedy and concluded that it was inherently rooted in tragedy and that is why people need to laugh. The world is not a very nice place and it takes a strong amount of intestinal fortitude, spiritual clarity, and determination to survive and thrive in it. All we have as people are our ideas and actions. There is such a fear not to offend people. My contention is that it is ok to have anti-bullying be the new rallying cry for young people and every single segment of society has an awareness ribbon, but it’s not ok to have realistic conversations about the nature of young adults. 

            

                I love to laugh. I love to laugh because most of the time, when I look at the news (when I do take the time to watch it), or really take the time to observe the world, it takes all my strength not to start crying from all the ignorance, fear, and pretentiousness that I see. As a society, I think it is our duty to try to better ourselves and I think we do that by examining what is wrong and exposing it. That is where comedy comes in. I think it’s an effective device for starting important conversations that need to happen so that maybe we can be better. Dick and fart jokes are all well and good but there are bigger problems out there and there needs to be a more creative avenue to solve them.