Are There Topics That Should Be Off Limits to Comedy?

     Comedy, whether it be stand up comedy, comedy in television, movies, and even music, has is and will be a huge mainstream industry. In many ways, these types of mainstream comedy are great. Laughter and amusement can be shared with millions of people from all across the world. Comedians have a huge influence in modern day culture, which is why comedians like Dave Chappele, Jerry Sienfeld, Kevin Hart, and more are household names. 

However, comedy doesn't always make everyone laugh, in fact it can do pretty much the opposite. More recently, the term "cancelled" has been talked and debated about more and more. Lots of comedy specials and individual comedians have been very criticized for including very dark or offensive humor/jokes, and many people say that they cross the line or go too far.  At least in a stand up comedy or comedic television setting, should there be a limit to what comedians can joke about?

If you are familiar with this topic, you probably know how controversial this topic is. There are many people with strong opinions on both sides. The main argument for having a limit on comedy is because comedy can be very offensive. Dark humor can get a good laugh but can also go too far when serious topics are brought up. Topics such as 9/11, the holocaust, slavery, etc. are sometimes joked about in comedy. They are very serious topics, and can be extremely offensive to many people. Some argue that offensive humor can be so harmful to people that comedians could be potentially causing suicide. The solution proposed for stopping this varies from including trigger warnings to cancelling the comedian’s career. This would warn/stop the audience from being shown the offensive content.

The counter-argument to this essentially argues that offending people is okay. One quote from Ricky Gervais that sums up the argument well reads “just because you're offended doesn’t mean you’re right”. This argues that comedy is subjective, and someone or some group being offended by something doesn’t make the comedy bad, it just means some people are offended by it. While being offended hurts, no one is forced to watch comedy that they don’t like. If a comedian only makes distasteful jokes and no one enjoys their comedy, they won’t be successful even without people trying to cancel them. 

If a lot of people enjoy a comedian but they are still offensive to some people, then the fans can keep watching and the people who don’t enjoy it can stop watching. Usually, people being offended by comedy isn’t because of the comedian, but the audience’s reaction to it. If a comedian makes a joke about 9/11 that you don’t like but everyone else laughs and enjoys it, you feel singled out and feel terrible, but if everyone is booing then you feel connected with the audience and it doesn’t matter what the comedian says. 

In my opinion, I favor the second argument. Before I explain, I will clarify that if putting limits on what comedians can joke about meant less rape, abuse, violence, or anything else that is horrible, I and anyone with a sane mind would be fully in favor of putting limits on. However, I don’t think that this is the case. Also, I only mean in a purely comedic environment. This could be stand up comedy, comedic television or movies, etc, and are only for adults. In these cases, adults are paying their own money and time into experiencing their content, and no one is forcing them to. If you don’t like a comedian, you don’t have to watch them. If a comedian is a bad person and makes bad jokes, they will get labeled a bad person that makes bad jokes. If they aren’t, that’s the audience’s fault and not the comedian’s.

- Frank