喜剧演员争论什么为可接受幽默

Comedians² Debate What Is Acceptable Humor 喜剧演员争论什么为可接受幽默

For over 50 years stand-up comedians have played an important part in the examination of popular culture and society. Several generations of comedians have served as critics and observers of American life. Many comedy acts have also courted controversy³.

Right now, people inside and outside the world of comedy are debating what, if anything, is too controversial for comedic use. In other words, should comics concern themselves with "political correctness?"

To be 'politically correct,' or PC, means to avoid language that is, or could be, offensive to a group of people. It is usually used in sarcasm⁴, however, by those who reject political correctness.

Comedian¹ Jerry Seinfeld created the hugely successful television show "Seinfeld." He is a leading critic of the so-called PC movement. In fact, he recently said that he would no longer perform at U.S. colleges and universities because he considers students to be too PC.

Chris Rock, John Cleese, Lisa Lampanelli and several other influential⁵ comedians also have expressed similar opinions. They say political correctness represents an unreasonable⁶ sensitivity. They argue that that it hurts comedy and restricts open discussion. Author and comedian Jim Norton has suggested that society is now "addicted⁷ to the rush of being offended."

Not all performers agree, however. Katherine Jessup has been doing stand-up comedy for more than three years. She is also a writer and co-host of the podcast, "Advice! with Dave & Kat."

Ms. Jessup says part of the problem is that for a long time, men have been the only people in the stand-up community with any power. She feels that these people are protesting because they don't want the community to change and they don't want to lose control.

"That seems to be said by a lot of people that are… comfortable and well established in where they are… and more than anything else its male comics and men in comedy sort of saying, like ‘You know you're taking this from me and I should have the right to say whatever I want to say.'… There is a lot of patriarchy, a lot of racism⁸… It's this tough thing where, on the one hand,… there are all these great opportunities and on the other hand, like… it's still very much the club that it was before."

?A growing number of performers and members of the media agree with Ms. Jessup. Several writers for The Washington Post newspaper and the CNN news network have released articles that argue against Mr. Seinfeld's position. Others say, however, that the real problem is that the audience does not fully⁹ understand the issues that they believe to be offensive.

Randolph Terrance has been doing stand-up for 16 years. He also co-hosts the weekly open mike at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse in Arlington, Virginia as well as the podcast Three Guys On. He believes that audiences become offended without thinking about how comedians are trying to address a given subject.

"For instance, you say 'black guy' and the audience immediately pulls away from you because they think you're going to say something racist¹⁰. Or they don't quite understand what the term 'racist' actually means or prejudice actually mean. Here's the mistake Seinfeld made: Seinfeld is too white and too rich to be allowed to say it. That's why everybody's mad….. What he said was true. To me, there's no question. I'm in front of audiences, I see it. You'd be a fool as a comedian to not see it… The audiences don't see it because they, they're not on our side."

The debate about what discussion is acceptable on stage is not new. The First Amendment¹¹ of the U.S. Constitution bars the making of laws that would abridge¹² free speech. However, there are laws that limit that right.

In the 1960s, comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested five times on charges of obscenity. His public battles with the law gained attention for and helped change attitudes about free expression.

Lee Rowland is an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is a non-profit organization that works to defend the individual rights included in the constitution. Ms. Rowland says that the U.S. Supreme¹³ Court has repeatedly agreed that the only kinds of speech not protected are "true threats, defamation¹⁴, obscenity, child pornography, and incitement¹⁵ to violence.

"Our constitution was [written] to protect minority viewpoints from government interference," she adds, "including, and perhaps most importantly, ideas that challenge, annoy, or offend us."

Ms. Jessup says people have become quick to be offended and not quick to be thoughtful. She says this is not good for comedy. Mr. Terrance blames this on the fact that the audience does not understand the process of making a joke. He says it partly happens on stage, during open mike performances.

"Open mikes are, for us, we're just trying stuff out. But now, people have a camera in their pocket, so they'll videotape you and put it up. So there's this unfinished thought that's up on stage, or something like that, and people put that up and they think, 'Oh, look at this monster, he's telling a joke.' No, that was an unfinished thought that I am trying to work out, and this is the only place I have to work it out… People don't understand that because they don't understand the art of stand up."

Mr. Terrance and Ms. Jessup both say that some people should not say certain things. This includes language that could be considered insulting to different groups of people. Mr. Terrance believes the limits should be less restrictive than those Ms. Jessup proposes, though.

"Yes, there are people who can't say certain things. Having said that… nothing is off limits…"

"White people don't get to say the N-word. Men shouldn't be walking around saying the C-word... There's a certain level of, 'If you're the oppressor then, you don't get to then use the language of the oppressed.'"

However, both comedians agree that it is important for them to be able to talk about ideas that challenge people. Ms. Jessup sees this as a useful tool.

"Speaking from personal experience, there are things that can be really hard and really painful but that you figure out how to make funny… when you work through that… there is a feeling of speaking truth to power that's really important and takes some of the awfulness away."

Though this debate will likely continue for many years to come, it is safe to say that comedy will always be a main source of social commentary.

Words in This Story

stand-up comedian – n. a person who performs alone on stage in front of an audience and makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories

court controversy – idiom. to act in a way that is likely to create an argument that involves many people who strongly disagree about something

sensitivity – adj. the tendency to become upset about things that are done to you, are said about you, or relate to you

offended – adj. caused to feel hurt, angry, or upset by something said or done

patriarchy – n. a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men

racism – n. poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race

open mike – n. an event in which anyone may use a microphone to sing, read poetry or tell jokes for an audience

abridge – v. to lessen¹⁶ the strength or effect of something

obscenity – n. the quality or state of being offensive

attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

defamation – n. the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something

monster – n. an extremely cruel or evil person

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

7 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

11 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

12 abridge   

v.删减，删节，节略，缩短

参考例句：

• They are going to abridge that dictionary.他们将要精简那本字典。
• He decided to abridge his stay here after he received a letter from home.他接到家信后决定缩短在这里的逗留时间。

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

14 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

15 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

16 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。