HebrideanUltraTerfHecate on Nostr: https://archive.ph/07VCu#selection-2323.4-2327.116 Modern comedy is no laughing ...
https://archive.ph/07VCu#selection-2323.4-2327.116
Modern comedy is no laughing matter In 1949, the BBC drew up a strict set of rules for producers of its comedy programmes. “Humour must be clean and untainted directly or by association with vulgarity and suggestiveness,” it sternly decreed. “There is an absolute ban upon the following. Jokes about lavatories, effeminacy in men, immorality of any kind, suggestive references to honeymoon couples…” Today such strictures may seem amusingly quaint. Frankly, though, we’re in no position to mock them. Because the comedy gatekeepers of the 2020s are even more humourless. For proof, book a ticket to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Its organisers have drawn up a “Code of Conduct”, which is to be assiduously followed by everyone involved – including the actual comedians. To help make the festival a “safe, positive and inclusive space”, they must “think about what influences your words, opinions and feelings and who they might exclude or harm”. They must make no “derogatory remarks about an individual’s body, manner or sexual activities”. And, while the organisers “believe artists must be free to express themselves, it is unacceptable to exacerbate or reinforce discriminatory or harmful behaviours or views”. All “content and work shared in our spaces” must be performed “with care and without malicious intent”. You may be wondering whether the comedians are actually permitted to tell jokes, and if so, what about. But it gets worse. Because, according to the “Code of Conduct”, everyone involved must “acknowledge that bigotry is pervasive and entrenched in our industry and wider society”. All I can say is, I pity the poor comedians. Because God only knows how they’re going to squeeze this requirement into their act. Perhaps: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To join a mass protest against the apartheid state of Israel’s genocide of the people of occupied Gaza.” Or: “An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar. Quite rightly, the Irishman and the Scotsman hold the Englishman to account for his country’s shameful legacy of colonialism, slavery and oppression. The Englishman promises to educate himself and do better.”
Modern comedy is no laughing matter In 1949, the BBC drew up a strict set of rules for producers of its comedy programmes. “Humour must be clean and untainted directly or by association with vulgarity and suggestiveness,” it sternly decreed. “There is an absolute ban upon the following. Jokes about lavatories, effeminacy in men, immorality of any kind, suggestive references to honeymoon couples…” Today such strictures may seem amusingly quaint. Frankly, though, we’re in no position to mock them. Because the comedy gatekeepers of the 2020s are even more humourless. For proof, book a ticket to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Its organisers have drawn up a “Code of Conduct”, which is to be assiduously followed by everyone involved – including the actual comedians. To help make the festival a “safe, positive and inclusive space”, they must “think about what influences your words, opinions and feelings and who they might exclude or harm”. They must make no “derogatory remarks about an individual’s body, manner or sexual activities”. And, while the organisers “believe artists must be free to express themselves, it is unacceptable to exacerbate or reinforce discriminatory or harmful behaviours or views”. All “content and work shared in our spaces” must be performed “with care and without malicious intent”. You may be wondering whether the comedians are actually permitted to tell jokes, and if so, what about. But it gets worse. Because, according to the “Code of Conduct”, everyone involved must “acknowledge that bigotry is pervasive and entrenched in our industry and wider society”. All I can say is, I pity the poor comedians. Because God only knows how they’re going to squeeze this requirement into their act. Perhaps: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To join a mass protest against the apartheid state of Israel’s genocide of the people of occupied Gaza.” Or: “An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar. Quite rightly, the Irishman and the Scotsman hold the Englishman to account for his country’s shameful legacy of colonialism, slavery and oppression. The Englishman promises to educate himself and do better.”