OT- Chubby Brown.... Where do you stand?

You'll find several media articles which suggest he should be censored and which label him racist, sexist and goodness knows what else. As I said earlier, unfortunately some people (journalists in this case) are unable to distinguish between attempts at humour (Chubby) and people being offensive. Its only offensive if you are looking to be offended. Otherwise don't go to see him or watch his DVD/videos etc.

 

Comedy is supposed to be an art-form which challenges the boundaries in normal life, and that's why people do it and enjoy it.

I did my dissertation on Roman humour, and came to the conclusion they found nothing funnier than a big phallus (go figure), as well as making fun of various ethnicities, stupidity, being tight etc. It parallels all human populations because whenever a bunch of humans live together, they end up making fun of one another. It's the sophistication of evolved behaviour, and serves a useful function in group cohesion, politics and internal hierarchies. Obviously I waffled on for 10,000 words, but there really was nothing else to say because it's an obvious fact of life, so I slipped in a few innuendos and inserted a few horrible title puns.

I have done stand-up, and you get the best reaction from the "horrible" jokes that really find home in the extremities of the law and social perception of right. The laugh and then the "oooh ****, should I laugh at this" is often an essential component for a successful comedic act, but it has to be used at the right moments rather than being constant, because it can quickly lose the desired effect. Michael McIntyre and the new ilk, however, have really found niche in the politically correct market with what is often seen as "inoffensive" comedy. But he has been brought through the system, and he has been "offensive" to get where he is, and some of the funniest stuff he ever did was off-the-cuff insulting audience members. These interactions have often formed some of his funniest stories. He still delves into more offensive forms from time to time, because otherwise you lose relevance and limit yourself with regards material, but while I could happily watch him for a few hours, my favourite stand-ups are Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle and Ricky Gervais and I tend to try to emulate their styles in my own sets... They are often more innovative and intellectually stimulating, in my opinion.

And yes I am the guy down the pub who thinks they're funny... I didn't realise that's why people were backing away!

 

He's not my cup of tea to be honest, and I certainly wouldn't pay to see him..

 

Really well summed up!

Often the whole point of humour IS to be offensive! Look at that sketch taken from Goodness Gracious Me, where the Indian couples go out for an 'English' and act all brash and loud mouth, shouting and asking for the 'blandest thing on the menu', mispronouncinf the waiters name and mirroring the behaviour of 'typical' british couples in an Indian restaurant. That only works because its belittling the behaviour of white couples, does anyone care? No, 'cause its funny!

[video=youtube;vpStoROu0XE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpStoROu0XE[/video]

 

Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.

 

Exactly, even "offensive" comedy is really "observational" because it plays on our perceptions and either twists it or challenges it in a humorous way. Obviously there are limits to what people find funny, hence why comedians try and push the envelope to see where the line is, but if they go too far for a particular individual I would hope that individual wouldn't feel so aggrieved as to be ultimately offended. A comedian can't make everyone laugh all the time, so it's about you knowing your line and choosing the right type of performer for you on that basis, as much as the performers trying to find your line.

[video=youtube;SJUhlRoBL8M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJUhlRoBL8M[/video]

 

I dare bet there were thousands up and down the country crying along with Andy Murray during his post-match speech!!

 

The missus was and even I felt sorry for him. The bottling scottish loser

 

Very poetic for a Monday morning AB!

 

I am officially a "heartless bastard" because I was too busy commenting (for "the umpteenth time") that Roger's hair was so beautiful, bouncy and flake-free that I would become gay for him if he so wished, all whilst Murray and my girlfriend were in tears...






So much for being honest in a relationship...

 

A lot of women crying, a lot of men saying "fair play lad, got more time for him now." - Andy Murray essentially did a Gazza, Stuart Pearce and Derek Redmond.

 

The secret of success.

 

I realsie I am in the odd position of being the closest to defending the politically correct brigade, but I do question the division into attempts at humour and peope being offensive. They are not distinct categories.

The best humour is often edgy. That doesn't make everything called a joke acceptable.

One property a joke has is that it can make concepts acceptable. Racist humour is generally far more dangerous than racist diatribe. Laugh at a paki and some people will laugh with you. Rant about paki' and people get bored quickly.

 

Thankfully he's scottish so we can disown him the moment he loses. The remaining perks of colonial rule (its only a joke before someone trys to give me a history lesson and gets upset that I suggested Scotland is or ever has been a colony of England!)

Unfortunately we're stuck with Stu, Gazza and Derek.

 

JPF, do you still do standup?

I wanna see you live, get all huffy and offended then write a letter of complaint to the Daily Mail about how if I had taken a child with me they would have been scarred for life.

 

It depends how you define racist humour. Indeed I don't think there is any such thing as there is nothing humourous about racism. I would not find certain forms of making jokes about the differences between people of of different races racist in nature. Of course now we also have humour which portrays itself as racism deliberately, more as a way of challenging racist attitudes. That's very different from someone using humour as a vehicle for subjecting and trying to influence others to racists attitudes they might hold. They have then stepped away from humour and telling jokes into a whole different category for me. Chubby has been accused of racism in the past but he isn't racist and nor is his show.

 

I haven't had a chance the last couple of years due to work commitments unfortunately. I only forced myself to go to begin with because I hated public speaking (/interacting with human beings) and wanted to get better, rather than dreaming I would be performing at Live at the Apollo at some point. It worked a bit, although I had to get myself very drunk before each gig...

I'm not nearly good enough to be offended by though!
I believe my last review went a long the lines of "he has a posh face, which conceals incredibly sick humour"... I didn't even know I resembled Victoria Beckham...

I used to be able to get away with doing entire sets on Mike Ashley, but since he's stopped being so much of a prick I've had to start making stupid puns

 

One example of the sort of racist joke I am referring to is Bernard Manning's classic.

"Asians (probably didn't use that word) say they are English becasue they were born here. Rubbish. If a dog is born in a stable it doesn't make it a horse."

It's nicely phrased, quite clever and very insidious. It says that brown skinned people are aliens, will always be aliens, and there's nothing that anyone can ever do to change that.

The BNP would never say it out loud, but make it a joke and it will get passed around the pubs.

 

oh, and i really don't know anything about Chubby Brown's shows. I have no idea how racist or otherwise he might be.

he seems the sort of old fashioned comedian i don't generally find funny and so am not going to buy a ticket. I have no wish to place any greater barrier in the course ofhis career than my lack of custom

 

Not my cup of tea at all really. He is pretty clever at times but I find he overplays the swearing card. He is accused by the PC brigade of being racist because he will use stereotypical views of races or nations to crack a joke. Its all in the name of humour and has no sinister undertone.