» The shock factor of standup
Victoria Nangle says that shocking can be funny, but only if it’s done with care and intelligence
It’s always a little annoying when I go along to what I like to call an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ gig. One where everyone else is howling with laughter and I’m just holding my head in bemusement and confusion. It’s not that I’m easily shocked, more that I’m easily disappointed. After the hype of all of these people liking a comic, I’m a bit sad that I just don’t get it, and a part of me thinks that they shouldn’t either.
“I can’t abide the lazy comedian who just says something in order to be offensive”
I’m not advocating censoring all of the comics that I don’t like. Admittedly I tend to find something funny about most comedians, and there are some acknowledged greats that I only consider to be so-so with a lot of hot air thrown in, but I expect more from a home crowd of regular comedy-goers than to be impressed with something a little bit racey and a little bit racist. If you’re going to slate Bernard Manning as the devil incarnate why should you be happy with another narrowminded comic just because he’s younger and looks good in his Levi’s?
There are a lot of very good shock comics out there. What makes them very good, apart from their ability to make an audience roar with laughter, is that they’ve thought about their topic. Just as I have respect for the thought-out politician with a view I disagree with and have no time for the knee-jerk opinion that might coincidentally be the same as mine, I love to see the so-called ‘offensive’ comics on the current circuit and can’t abide the lazy comedian who just says something in order to be offensive.
Find the element of truth from an active mind as Jim Jeffries resents being considered a rapist simply because of his gender, Reg D. Hunter admires a psychopath’s woodwork skills and many more. They’ve sat down and these thoughts have engaged and pulled around inside their brains.
They’ve whittled their ideas like a good ole boy sitting on his front porch making some elusive creature out of the bit of wood they found out back. They don’t revert to stereotypes in any of their stories and they don’t abuse to get a laugh from the shock value, in the same way a swear word would’ve done in bygone times.
So I’m sitting at a gig and I just don’t get why everyone around is laughing. Yes, the guy is passably talented in that you can see he’s worked on his performance and paced it well. He’s polished his movements, his voices and every other part of his show except the quality of his material, which shows it up all the more.
I feel like that teacher you hated when you brought your report card home. You hand it over knowing what those judged words will be. “Could do better”.
