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    Beyond A Joke The Limits of Humour - Michael Pickering, Sharon Lockyer

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    Andrea M. Guardia H.

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    Als by Micha Pickering ‘LAGE SONG AND CULTURE [EVERYDAY CULTURE (nase wi Ty Gren) [ACTS OF SUPREMACY THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE STAGE, 1790-1980 (ith Baton are Cave, He ele snd Brendon Gregg) HISTORY, XPERIENCE AND CULTURAL SRDS BISEARCKING COMMUNICATIONS: PRACTICAL GUIDE TO METHODS SEDO GLLTURAL ANAL oth il Decne Clo STEREOTVPING: TH POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION (CREATIVITY, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURAL VALUE thet Neus) Beyond a Joke The Limits Of Humour Edited by ‘Sharon Lockyer and Michael Pickering tara pate an lc © Se dys Mil Fig 205 ‘esl paso rape es de poknccnay bracteata saison Pelee penance hearer Erp Geiger ake stern ey Roonheraibecyag mene sybian pomodoro eqn nretnreoa egret ee wen Pe are Oa ee ued aca Sri soeeehenveritr one em Sepa prota eee etl fia ct etre nent ee ‘eis orereod tates tases veo gan Rctreuuie geenpeonivuenta epee SAC abet itso aramtrereen et ‘lpia for book alo he rh ry ‘ey Congres Case aon a Sey cw scr coy ren cd Irae acgntial ements ser taan re eee fea M3 8H ob of ote oF etd aban Crt ny ray Rowe hppa Ete Contents ‘Noe Conroe Intodetion The Ethics and Aesthetic of Humour and ‘comedy Michael Peering and Shao Locker 1 Comic acim and Violence Micha Big 2 Race and Ethnicity in Popular amour ‘Denis Howitt and Kwame Ons emp 3 Humour and the Conduct of Plies John Morea 4 arody and Decorum: Permission to Mock ny Pees 5 Breaking the Mould: Conversations with Oni Dit sand Shana Muza ‘Sharon Lakverand Miho Pickering (6 Mery Heli: Humour Competence and Social Incompetence Ken ils 7 Privacy, Embarrassment and Social ower: Bish Sitcom Francs Gray 8 Comesies of Sexual Morality and Female Singehood Deborah Chanbee 9 The Ambiguities of Comie Impersonation Miche! Pickering and Sharon Laer tagaphy Index e ” 98 6 180 198 208 Notes on Contributors | Profesor of Social Sciences at Loughborough Univesity. His background isin soll psyehology and among his ‘nteress have been the study of extreme rightwing dclogy, national. {sm and psyehoamalytic theory, and curently aap in the connections between theories of homour ad socal theory in general, He i the suthor of Social Payholgy and Integroup Relations, 1976; Fascists: A Socal Pycholgat View of the National front, 1978; Uetematonae ecitede a Pacha a Since’ es Racer, 198%, clog ad Soi Payot, 1982; Arguing end Thinking, 1987, new ein 1996 seg Ditenonas A Socal Psychology of Everday Thinking, 1988 (vith Susan, Condor, Derek Edwards, Mike Gane, David Middleton and. Alan Radley) logy and Opinions: Stuer In Rhetorical Psychology, 1991, Talking of he Royal Fury, 1992 (new edn 1999); Bana Nationale, 1995; Freudian Repesion, 1999; Rockall Jews, 2000 (2001; ad Loughtr and Ries Towards Social Cg of Hon, 2008 Deborah Chambers 1s Chair of Communication Studies at the Univesity of Newcastle She has taught and retescehed in Austeaa 36 ell a5 the UK. She isthe author of Representing the Fanily, 2000; Women and foals, 200 (wt Linda Steines ad Carle Fleming), ‘The Practice of Calta States, 2008 (vita Richard Johnson Parvt Raghuram and Estes Tincknel; and New Soll Ties Contemporary Connections i a Fragmented Sait, (2008) Frances Gray ls Senior Lecturer in Drama a Shelfield Univesity. She hasbeen Vising Professor at llegheny College, Pennsyvania, end he Universes of Lodz snd Krakow 2s wel a Stadio Manage? fot BBC Radio She ls ie author of fon Arden 1982 Noe! Coward Sond Wen Women’s Pays atte Albany Empire 1960; Women and Lenght, 199 1nd Women, Crime an Language, 2003. lo 1994, Frances was awardee Fist Prize i the Raio Timer Aras Fr Radio Comedy, fo Sally, Jo ed ars ofthe Var, Dennis Howitt is Reader in Applied Psychology at Loughborough University, He s the author of 16 books and numerous aces in he fois of ace, forensic prychology, mass communiations and statistics Nason connate i He is coauthor with Koeame OwaruBempa) of The Race of rycho- lag: Time for Change, 1994 and Pschlogy Beyond Western Pept, 2000 ‘Sharon Lockyer is Lecturer in Media Studies at De Montfort University. Previously she taught at Loughbozough Univesity, where she was avarded her PRD fora thesis eid An Be to Offensive: ‘The Discouctof Offence and Censure in Private ye. She as ween ar ‘eso the ethics af ummout and wat the recipient of the Intemational Sci for Humor Stas Emerging Scholar Award 2004 John Morea s Profesor of Religious Seas 2 the Cliege of Wiliam and Mary and Pesigant of Humorwori Seminars (rr morvote, {on} He was President ofthe Intemational Sait for Hume States i 20015. He has leo aught at Northwestern Univesity, Minos, and at Peansyvania State Univesity. His books include Taking Laughter Serauly, 1983 (in pin, anslated ico Japanese and Turkish); The Philosophy of Laughter and Huma, 1987; Hor Werks, 1997) sad Comedy, Tragedy, and Religion, 199, From 1988 t 1999 he was Review tor of Hume: Ttemetional furl of or Reseach Asx consltan, be has done presentations on the benefits of humovr for ovet 409 ongeisations in North Amerie, Europe and Japan. scent inchage ING, IM and the World Bunk Kwame Owusu-Bempah & Reader So Prychology a Lelcester ‘Universi inthe School of Soil Work. His esearch in the area of race extends over twenty Yeats, bas yielded numerous publication in te emic and profesional journals, aswell sin edited volumes. He i= co-author (with Dennis Howie) 0€ The Rac of Pecholgy Te for ‘Chang, 1994; and Prychoagy Beyond Weta Perspectives, 2000. ory meri f Commas ann apa UUnienty snd Wistng Pots nthe Socclgy Depa, Cy ‘niet He bees enor Reset alow a eaeyan Use, ‘Conneitat,USh a Vntng Profesor t Copenhagen Unive Sea Actos Universi. est ator of Play, 19 The Lag of She Abt Fm and Tteian Comey 97; Poi, 1991 ea. ‘Bins ey, 1994 Desig nts 1996 ced wh MS otro Spmig no Cones Ns Yalu nd Sue Sis, 200 {nse War Te ag is 2004 with Howe Taba) i Ns om Corba ‘Michael Pickering is Reeder in Culture and Communications at oughborovgh Univesity. His most recent pubietons include His- ‘ory, Experience and Cultunl Studies, 1997; Researching Commancations ‘A Practical Gul to Methods in Media and Cater Analyt, 1999 (th avid Deacon, eter Golding and Grakam Musdeck) Streonping: The Poles of Representation, 2001; and Creativity, Conimnication ant (Cutout Value, 2008 (with Keita Negus), en Willis an English teacher curently working in Liverpool. e has secenty been ated i PD fora thes onthe pages and ol Introduction: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Humour and Comedy Michael Pickering and Sharon Lockyer Introdetion “Two year ago a we were planning this boo, «story made the head les. Ie was fescue in all she mar newspapers in Wester Europe Siiio Berlusconi, se Callan prime minier and bilonsie media ‘magnate, had begun his erm as president ofthe European pasament| in Strasbourg with an il}judged and highly offensive remark He had rounded aceusngly on the German MED, Martin Schule, with te up fgation that he should take a paras 2 guard in lm about Noi ‘concentration camps. Mos of those present were applies, though | ‘Beruuscont beamed brosdiy after delivering bis insult Badascont i renowned for possessing the git of the gfe but this was a comic blunder of enormous proporons. He was vidaly condemned fr ls ‘rude national serotyping and case mora incenitity, but he then ‘managed to sip forther into the wie by daiming that in his own ‘ounty, Holocaust jokes have been ‘doing the rounds" for yens ‘becuse Italians knew how to laugh about that king of wagedy is setempt at damage limitation only succeeded in causing offence further aBeld, smong tly’s Jewish community and Jewish people ‘Mound the world Ben in he own county, the newspaper La Stampa Pronounced Belesconi's remark poisonous, and sid:"A jake can run [resting The impleation ws that there are ies when humour, ot Sterpted humour is not only inappeopaate but also disastrous for the various social identities and relations that re daw nto ‘The incident was reproduced on that evening's television news Following his cesponse to Martin Schulz, Beduscon’s gin seemed nen to signify tht his remark was ust fake and nothing more. ‘This of coure war disingenvous, but relied upon the commonplace 2 Booed ite notion that joke isu generis and shouldn't be registered within the same schema of understanding as serious discourse Jokes do have thls (0m generic and discursive chaactersticy, and ae dependent 9n the time and place in which they are made ot reproduced But doer this ‘mean that they have no cecrence at llto anything beyond the come frome sn which they are utere? Chay ot. The Berusconl sty is ust one example of an attempt (or apparent attempt) at humout that broved seriously offensive twas an exreme exatple, for we don't ‘ormally make unwarranted comparisons between our agvcsrcs and Prison camp wardes. i was ago a very poor joke But evcyoe hat ‘encourteres cases of joes that seriously backive. They go Sadly ‘wrong, and maybe even achieve the apposite of humaur, casing ‘soneems about the value or context of comie tansgresion For many people, there ae cerain jokes that aie beyond 2 joke Beshscon's bungled atempr at soni wit with «bey polit sens dedicated to Europesa integration was an obvious example of ake” {hat ean at last potently, ‘ruln everything’ The cause of Gos ‘ational reconcltion, andthe atk of cotting totems hisonclly ‘eth the greats rae crime ofthe twentieth century, eanly sured severe jolt Others disagreed, ana were prepared o defend Bedurcon ‘Thay ever included Jewish people. Vox pop interstews by Sophle Ais tn Rome were ported in The Guardan on 4 uly, 2003" was une ‘sig Federica, 3, climbing on ter mopee: 1m Jewish and fel very pease that att someone tas reminded he Germans what they have dane it was perhaps aot the ileal phrase he ued, But twas ust irony. do think the prime nis ter needs to apologise or even explain, If humanity has got over ‘what the Germans did, Tam sure the Germans can get over tis ‘Similar interviews in esi fund that people regarded Bsiscon's Nei {ibe as'shamelesr, ‘shocking, tasele. In ital, tas eee oss Fav Towers ale the reference being to a famous episode in the BSC TV sitcom seis 1978 and 1998) where Bat Fawity Uobn Cleese, Assit his om imprecations to his sal boat ‘not menonng te war, ‘offended a party of German guests in hs hotel by doing Her imper- sonations and marching the goosestep. Te compaison seemed spt esting in mind Fawity's choereipatence and apparently late apes, ba the humour inthe stom appeared to be aecpable because ‘sociated with 2 comically awed, Nomegiown personaly whose sccepable atts serwed to point up the absurdity of ant German pes cc. 1 could ready be understood a satirical assault on such peje le In Berhsco's case, no such interpretative posibity existed Aine tnad dently been coset. The joke ad backed. His comparison ‘benween a Gaiman poltican and an SS guard was despeatly unfunny. Humour and offensiveness “The Bescon! story confiomed the aed for book that woud explore te celalons betwen seis and comedienne, an more spec eal berween humour and ofssrenes if war cer thar hs ‘Mead oe ad erste ine, oes his tea tat her re ehic Tims to Bumout? The pupos of the book we've subsequently put topes sto expo th queso. Weal mates foes, bu mo OF os ‘xe st inc unceatn abot how torpor whens ote sake, ‘ren augpee of being oensive, ete to ourveso ote. We ae nce about host egiter the tence without seeming flak 3 ‘ens of amour or without nig the seston of bing mol thc intolerant or-in what sow at unlspeied ta of condemn Son — poly comer (Noone want foe jged in iis ‘Tocuam tat we ck a sense of humour st lnc a snl on out Setestem, om an atibuteo oust the help eine ur a nine {Paedpeson worthy of being Known Irs tanamoun fo dein us EEkcent o pesonaies, bang “tery so Incomplete pero’ (be 996 8 nde Loker ad Ping 200, how do ‘Nensgitteth pos ean hates been Sumo and oes tress ot fee speech and cultural respec ina plural ocey? The book hae produced i canton tthe ebates hat ees ‘mound tis question, Ths an impo gustion bese humour son of ne ns pera sive cements of publ aur occur aco al contemporary med Into of te eterent insttonl forma awe ein sent pet of everyday le and out Gyo. Humour ot Gentine to any paisa gence ot form of nara, even though Cenain genes nartive forms ne ceed by teria of beng ‘nny, eae of meter hey aebiene thi Nort by any meant ‘cctive to conventional econo locations, Huo nates ‘very are of scale and ineraton, even ring ead i ‘Sons whereitisnot normal rede sappopnt, ss sometine the cae with sk or bac batho ors son, humour ot oth comedy extends yond ads ot exhatey ‘more formal staging cub venus, cada tn. 4 Bond ie ets generally regate as Dene to laugh sou things, nt cust to er protien of our chess an sx fas te Soo bck on wat was reno veaded every sro maybe even trae and haves goo neh abou it Tee ate ary ay ese ‘where sso bur equ there acces when kis iapproprt to thug we Bumour docs nti hapuy mit he gener enor ofan ‘ent cr atastion, ang when 4k fogednd# oereping ‘mark, as being beyond a joke, we ring te he pad of wing eowily ut humour shit hemos smakest mockery of sertonsness. Ts of couse wy me eer ut the at good rewons or bing humour seus, even Sevaing peace or tereotypely dons nda, One of he fenton this book ey Falmer, har wens nonin iy ‘wna tht prpve 994 se io aims, 987 ve pape ths cotasion of yn more pesca tha me concent On he aston of oesnener i hamour but we dos sero an ‘ithouopsopes acon asa on someones weet nares ‘Sa cones nc ects eyo 2 peas rou or etegny, proves to ave eeu damage ‘results and repercussions, we should take this seriously. * “hi docs at cena tat we re somehow oppor 1 Resour cient ot sen of Te contbuton to hs ook ave atest {owe bout te ehies and sexhetes of hemor inne ‘haps ecroe they stare in the dese fo explore some of the onern and eae rd by humour co ask whee the eo humour na comedy maybe sl ea hw hey maybe nea ‘dito reo enor, which sassy sedeteng Tee fre cerainly caver where enorhip i nares, a fo examgle 0 rotting cdren fom some forms of sexs mou, bu erbip Erpar ofa sytem fgovemanc or lea dei o ee speeh ad ides to eco yw esol calengea. ee sper Catal open debate about the etic of uur a wel as enjoyment of ‘Sten sari seh oro ea ede by temp to cose hw wich dette ner San pare the mor ahd piel ees thar necessaries of hos ie al fs, any fhe not ven explored toa rest dee orn ny grape. We tka to snake some fonts no tte tus and tk hy some opi ace obeaded by wba ya stoner, ntended a fen Roe shut tay dea ith toes? And what Kins of tpn of omic teatnens of ope eure people to ake alee? Wt eet stein § tegitimat ote offence tam tem oF instalment of come louse? Tet nececanly counter productive to 2 0? Should any ares of public cpanel be taboo $0 far as humour Is concerned? These are the Sone of questions which are high on the agends when the ethics of Jpamour are being sed. Tncreasing attention ls being pald to such questions, pasticlaly wee appes' hat examples ofumor and comedy have hit aginst ‘Ton-aegoiable limit. To take two other Third Reich examples, + ‘aan video made in 2002 in Support of the anti-euo campaign Showed comlcsetor Rik Mayall impersonating Hiler and presenting the cur ava Nan plot, wll more fecnsy Prince Hoey, hid ele line to the Bats throne, donned s Nazi uniform for 3 feney-dress ast, wadionaly a source of comics entertainment among invited Tuer Both caso were roundly conderaned, chough Labour MP Kate {Eoey, who featured inthe video, asserted that anyone who did not Togs atthe Hier spoot ‘needs #0 get a Tif’ (The Guarlan, 3 Tuy pul he Beis Labour pay wa aso ceticsed in January 2008 for ‘Campaign poster in which the heads of Michael Howard and Oliver {etta fhe Tory leader and shadove chancel) were grafted on r the toutes ot tying pigs, between which appeared the caption ‘The Day "Poe Tory Sums Ade Up’. This was considered by some as anti-Semitic esnuse both these polis ae Jewish (bi, 29 January 2008) Was this a legimate objection oc «species of religious paranoi? Ws it make, insensitivity or thougesnes on the pat of New Labour and {he ageney TSWA who produced the poste? (see Syenes, 2005, and Sitsan ane Brook 2008, on TAWA). At the very least, the incident Seemed ionic in view ofthe Labour government’ Serious Organise ‘ESine ane Pie Bil, which wet trough is second reading just 2 fonth before the postr appeased onthe Labour party website. This Mas taco Geng Sedule 20 of te il whichis designed to outlaw Tipeech publlenion or pesormanee that would incite religious ot Sadar here te was considered 20 be awed, a for example in its [Elston of ace and seligion, and dangeous, as fr example i possity (Gaging vite actors and Slmmakersin tele repreentatlons of el Sear aps or creat. The government denied tis, claiming that the {in wean ns prevent fee speech oF religious satire. Iwas nevethe- Tess strongly opposed bya coalition of politicians, lawyers, academics ‘hs comedians, including Rowan Atsnson, star ofthe BBC TV sitcom SESS plsctaddr who nssed that here shouldbe no subjects about ‘Shieh you cannot make [okes/ He denounced the bl for promoting Melee thas there shouldbe aright not to be offended. 2 my view, (I 5 aonds ke SHS Hi weeds far more impontant than any ight noo Coed (The Guardian, 7 December 2004), yn "= This ves some meat of te eon nat ins open conten Seren those coneredto pte atom at Sean ee gad singer Keith Allen was once physically asiulted by ¢ cola becsuse of joke about an IRA bomb (Pickering and Litdewood, 1998 238). There ace also cases when people have been sacked'sra uirey offensive or tases joes. Inthe same month as the Aying igs pore sppeatet, Sky Sports dumped their football punait Rodney Mace because of «playground pun he made on the tagedy Of the foc, tsunami and the Toon Any, as Newoatle United FC ae oceeay own. Sky offered apologies oat ‘hose who were atendd Op too “Anexcasable joke; Marsh was made todo lkevige ater Sip ees ne removed his comment fom later trasmissions of te shew ot [bch tha been mage. Marsh's poston became untenable fos whee dhe bad sig an while being held to account for what is concesnncs “Inexcusable’ i usually the cause of dismissal in such once shag {248 when someone's eden for sata! comment re ante ‘mined by thelr actions rather than for what they say Which hanes {orth place them in «postion of hypocrisy oe make them vlnecable to {he charge of operating with double standards This wat theeae one ‘Angus Denyton, chair ofa BBC TV news comedy progiamme, tac (Get News For You, cited by Ken Wits in his conten to tn eae oval, the celebrities involve are expected to sty ut ofthe poole {98 for @ given period of ime until they ae allowed back ine the ‘media fold, their penance apparently completed and their sone, pparently xpungee, ‘These two eases may not seem commensurate 0 talsing questions shout the ctria by which they are sieved, Some aay fea thee Muslims being made to bungee jump without sings and work stip. es Hs performance became subject to pli ivestigation (Mail on Sunday, 27 Ocober 2002). This was one opporonistc incident among ‘many ofthe anislamic jokes that have culted since the Tage ‘evenls of 11 September 2001, but i erainly as implications forthe ‘esponsiblity we have for what we sy. Pacticulrty in public we ate hnld to aoegont as rae for what we sy a5 what do. “Another example discussed by Ken Wills later inthe Book tthe sacking of the Tory MP Ana Waterton from the shadow cabinet, in ‘May 2002 for ling what one Conservative poiscan described sa offensive and sinker joke at an annual rugby ei diner inthe nosh ‘of England, She wound up her speech by saying ‘Lat me tll you 3 sony ‘An Englishman, a Coban Japanese man and. Pakistani were all on 2 tain, The Cuban threw « fine Havana cigar out of the window, ‘When he was asted why he replies “They are 10 s penny in my countey’. The Japanese man then taew 4 Nikon cles ut of the carmage, adding: "Thee are 10 a penny In my county The Englishman then picked up the Pakistani and thre him out of ‘he train window. When al he other aves ak him fo secount fois actions, he sid "They are 10 penay in my country Despite an apology, Ann Winterton lost her place in the shadow ‘cabinet for what the Tory pet, Lovd Taylor, calle an appaling lack of political judgement’ (The Guardian, 6 May 2002: 1). Rais jokes and utatively comic references are harcly an anomaly in the Conservative Party ~ Tory politician Alan Clark once described Acs at "Bomgor Bongo Land’ and only two years ater, nn Winterton as formally reprimanded again for teling a joke about two sharks going for 4 ‘Chinese in Morecambe Ha, north-west Englang, following the tage ‘deaths in Febrasy 2008 of 20 Chinese cochlepiciers who hae been trapped there by the de Some may ste tis as tasteless bad timing an others 3 ur 3 arm les play on words, but it has aso to be taken in retin to hee rast ‘eprecation ofthe human worth ofthe Asta population tn Betain, tabloid newspaper nytt about ‘legal immigrants and agusbiy, at lest in elation othe continuing legacy of uth imperil and te hierarhical racial Ldcology that was crucial sejunct tot (ee Plckering, 2001, ch, 5). Colonial subjects, Including indentured Chinese ‘cools, were widely regarded 35103 penny’ when compare with the 8 Boe White population in the mothettnd of Empire, The joke entailed 4 continuity of asesment and regard for ethnic ats, and of pore ai ‘ceils and csepard for econamic expletation. The migrant coche: pickers ia Morecambe Bsy had only recently led, ad a migrant ‘workers had been highly vulnerable to exploitation because of Bash Immigration policy. They would act have been deemed sutable subject foc humour if they haa been white (Hardy, 2008), Winterton made her Chinese cochepicker oe ins speech a a dinne: for Anglo- Dutch understanding, Acording to Nick Palmer, Labour MP for Brox: tone, who was present at the ainner: “Everyone was completely embarassed and stared at thelr plats" (Guerdin, 26 February 2009, ‘Winterton’s joke went beyond the English proclivity fora pu since it ‘was demonstably based on the view thatthe etaiiy of the cock: leplckers made it acceptable. was this view whlch made the joke ‘cist As Simon Hoggare 2008) pointed out there had fast beea 8 fey aaster off Denmatk, with many people drowned, would se have ‘ade a joke about two sharks saying: fel peckish Fancy a Danish” “nd fee Densh people present had not laughed, would they have bean decent in thelr sense ofbmou? ‘When a Muslin or Jewish peson takes offence at a racist joke made by a white Christin, tis does not mean that they lek &sease Of Dhumous, and cannot laugh a themselves or thelr on culture, Sands ‘8p comic, actor and tlm drecor, Woody Allen ance made the ke: if only God would give me some clear sgn! Like making a large depeste ‘my name st «Swiss bank The homovr in thie desives fom the conteastive descent fom fervent spstualaspcation to uncestsined ‘material avarice. In the mouth of someone ee, it eauld have been ‘ntepeetet as pandering to the longesablished aniSemit stereotype of ‘Seutn-hound instint for gain Busell an Laws, 1900: 3). the Stezsotype which is sent up so tellingly by Edaie Waters ia Trevor Grit’ play Comedians. in drawing om this stsxeotype, the Joke ‘would then have tobe read inthe light aa oy ofthe métwensiet ‘estury persecution and murcerof Jewish people in Nici Germany but also ofthe commonplace antipaty to Jews in Stain in the same his torial period (eg. Goldhagen, 1997; snd Garb, 2000) Stereotypes ether in comic or other forms of discourse, do not simply dere ‘hele ieologialcarency Hom a eontemporaty context. They ten walls legacy of meanings and associations that extend 8 good way Dc into the past (ee Pekesing, 2001). “Theres however nothing fed about thefts in which stero- types trade. lensty and aplication are of dest signee, Who ts comicly treated by whom and with what consequences are crucial factors that can detemine the outcome ofa joke and whether or not it Js regarded a offensive. for example, the female Muslim cose Shazia ‘an, who we intervie later in the book, has included the follseng tale in her tandiup routine ast year, I went fo Mecca to sepent my’ sing, and Thad to walk ‘round the Black Stone. All he women were dressed In blac, you ould only se their epee, Ang I flea hand touch my Bottom. {ignored if, thought: im in Mecca, semust be the hand of God But then tappened agin didnt complain, Clealy, my prayers bad been answere Imagine hs come acted by stan comedians Mik Reb, Jim Duvdson or Berard Manning with of course the appropiate Tanspostons fence sn pono, woul ni com beg oe Steelers onn expense to ok ld ataomenne ee Iwona Show someone nding ap th own region and eat but someone Snowing the wg td altro ter people ints erence {hat he potential for comic ofensvenes an aoe “In vaoun eater me have gen 9 fe sould Neve made one teat ot humo gute car Theta er ore no antomatialy funy. Thee ae tng at seem to male slg spontaneous, Impubively,withou demas may beam example of slpitek an {Palveentsalapropism, an oftenecu ash of wt. Thee ings {Bay vom tobe sutcmatialy fn. Btn many instances what {estos joe ano funny ons scons hs oD eg deca te iesnng bso be ace 5 come, tein ie lon ov consequence, and then evshusted a5 comic fo" thece ate anit coe when we sy, for whateret rvon, hats no funy” Ot ‘Timon yee ing owing mevp Sometimes we ae uncer 8 azn cance rides eifdge of ibiguows ening ond intepes fon, Gomicimening also dependent onthe sens and conte 0 ‘siGha Jokes tod the competence oft very, he deny of te {he a the teint of te joke oe Paley, 194, ch 13) Whats nny st oe ane so fonny another imu volte a Stantecanexploe in igh seratonal gh or snpy Sei out soul thesightest wp of moke Thies whet makes ouch “Sang fenomenon "stove sow singe event may be seen i ule ferent ways. 1 -eanbe gen bos tagie anda com 4 swssod 4 Dumorous 10 pond eote signiicanc, depending on the Rnd of interpretative work cae ot by diferent periipants’Qfalay, 1988: Se). Tis feat to fee, a sal writer Reta agams one tivened Seas ht you ink wi aust ofence dws, And sometines wht you {ks joke cuss grea oene’ Hines ane Donel 986 9, ‘hejote can go eter way betas, st omen and aces aren Lipman tas observes, theres +e lne bunch Sumas ood the ens! (200: 216) Teding te ine and desing betwee ae ‘wo sides sequrs an eat eponse, To pone woudl the iokeara ole ten enough the interpretative work noted occurs within the ‘er lide of whats heppening. The proces of ote meget 8 sul sccomplibe at condi apr, ste he humor ‘eves on age sxen oot some with flo ee ‘Though cals of iteration may banded within teat ofan exchange and anbigati gress nal ecogon what he ben invaved in negutngjle or tuny Kory becomes compl tony shen ou op thnk to kab ee ‘es espcaly whee qt ve, anced shins en Sniancearenvoied, one tating of meaning and “The purpose of ts OOK to Invite you to stop and think Most of the ine we dot think about hoe tou comedy work on wit Shem en we wos be mach good ta al nce kes of ter om of humor and comedy i steed odin ta way Du ther arenes when we shold hs Tae $v point in stppng and ting when qeson of aeaaee ‘tes are raised by humour. We have pu hs book together inode to ‘ties such questions and conser how they may be pesca Hece we can ety to cay deste and opposing oes tote seo ofenstvnes in Rumour wel aus postions bemeee the. There ae those le Rowan Akos, who bene tat ob canbe mage abut anything tad that in up to stead fae ‘noun. Tis east there canbe inivee In uo ete stn sutous obes may e cected twee the aoc of o- kad spreacis to amor and comedy, vn ee ‘los about te Sealy ofthe ea perversions of tes mothe ok augers. These muse be token a gooe pars forthe ngh te oecd oti compote df this ght in he eof those he spragingy cals ‘ness ance wees the papi of owas bons ee ost dean ant-PC book Seay anny. Hi angumen sat there can be no craving of lines within comedy’ (1997: 37-8. We ‘shouldn't fer dension, mockery or coarse Iughter at our expense ‘because it ets whieh ‘maker our heats song’ (ibid). Tis dows’ soem to take us very far 1 ould be taken net as robust defence of the anti pnt of humour bata an unwiting endorsement of peste ‘Son, never mind pain ridicule. Heats are oly ever made strong by seltbele, and derision or mockery can seriously diminish that or tren, ove time, rb people of thet etnight oe. Whatever ges by ‘he name of amour rule hen be serosa nanny. ‘Some of Jabobsoe’s book i ite more than vented spleen, a8 for instance when he opines: 'a humours tie sit will aways be a Inumousess ile shit (DG: 15). Elsewhere he does raise some sgni- fant points, Two ofthese sre incase Fit, he Ans those who tae fence a joke, and who on that account are deemed tobe lacking in 3 sense of humour, ar unable to distinguish between “ake-taleve fudeness and the real ting’ (bid: 34). This may or may not be te Cae. There ae cetanly some whe, when implicated in Joke, fy off the handle at the slightest negrive reference to thei gender oF etna. iy, dete achievements or personally. These would be the humourless le sits Jacobson finds So wnremstingly indefensible, Fortunately, they ae ewan far between, Butcan we always be sure tat we have ‘uncertood the distinction benween make-believe and he el thing? (Con it not be sald that che purpose and power of make-believe is, Teast in certin eases, pees hat ~ to make us believe and so accept its epresenation abelevably the ra thing? ‘Tae controversy over Chis Meres's Chana! 4 Brass Fy television programmes which mocked the documentary eevsion gens, payed ‘exactly on the dificly we somesimes have in distinguishing between flocumtentary an spoof Much ofthe humour of The Office the BEC sitcom dealt with nee book by Frances Gray, was sasociated withthe ‘os-over benneen the two, When we suspend aur disbele, theses both pleasure and danger ~ pleasure in the make-believe, danger in ‘aking tate el thing. Ouroven chapter on Ali G ana Mis Merton ‘Seals withthe form of humour that ase out ofthe ambiguities of ‘omic impersonation andthe ethical implications for he eal thing ‘hat there may be sid to cay. Ther isn any case considerable ha ess in the distinction between make-belleve oF what is said in Js, Sn ra insults of wt is meant in earoest.Chitcsm of this plank “bobsoa's egument cannot be made by advocating stems to csp2t the hazinest, to Insist on 2 azd-endtast line between make-believe tnd the eal thing” That would sound 3 dethsnel for humour. We 12 Bont te deo ant to argu, though, for a clearer understanding of how the isincion operates, how rans Between sto tienen of rang and reference ate negotiste, and how movement beeeeeg them becomes a soute bth ofthe this and ess of eee denned Aston intresting point mae by Jabobion arts fom his ci tt if you jets the erg offence you etaon te joe ns 37 There ae examplsiaseating tise in the book bate ‘ted by Jabobion bac up Bis cm well enough eons noes spoof a based on an imagined PC version of Bernstd Naceing “Theres blacker aPakitant tnd aJen na ageedey Davig sink . What a ne exatpie of an negates cose The Joke sf eres fom the preposteouraes of the fas Toke within, forthe punchline complet ln in punch and ipso iniouy ovr is mn wel-meating tenons. Ont te fee ‘humour te explore inthis book fs how humour stance penn Jestnates and exonerates an Snr, whether acagh come Pets, impensatono roy tongs. he eos Course allows the contaband cargo of the once to be orcas ‘oud. The cases we examine cca Sppor the eae eke oy Jncobon. A the sume ume, the ci ito ple efamps getng allsomof joke and wt indiscriminately, howe incon crea cation, Rat ose les become nev ghteaned Be, The poles and tis of humour and comedy ae wep side Yourase the question of oesiveness then you have bude te oon ‘wong tep in acobson's jes, You have become antohumnour The riseding ta par becuse egiteing lence and king in hum ste not nessa cova ofeach eer adn pat beenes eG ot singly le ship hats fled up was cago fence sadn be this fat mace to sal page sero the seas of humour Maybe ‘ould jetson the meuphor ise. We wan to move Seyee sek uikne formulas that ffered by Jacobson a star enptonng hy {sate dtl how humout wots inte completes of os ea ‘npetiences of which icade the dymamieelaons Between ase tates and tse. A slgniant pec ofthese elias invores ening the lin in the sand betwen ofesvenes end humo Jy Pie ats nel shea he woe: excesive contenounen pods ofenee end et humout andl exesve politeness rodoce: boredom one of et eminded of she comedian the sty co eed ths dng Ine {1967'175)teisan at ease he ne nn nan these eduction 18 ‘rae and wate wash overit Thee tin any ae no aoe gee sent Whe ie for i hag Oe ine nd Bon pe ‘ied wares arvcing ® pason and conte The ditincion between ontentiowsness ana boreom i car enough, but the boundary ‘eeren bumour and ofence's sve This se te me of he ‘noch thy oe say thee so able agement abou at tothe nes at elusive, and MidB, Dena How and vame Owusu Berpan cain thet chapters wi cases where the Toundary becomes sbuncanaly cat When joes favotve volent sat the poi wher etter imply expt hey aavoare Sod enoy phys once conoid aganstanothes ei oop, ‘eee ot amour are ely saigeoreary, for se ay a andar repelent and perlcous forms o non humour manqvereing sole. ut pace Jcobon, even where the er are not ge forward we ll ave o negates ine, sotsehee cote, berween Inumour and otfeosirenss: Hee we spree with Cary Younge whe he ‘rote tat hes tat we should neve dr an eal line atwenn ‘whsis acepabe and what sofesie wen comes o comedy tat Ssingensus ass danupe (Young, 20003). Tas 8 the Cet leat dened ideo the dete bout tenes ohare. TE ue at ths etic ne et to nepotae, no est cea is bared ana beeps moving, nd case ho ght ' ewviy burdened wth politcal 6 wel mora sues These Giles may tempt us into drawing» fecet line long with Seton, beween te make ele of omy and heel wot a ute voce fom tha ut the sextet of comedy, even if one tive only in temas of fo inisc formal nami, canot be ‘ese n that way om moa tia nd poll constrains ‘soca with the ra wort Comle couse ebony pester in ‘es which are te fom ater fos ofcourse and wold be {bola oy to ede tor make conform, tthe convention nd ‘hea he ero, ae in a pen complet separate resi parallel word witowt connection tthe ne we out inabi i seompuiea os a sosg the wy hin {his everyday wore whee in conventions with lends Grint ‘ponses tote medi We shoud therfore make distinctions between ‘Roow and come forms trance and dalogas, bu ot conceive of {hemor aw cham to etl into gia compartment isons ‘Tet Interelstons shoul in temeciere cleat, or wen the sethecs ad eis of humour and come open inetogate each ‘er, ts encourages celta relent an integration and i fo 14 Bownde ote ‘her mute bene. Experiencing them in active conjunction with 2h othe to realise and heighten thee vale foreach other, Ie remains the case that while many people expect comedians to Push at the acepted boundaries, rae rss attempt to shock us and shatter ou ilusions, they do not concede that this means comedans an do or say whatever they Ike, or that cetain ethics lines soowle never be drawn, even if this s conned to individeal choice or sal. ‘Houp consensus, Thinking about such etic! lines seems nena ‘becuse itis mportnt fr public representations and public diseoutse, ‘we accept that we should never draw an thie line between whats ‘scceptabié and what is offensive, then we accept that anyone cam sa ‘snything about other people, however malicious or laden wth bate, and that they may do o with impunity. There ls no genera accepaneg ‘of this even fm contemporary Western socities whete stands of acceptance in comedy ae broader and more bel than they have ‘een for at eas» couple of cents ‘long with ths welcome expansion of tolerance, societies ia the ‘West have become increasingly heteropencous an sivese, of b's ‘word, mulestural The ke tes ofthis new tolerance isnot wheter people can say “uc on stage or on television afte he 9 pia water Shed, for that i fay teva utter. The ets whether tolerance Can ‘extend across all ferent socal thal an religious groups a leas (2 te extent that sey show equal respect foreach others Beets prac, tices and traditions. Over the pat ten yents or so, this teat hes bees fae, as probably wil in the future, but reducing the number of och fires and trying te further the cause of socal an etic! Wlee nee as par ofthe way we celebrate multiculturalism, require a fee. fotation of the ways in which we’ i conclved, both intetation fo ‘the sources of laughter and the rationale of ethical value and pis ‘ible. The tension between them is one reson why the set of tole cei fled. One ofthe aims ofthis Book i to explore this tension and the question as to witere the limits of humour might le in onder hat ‘we’ inthe multicultural sense of the word, may come to lng together on a much wider bass and without the unexamined prejcice ‘that allows for humour calculated to do litte else then ease deep offence in others, Paradoxically, making offensive jokes about others with total impin- ty would mean that here ate no Bounds to push a any more Ths ‘would lead othe defeat of humour, whichis subject to ou abliy fo choose. Humour i only posible because ean boundaries, fles tad taboos axis in the rst pace Tei existence, along withthe staac- sions age sine in overcoming thet ae ely tein we nga. Homo gos agaist he i, oft ast does on {& mow Hering momen, butt cant be pinned down to any {pede purpose of slgltcane fn any of ts maniesations. may Fiat cnventonal ors bp see hing alenaive way Sreontem sich ison an ave os Gesper noo pein may ‘tach deigh ts cntacies inte conten of opening ‘tis inwingwty in oy bre p> these consequences may be Hs achievement th any seta ease OF Contest The es of humour and comedy ae neteabiy entned ‘with their aesthetics, oe why eee ‘keep lines. oa Jc beovee the open ad active n Goings we nee fo eogrse {Sub saga or snl eaunve ge can bs ease for Fnumour and comedy, and perhaps swe can syn the en that we thugh because wee hue, wed, fil and impeec We maya [ene out own coneptn of pao bee sho! aays eet that ine te Garden of bn there was no ight sta ‘Outline of the book mre ty roca gu aa nen ounudaey ed Seroantaricecee annie pee ae eee see eateneens eee ae ees eereenemeeeseeee eer ces er aoe camera ace niet erected pees oe eae ees Pe pe ee 16 Boande ote mate covere with vain pepetivs being adopted and sera sie vews being aed he undeiping intention of tegene ohne ‘ces heard heres lar This sxpare iron opener ee owe ous way, the books win thames te queson of ees 43nd offenivenes and how is ete fo soil Sion eee, Seo pwns. ‘Webegin th book with an exploration of wha by mow peoples standart, ea extemely sri form of mut husacr Masse humo ifthe em is indeed nay nay betting mvve neg ami orton o enc tw ein ee pe Cag othe foes of ct humour est nee slp aoe sng In volent act Joes the humour dvs fom the ero oe tec being perpeatee against its who aresemnca yee thniciy: Micha ilg eatin she ning easceaaes oe ‘olen ic joe, reeing nat oly to the fates of hee fae 28010 he wide conte inch oe tla Heeler ee ges of weber uppring the ke Hon Kan A ssuteons as he jokes on these websites ae violet rac oles toa heey stows how they dps det ype of wolnesitnn ret cok on hamous, Laight and Re, ig’ chaperones

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