Is Right Wing Comedy Funny?

[@Nostripe361]

I think a problem with modern political comedy fails sometimes because there is no joke; it’s just someone saying something edgy or for making others angry. Basically the joke is that people don’t like the joke.

[@bulletsizednuke1100]

Or pointing out absurd levels of sensitivity. Because you know, comedy is known to point out the absurd.

[@SerifSansSerif]

@@bulletsizednuke1100 but it isn't. 7-8 years ago maybe, but now it's just so stale and boomer humor. It's like when I just automatically say "good morning" in the afternoon and somebody's gotta comment on it and make a stupid joke, like, "dude, it's just a fucking rote greeting I have to for my job. I'm not really caring about what time it is".

[@caliph20]

@ryanhupp5240 that was the daily show under John Stewart. Which was funny sometimes. Noah was trash. Under him daily show was garbage.

[@aaronsoto1346]

like troll humor

[@texivani]

That's the whole thing. The joke is always just "I am a shitty ignorant narrow-sighted person"

[@anthonyfournier1731]

Calling Jimmy Fallon a comedy is also a stretch.

[@RuneDrageon]

Its solely dependent on his current job description: Late Night TV Host! ... actually you might have a point.

[@RDLFsama]

The like I usually give to Wisecrack's videos went to this comment instead!

[@leoalcaraz6153]

Agreed Jimmy Fallon is just a celebrity sycophant

[@JewTube001]

if Jimmy Fallon was a beverage, he'd be warm water.

[@derekseaton4412]

I love that this was the first comment I saw before even watching the video

[@IAmNumber4000]

It’s Always Sunny: hilarious because it makes fun of sociopathic greedbags Hot Fuzz: hilarious because it makes fun of boomer HOAs

[@WisecrackEDU]

10/10, no notes.

[@walrusArmageddon]

*the greater good*

[@NobodyC13]

@@walrusArmageddon The Greater Good!

[@reginabillotti]

@@NobodyC13 bonum commune comunitatis

[@sydposting]

@@NobodyC13 Shut it!

[@flowerponyrecord]

George Carlin is proof that politics and comedy can truly be incredible

[@CobaltLobster]

The only "right" comedian I could stomach was Dennis Miller.

[@OfficerPapi]

George Carlin isn’t funny though. I feel like I’m just listening to a witty professor doing a lecture. I’m usually just nodding in agreement, but not really laughing.

[@cpedersen1616]

George Carlin was super liberal not a right-wing comic

[@flowerponyrecord]

@@cpedersen1616 yeah I know, i never said he was right wing at all, he’s the most anti establishment anti capitalist comedian I’ve ever heard so I dont quite think “liberal” is what he is either

[@flowerponyrecord]

@@OfficerPapi if you haven’t before, give one of his stand up specials a try. It’s definitely not for everyone but I love it.

[@danielmikula1375]

'Clapter' is one of my favorite terms for this reason. Clapter is comedy that's meant less to make the audience laugh and more intended to provoke them instead clap and nod in agreement. Much of political humor now isn't similar to Carlin, they're more the kind that are meant to preach to a choir that already agrees with the premise and conclusion of the 'joke'.

[@smaakjeks]

Ooh yes, I like clapter as a term. The point is not the comedy. Just like with Christian rock; the rock is not the point.

[@elnobbodor]

Thank you for this term. I just watched Iliza Schlessinger(sic?)'s latest standup special on Netflix, and I felt that a lot of her jokes, especially towards the end, was mostly just this. It's almost as bad as people who just use nostalgia for laughter (Is there a term for that, too?)

[@smaakjeks]

@@elnobbodor memberbellies?

[@TheVincentKyle]

@@smaakjeks We'll use it as a placeholder and beat it later.

[@smaakjeks]

@@TheVincentKyle Like... Memberberries and belly laughs? .... but like.... portmanteau.

[@SkyrimFanForever1]

Boondocks is a really great example of critiquing culture from within a culture. Like Riley is a satire of pop culture, Hughie a satire of revolutionary culture, Grandpa a satire of older black culture, Uncle Ruckus a satire of Uncle Toms. Each one exposes an excess or a lack in terms of their engagement with the world. Makes for a really nice form of political comedy in my mind

[@thomasshirley318]

What Does Hughie Freeman Lack nigga??

[@kevinaguilar9454]

Boondocks is one of the funniest shows ever made

[@thomasshirley318]

That's what I thought

[@seagullman87]

You forgot Tom, what does he satirize?

[@AJX-2]

@@seagullman87 The civilized "white" black man

[@mustang6172]

There is an angle you missed. When the powerful have a persecution complex, attacking the marginalized feels like punching up.

[@WisecrackEDU]

Well put.

[@IAmNumber4000]

That’s an interesting point.

[@abrahamflores2566]

So is Dave Chappelle racist for making fun of blacks for decades? Do you have to be trans to make fun of trans people? Just curious at what point can we make fun of everyone without feeling a power complex.

[@IAmNumber4000]

@@abrahamflores2566 It’s not difficult to tell the difference between light-hearted ribbing, and someone expressing their genuine contempt for a minority group.

[@t.k.1319]

Who defines “punching up” or “punching down” though? Why should any specific group be protected from being made fun of? If a comedian, offends X group, that group simply doesn’t need to support that comedian. If you believe the only people who should ever be made fun of are rich White, straight, conservative men, then say so.

[@-xirx-]

"Satire is meant to ridicule power. If you are laughing at people who are hurting, it's not satire, it's bullying." ~ Terry Pratchett

[@oppothumbs1]

I am not conservative nor liberal but it could mean nothing as plenty of conservatives are funny but they might not be in the upper echelon. Anger fuels comedy and maybe they aren't so angry. I'm sure a few don't want to admit it that they are conservative... case in point Dennis Miller or Norm McDonald who were very funny for many years on the now unfunny Sat night Live. It might be related to the fact that liberals comedians "have never been mugged". Trevor Noah's next joke would be his first. Jim Jefferies and Doug Stanhope, who few know of, were the funniest guys on the show "The Green Room".

[@mpalmer22]

Bullying can be fun to, as long as you are not on the receiving end

[@realitymatters8720]

Terry Pratchet is incorrect ! Making fun of the poor, the outsiders etc. is not a problem in itself, they have funny cultural traits made for comedy. Where I would agree, is that when putting the spotlight on these groups, humour must be of a higher standard, otherwise it will hurt more then illuminate ! Underdogs can be morons too, no reason to stay silent about it !

[@kkon5ti]

@@realitymatters8720 the poor have funny cultural traits made for comedy? Now that’s fucked up.

[@kkon5ti]

@@realitymatters8720 fucked up and stupid. Very stupid.

[@thodkats]

I always really enjoyed Carlin and the past years I actually realised why : he brings up class analysis without using the so called bad words.

[@walrusArmageddon]

Most of the buzxwords wernt invented yet

[@thodkats]

@@walrusArmageddon Well i don't know which buzzwords you are talking about, but the ones i am referring to have existed for at least 150-180 years: proletariat, bourgeoise, capitalism, socialism, communism, vuvuzuella no iphone 100 bazillion dead etc.

[@vikka14]

@@walrusArmageddon marx; marxism; communism; socialism; capital; capitalism; proletariat; bourgeoise; working clasd; labour work; labour power; wage labour; class war; means of production; collectively owned; wage slavery; surplus value; commodity; revolution of the proletariat; labour theory of value; vanguard party; bourgeois democracy; communist party; dual power; collective action; class consciousness; dictatorship of the proletariat; dictatorship of the bourgeoisie; labour aristocracy; trade union… all these terms were invented in 2008 after carlin died, i guess…

[@vikka14]

@@thodkats well, vuvuzela and no iphone only came after carlin passed… so i guess those are the buzzwords 🥴🥴

[@walrusArmageddon]

@@thodkats eh, you got me there. Seems the word were there, he just chose not to use em, good on him

[@jestagoon8408]

I knew a comedian once. He was a stand up guy.

[@WisecrackEDU]

GOT EM

[@TheKaiTetley]

🥁

[@DanteWilcox22]

I have wine and crackers, when do you want to hang out?

[@jasonedenburg9427]

Hahaha this was beautiful....thank you🤣🙌🏾

[@gpwnedable]

You'll see yourself out, I hope.

[@lapislazuli5035]

"Satire is meant to ridicule power. If you're laughing at people who are hurting, that isn't satire, that's bullying"- Terry Pratchett.

[@WisecrackEDU]

Great quote!

[@leephillips4402]

We've been over this Terry Pratchet is dead and therefore it's wrong to assume any of the opinions he stated while alive were his opinions.

[@fangal12]

@@leephillips4402 😅

[@bigal5559]

The irony of that quote is today’s power is using the hurt as a shield. Banks have floats at pride parades. Raytheon drapes their building in rainbow colors.

[@benkrapf]

@@bigal5559 Which is why comedy makes fun of Raytheon, and conservative bullies mock gay folx.

[@masterimaginariumdooblepop7592]

George Carlin was willing to point out the absurdity of many different political ideologies whereas many modern political comedians are just glorified cheerleaders for their team.

[@theamaeve8175]

Nah George Carlin had a pretty clear favor towards democratic socialism and he never criticized that

[@TheAmericanPrometheus]

"You believe in something? That's stupid, I'm a cynical nihilist who doesn't hold a coherent belief about anything so everyone knows I'm smart and above you. Everything is dumb and we're all screwed! Hahaha" George Carlin is so undeservedly revered that its just comically absurd at this point.

[@GreenhouseKeys]

george carlin's an infinite loser and so is everyone who likes him

[@casusbelli9225]

@@TheAmericanPrometheus Implying that your "belief" in "Judeo-Christian values", which you shit upon the moment it becomes profitable, are any more coherent, lmao.

[@chargemankent]

​@@theamaeve8175Probably because Democratic Socialism have no Power in today's society, therefore making a joke about it will not be count as a joke (Punching Up) but rather a Bullying (Punching Down)?

[@charlesisaacson1129]

"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." - E. B. White

[@peacefulltoucan]

My brother in christ you clicked the comedy analysis video

[@Lobos222]

Just FYI, if you dissect something. It is already dead. Vivisection is what you actually mean.

[@charlesisaacson1129]

Already dead, much like E.B. White

[@tosmok]

@@Lobos222 tell that to eb white hes also dead

[@tosmok]

@@peacefulltoucan thats whats funny, this guy has absolutely no idea what hes talking about

[@Eliphas_Leary]

The german political cabaretist (in Germany "cabaret" is a kind of intellectualized comedy) Volker Pispers made a brilliant joke just a few years before ending his carreer (he said that he made the same jokes for over 30 years, only the names of the politicians had to be changed). That brilliant joke was to tell the audience not to throw away the tickets to the event, so when the revolution finally comes they can show those tickets to the revolutionaries and say "Look, I was part of the resistance!"

[@Eliphas_Leary]

@@teekaa2520 I hope you know the 1986 movie "Meier". Hildebrtandt's part is small, but essential.

[@ezequielgerstelbodoha9492]

Impliying Ricky Gervais is right wing is the most hilarious part of the video

[@lifeunderthestarstv]

Yeah these guys level of cope pretending they are conservatives

[@HOTD108_]

@@lifeunderthestarstv I don't think Wisecrack is pretending to be conservative lol.

[@ryanruiz9958]

He might not be, but those transphobic jokes are in line

[@Vlugazoide]

​@@ryanruiz9958 If simple observational comedy is transphobic to you, you really are waaaay too deep into your echo chamber

[@LizaFan]

​@@Vlugazoide A Wisecrack video is the ideal place to work to obfuscate power relations.

[@NexLegacyAccount]

"Vegetarians are too lazy to eat something with legs!" .....okay I grew up around hardcore conservative Texans and I can promise this guy that nobody was out there personally chasing down every animal they ate. And the hunters would sit in a camo box and let the animals come to them. The jokes have the same energy as forcing a square peg into a round hole. It'll probably fit but you really gotta force it in there.

[@mexicanpolarbear]

as a Texan, this joke is hilarious

[@andrewcoleman7575]

I mean waiting for the animals to come to you sounds like a better idea imo

[@honestabe411]

Texas is a disgrace and must be removed from the Union

[@jwcarroll6378]

It's based on idealized fantasy that hunters (and supposedly meat eaters) are warriors and vegans are lazy. Despite the fact that practically everyone picks up their food from the same place at the same market. And likely the meat you bought is from a livestock farm and not from the wild. At least a vegan that wants to grow their food puts in effort to plant and pick it.

[@vikka14]

i am vegetarian and i found it funny… but exactly for that… equating vegetarianism with laziness is so absurd one has to laugh. hell i am not even sure i was laughing at myself or at the ridiculousness of the joke… maybe a bit of both, i guess 😅😅

[@Tristanisthebest]

That Shane Gillis clip is taken so far out of context, that to call it conservative is shameful. The whole bit was making fun of extreme overreactions to news.

[@jenkemblunt879]

thank you

[@TulpechaidoplaysMC]

And to add to my previous reply, the video whose title they edited doesn't mention politics even once

[@lukehopely7]

Yea wasn’t he making fun of his Fox News loving dad for getting mad every night at something on tv ?

[@aliasfakename2267]

I also fail to see how Ricky is conservative

[@canadaball603]

Makes it hard to take their points seriously when I know they will just straw man someone like that. :(

[@aliquidcow]

In Stewart Lee's own words: "Clap, clap, clap! Agree, agree, agree! “Did you see Stewart Lee in Southend?” “Yeah.” “Was it funny?” “No, but I agreed the fuck out of it.”"

[@gaywizard2000]

Is that different than liking a comment?

[@AdamSmith75th]

I loved Stewart Lee. I still love Stewart Lee but I also loved him back then

[@ohdearism]

The greatest living comedian has let himself go.

[@maxmustermann5492]

I think you did Ricky Gervais wrong, if you watch a gig, e.g the golden globes, he roasts absolutely everyone and most of the time himself…

[@jr_oantonio]

my thoughts exactly exactly. "10:19 Gervais punches at the marginal"...dude ....

[@Veilou24]

Yes those ones are great. But they are different to his stand up. For example his latest one. One of the big problems with his stand up imo is lazyness. He doesn't really challenge the listener but tells old jokes that have been made many times or worse that he has himself told before.

[@marc-antoinemarcoux697]

@@jr_oantonio What I find even more ironic is that Gervais is not laughing at the people but at the media who are over-representing and using the '' diversity'' just as a pseudo scapegoats.

[@lordbunbury]

He does the whole woke strawman schtick a lot though. Where he gets all upset about woke and makes up all kinds of stuff about some woke bullshit or what someone tweeted, which he then can make fun of. It’s pretty weak.

[@carolina805]

​@@jr_oantonio he does if he's making transphobic jokes

[@mattphilcarver6218]

For me, the best comedians seek out absurdity and hypocrisy - no matter where it is. They expose it in a way that the average person would be scared to, due to social pressures. Mark Normand is the best comedian working today, imo.

[@ziglaus]

According to the right wing comedians they ARE doing that. Its just that what they find absurd and hypocritical, we dont. And vice versa

[@mattphilcarver6218]

@@ziglaus Nah, man. You gotta be able to call out the bulls**t on your own side as well as the other. For comedians especially. That's just my opinion tho.

[@jaredlapierre1304]

lmao mark normand is the best? he's funny but let's not pretend everyone has the same sense of humor

[@ACE360x]

In the UK the best we have do that. I adore Russell Howard and is very good at it. Absolutely smashes a set then gives a story about mortality at the end. The ultimate finding the absurdity in it all

[@zorq2]

@@mattphilcarver6218 I agree, and that's why Jon Stewart was great. Plenty of times he called out liberal BS, he probably could have and should have targeted the liberals more, but we live in times with an overabundance of Right/conservative BS.

[@SerifSansSerif]

Carlin was linguistically an expert. Today they're definitely boomer humor, but comparing him to today's comedians is like comparing the lyricism of 90's top rap artists to today's country rap.

[@TheBoss0110101001]

I take it you don't like WAP

[@aliasfakename2267]

@@TheBoss0110101001 definitely not

[@strangebrew1231]

Carlin hated boomers too

[@conniethesconnie]

90's top rap??? You mean like Kriss Kross? Vanilla Ice? MC Hammer? or The Fresh Prince? Fun to listen to but no one was spending much time peeling back the layers to find the deeper meaning to Baby Got Back.

[@kakhagvelesiani3877]

@@conniethesconnie You're definitely white.

[@BetterThanUnson]

Saying stand-up comedy from a conservative or liberal standpoint is unfunny while showing rookie comics and calling Ricky Gervais conservative while also showing Shane Gillis on the down point of that joke is hiding the true nature of the comedy of either end of the spectrum. I believe this video is a little misleading with the context provided

[@abdiali4631]

Noticed that and I’m 1:4 minutes in. He’s already shown a few comics that I find hilarious, and I never considered any of those comedians as either liberal or conservative

[@Sommerlath2006]

Funny how they respond to a good amount of comments praising the video but it's total silence when totally reasonable objections like this are raised.

[@abdiali4631]

@@Sommerlath2006 true! That’s perfect indicator of people that can’t take criticism and think they’re always right.

[@chasefitch2245]

@@Sommerlath2006 yeah i like a lot of their videos but their bias is embarrassing here

[@livn7952]

Regardless of what Gervais’s politics are in general, I don’t think it’s arguable that a transphobic joke is right-wing (and it makes me so sad to see politics caught up in prejudice), so I think it’s valid to talk about that particular joke as an example of right wing comedy.

[@void-creature]

I think a big problem for political comedy in America is the artificial duality of politics in the country. Since the two Party system basically reduces everything including into us vs them, as opposed to the free-for-all present in most other countries. If political lines are less hardened, you can afford to be more self-aware, which is vital to comedy

[@oscarneira1771]

I think you can make good comedy out of any topic but it depends on the comedian. I find that a lot of these political comedians sometimes tend to focus more on the topic of the joke instead of making the joke actually funny.

[@Aaron-kj8dv]

Look at the way Colbert made fun of conservatives on comedy central compared to what he's doing now. Now it just feels mean spirited and like he's trying to be cruel. On the Colbert Report it was more like mocking it like how a kid mocks their parent. Also, I love how shook the host was at the trans joke. It was a pretty funny joke, but not very extreme at all.

[@aaggsmyhoopt2428]

I feel like Carlin did political humor pretty well because he criticized authoritarians or big business. It’s his whole punching up vs punching down thing. Honestly good advice for being an entertainer or artist in general, not just comedy.

[@littlegravitas9898]

Or just generally good person even

[@ДмитроДорофеєв]

He also mocked enviromentalism, political correctness both on the left and the right, so I would say he had a balanced direction in his jokes

[@percilenis8464]

Very brave criticizing things everyone criticizes. There’s no such thing as “punching up” or “punching down,” comedy isn’t “punching.” You’re infantilizing people. If you’re if the mindset that because a group of people is vulnerable in society that means they can’t be made fun of, you’re beyond the pale and have no place in the comedy discourse.

[@calebr7199]

@@percilenis8464 Normalizing stereotypes and negative attitudes about marginalized people harms them. Making fun of vulnerable people leads to violence being done to them because "they deserve it". That is the difference between punching up and punching down.

[@aaggsmyhoopt2428]

@@ДмитроДорофеєв I wouldn’t call him balanced. He mocked politically correct language, not people’s struggle in pursuit of equal rights. He stuck up for LGBT rights and black peoples multiple times. His criticism of environmentalism also comes from a lack of faith in humanity, not because he thought it was bad. He also he did that stand up before recent innovations in sustainability. I mean the US just made a major breakthrough in fusion tech, that’s amazing! Those are about the only conservative takes I could find of him and they really weren’t that conservative. Pretty much every other stand up he did was in criticism of big business, religion, or authoritarian politicians. Just look at his stuff like “White Fascist America,” and “Dumb Americans.” Dude is using some obvious leftist talking points. He even gets called a Marxist lol. His stuff on religion and abortion is very socially progressive. If a comedian came out swinging with that stuff today they’d be getting ton of shit from the right and conservatives. So I would still call Carlin progressive, but one that calls out the pseudo progressiveism of liberals.

[@reasesoffice]

My favorite metacommentary of every Wisecrack video is how Micheal is getting increasingly exasperated with people and society, in general, the more videos Wisecrack produces. By 2025 the videos are just going to be 20 minutes of Micheal staring sarcastically at the camera and I'm here for that.

[@tmate88-j8y]

Michael's not alone

[@Георг-л5л]

More like a corporate leftist outlet . Lost all his credibility and genuineness

[@wuhlfzebayne]

@@Георг-л5л go find community in misery somewhere else

[@tosmok]

@@wuhlfzebayne ??? misery is all thats around this channel lmao

[@BakerKC]

I think Shane would love the fact he's portrayed here as being right-wing, cause he jokingly uses right-wing talking points and pushes them to absurd limits quite often. In reality, he's an open supporter of the Green Party and known for being leftist, but it gets hidden by the fact he also openly hates liberalism.

[@JoshuaALockhart]

Shane is more left than right lol.

[@fearsomestm00c0w]

Same with Gervais. I think the problem here is that Wisecrack don't seem to see a difference between liberalism and leftism. It's quite possible that people find Liberalism annoying and stupid and are not Conservative. The video also neglects to talk about South Park, perhaps quite intentionally seeing as how much praise they've given it in the past.

[@lillizb]

That Gillis clip in the opening of the video is from a joke where he is making fun of conservatives. The joke even makes it clear that he doesn’t agree with those conservative views but also thinks they’re ridiculous. Wildly disingenuous way for a video analyzing political comedy to begin.

[@dariusmichalakes7468]

Unfortunately wisecrack takes very shallow looks at their examples when going deep on a topic. It's a running theme in their show

[@lokimiguel2452]

@@fearsomestm00c0w @@fearsomestm00c0w what kind of person would make jokes about trans people being attmpted rapists

[@gavinsmith6108]

In the opening clip you played Shane gillis but you forgot to mention that he was making fun of his dad.

[@Brassbushings6911]

Yeah this channel doesn't do it's homework anymore

[@remhawk73]

If Shane Gillis is right wing then basically every comedian is right wing. And also to cherry pick jokes just to label a comedian is very un scientific. Yeah the guy on Fox is conservative, but jesus you forced some of these positions. Additionally you over simplified the political spectrum, like most Americans. Political ideas shouldn’t be reduced down to them vs us. Where do Christian-socialists fit on your left-right spectrum?

[@gavinsmith6108]

@@remhawk73 yo you talking to me or trying to add to what I'm saying?

[@baxoutthebox5682]

He wasn’t making fun of his dad, the butt of the joke were dads who watch MSNBC.

[@Amick2003]

I think you can makes jokes about anything, whether or not it offends people. You just have to be careful you ARE joking, not disguising something hateful AS a joke.

[@sdauz]

Old man complaining about how the world has changed, seems conservative to me.

[@Pensnmusic]

@@sdauz not change! Noooooo What if things got better noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo No.

[@ddjsoyenby]

agreed, and execute the joke well.

[@brenatevi]

As I told someone else: if you are going to make a joke about an outgroup, make sure they will laugh at it. If they don't laugh, then you are a jerk if you keep telling the jerk anyways.

[@aliasfakename2267]

@@sdauz he's an atheist who regularly mocks religion, doesn't sound very conservative.

[@deanr6327]

Carlin didn't *just* poke fun at power structures. He had plenty of jokes about "joe six pack," which by modern standards could certainly be considered "punching down." Personally, I think those jokes are funny too. We all need to be able to laugh at ourselves

[@Julik1992]

I agree that the video focused too narrowly on the institutional power dimension. Comedy can also point out to absurdities within a changing culture. At least that is what Gervais was trying to do. A similar joke about the prepers would elicit laughter on the left although the joke is no way about institutional power, but rather a cultural movement.

[@niveinratnayake668]

@@Julik1992 being part of LGBTQ+ isn't a cultural movement. There're many trans jokes you can do but these people resort to stereotypes because they can't be bothered to write one joke where the punchline isn't "oh, look, it's a man who has a womb, a woman with a beard and a penis or I identify as ___, so i can identify as ___".

[@Aaron-kj8dv]

Yeah this is a very good point. One of his most popular jokes is "think of how fucking dumb the average American is. Now realize half of Americans are dumber than him". Whoa really tackling power structures there lol People who over intellectualize comedy are usually pretty unfunny dorks anyway.

[@zachhoover1276]

Fucking love James Acaster, glad to see him getting recognition

[@smaakjeks]

YES! I remember posting to one of his videos something to the tune of: "We are now seeing some aggressive progressive comedians, and I am here for it!"

[@Andrew36597]

I think comedy's ultimate job is to cut through a lot of societal norms that exist or are coming into being and putting them under a microscope, saying something that is obvious but many people refuse to see or are unable to see. I think that's why in recent years, nihilistic comedy has resonated a lot with younger people, jokes that make fun of people the people making fun of the world in derivative and boring ways, either promoting social change or trying to conserve it, it's all so boring

[@rodneykelly8768]

For me, comedy consists of two parts, Surprise and Insight. If I go to see a political comedian, regardless of their political standing, I probably won't be "Surprised" by anything they say, nor will I come away with any fresh "Insight" into the world around me.

[@BlackShardStudio]

I agree that insight is tremendously important. This would certainly explain why some puns, for example, that are based exclusively on shallow and obvious similarity of words are often just plain awful, while puns that reveal unexpected conceptual connections or linguistic ambiguities are often the foundation of our most celebrated humor, as in Groucho Marx and Shakespeare.

[@lokimiguel2452]

@@BlackShardStudio what's a smart pun?

[@Alexander-mr7jq]

I just listening to comedians and waiting to laugh. It's my life hack, it's very high Standart.

[@Chadyaniki]

We are slowly dancing the line of funnybot. Comedy should make you laugh first and foremost and make you think second. The really good comics are the ones where after you have laughed, the show is over, you think back on it and say, hang on. Now it seems like the point is to push the agenda and see where you can put in the jokes. That is not comedy that is a late night show.

[@MrGksarathy]

Nah, comedy should make you think as you laugh.

[@JohnClark-tt2bl]

Carlin could do both simultaneously.

[@jdgarcia718]

Yeah, pushing the agenda too much is what makes bad comedy or maybe not even pushing it but pushing it in a way that alienated others. I mean by no means we can say some fart jokes are good comedy tho but if it makes you laugh it got to the basic point of comedy. Ideally comedy should make you laugh and think during and after the show (even if the routine was targeting your ideology, religion, culture or any other aspect of your core beliefs), but when we start having some debates about what is or is not funny is just a symptom that there is a lot more of agenda pushing ideas than jokes or the jokes are just plain bad.

[@MrGksarathy]

@@jdgarcia718 You can't do comedy without an agenda, otherwise it's flaccid and useless and very unfunny.

[@caliph20]

Comedy doesn't have to make you think at all. Only if you have an agenda does it have to do anything besides make someone laugh. Attempting to persuade is just propaganda by other means

[@maxborn7400]

man, never would've thought I would live to see Ricky Gervais being considered a right-wing comedian. Times have changed huh.

[@HOTD108_]

Are you telling me that things change with time? What a new and exciting concept!

[@maxborn7400]

@@HOTD108_ I guess reading comprehension is hard for you kids. Keep crying.

[@Popy8014]

I must say I am equally surprised as the person above. Before, I could only see mass, volume, pressure Now I can see velocity, acceleration, weight, rotation, temperature Its a whole new world when you discover time

[@maxborn7400]

@@Popy8014 some things remain constant: like the infants who just got older but still cry, vomit and drool all over the place. Hopefully, someone helps you clean up your mess.

[@davidhill2020]

They weren't calling him a right wing comedian, but taking swings at trans people, sometimes literally, is very much a right wing thing.

[@termiitos]

While the joke about trans people by Ricky Gervais was definitely crass and below the belt, I'd hardly consider him a "right wing comedian".

[@donwanna3906]

Below the belt…I see what you did there.

[@amanloop]

Yeah, exactly my thought. Ricky is basically doing stuff he finds funny regardless of political leanings. He himself, I find him rather progrssive than conservative.

[@The_Invisible_Hand]

It shows how extreme the "left" has gotten, where public figures who were themselves considered at least moderately left-wing until recently (e.g. JK Rowling) are suddenly portrayed as right-wing monsters because they didn't immediately adopt with the latest progressive shibboleth.

[@surpriseimblack]

There's nothing crass about it if you're a heterosexual male and you go on tinder anytime after 2023...

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Great satire points out internal contradictions in political views. Those can be both right and left-wing. So, if you find it funny when something internally inconsistent is pointed out, then it shouldn't really matter what kind of politics it makes fun of. I'm a leftist, and I personally found Norm Macdonald, an ostensibly right-wing, Christian comic, though not typically a very political one, very funny when he joked about male homosexuality because the point of the joke was never as primitive as "being gay is gay", but rather it was always about revealing the hypocrisy that a lot of the political center has about the issue: It publically "loves" and encourages homosexual men to engage in the public sphere but has a lot of internalised homophobia and masculine insecurity at the same time. Case-in-point: Norm Macdonald jokingly insinuates that Andy Richter is homosexual in front of Conan O'Brien, everyone laughs, but then Richter immediately becomes defensive about his heterosexuality in the company of two other heterosexual men, and then Macdonald states that there's nothing wrong with being gay, right? and then just smiles insincerely. -> Richter is now in a doomed-if-does-doomed-if-he-don't scenario while obviously just telling the truth because public discourse is simultaneously openly accepting of gay people and subtly negative about men with what are usually considered homosexual traits. The antagonism is funny, and it's a great subversion that the accepting guy becomes the judging guy and vice versa. To Norm, this hypocrisy might be a sign that the left is dishonest and only wishes to eradicate traditional values and replace them with unhinged hedonism rather than actual values, and to a leftist it might just mean that we need to actually engage empathetically with the people that are different to the majority rather than just go "Well, you have political rights now, so I don't owe you anything." But this doesn't matter; the hypocrisy is funny in itself, and I think it's a mark of great skill as a comic to be able to point to it without preaching your own opinion.

[@ryank2465]

well written comment

[@origrammar]

Some More News did a brilliant video on this. I highly recommend it, as it takes this subject and goes into so much more detail.

[@andrewvc1527]

SMN is just a great channel anyways! Great, in-depth analysis and slightly unhinged energy makes for a good combination.

[@michalis75]

Warmbo 2024

[@francescolimberti7306]

“Ricky Gervais is a conservative” Ok Wisecrack

[@michaelfrere9215]

The fact he said he didnt know who Shane Gillis is and that Anthony Jeselnik is the "King of Dark Comedy" shows me Wisecrack knows absolutely nothing about what is funny. Nobody i have ever talked about comedy even mentions Jeselnik.

[@rsrocha1984]

I think the "punch down" "punch up" thing very interesting. Because, I always wonder, how do you define those positions in relation with the always shifthing dynamic of power in society? Ok, is some cases is easy. But, lets, for example, take a polemic that happen in my country Brazil, about humor. A humor youtube channel, called Porta dos Fundos, made a christimans special where they made a lot of jokes with christianity (people were very angry someone even throw a molotov cocktail in their headquarter). Well Brazil is the country in the world with the largest number of catholics and the majority off the population is christian, with the christian right being one of the biggest blocks in the legislative brand. So, here, no doubt that those jokes, were "punching up". But, youtube is a global plataform. So, those videos could be watched in countries like Indonesia, Iran and others where christians are a persecute minority, so, if a christians from one of those places see the jokes, is Porta dos Fundos suddenlly punching down? You can go further in this. Because even inside a society the dynamic of power can change from location to location. In Brazil in general no doubt that christians are in power, but, if you go a very liberal place, like a History course in USP (University of São Paulo), than, I would dare say that in that microcosmo, a LGBTQIAPN+ person have a lot more power than a christian. So, in there, is ok to make fun of christianity? For example. Chappelle, one of the points he makes in his specials, is that as a black person he is "jeaously" of the LGBTQIAPN+ comunity, because in a very few years they were able to advance their cause a lot farther than black people did in america after centuries. He also point out using a conflict he had you a white gay man that when suited him, the white man remember he was also part of a majority and called the police on Chapelle. So, maybe, from his perspective, as a black man, he is punching up when he makes his jokes (not saying that I agree with him, just giving as an example that the punching up and puching down think can get complicated). Btw the special is very funny, I recommend.

[@maciejgrenda216]

Thank you for your comment. You're touching on something called intersectionality here which is afaik often a theme in critical analysis of power distribution in society. Regarding your example, I'd say that I would 'locate' my analysis in place where the comedians actually live and belong to. In this sense, if (by their worldview) Porta dos Fundos constitute minority in Brasil, I'd limit myself to this area and say they are punching up. Because this is where they may be facing consequences of ostracism and even death (~molotovs). But that is of course my personal opinion. If it comes to Chapelle, I think he can be a powerful speaker for good causes but imo sometimes anger and resentment clouds balance in his worldview. He has showed that when commenting on trans people or opioid epidemic. I understand where he's coming from and can be fcking hilarious sometimes. But those bits based on anger and resentment? The more compassionate and empathetic I become (which is something I strive for, personally), the less I laugh at those jokes because they increasingly resemble revenge bullying.

[@dinosertanejo222]

Don't forget the hipocrisy: 23:59: "Why i can't make jokes about the minorities? Where is the free speech?" 00:00: "Hey! You can't make jokes about Christ! It's disrespectful!"

[@Yavanna16]

thank you guys for this beautiful discourse

[@DavidSantos-yf6dk]

I enjoyed reading your comment much more than i did watching the video

[@arcadiaberger9204]

I know LGBTQIA and +...what are PN?

[@marcusmajarra]

Let's see, if comedy is about subverting expectations and conservatism is about not subverting expectations, then maybe the point of conservative comedy is about subverting our expectations to find it funny.

[@TheCommonS3Nse]

Very meta 😆

[@Luneytoon]

That’s not funny… wait..

[@leephillips4402]

It's that postmodernism because conservatives hate that.

[@dancegod1691]

Nah that’s literally it. At its most pure form the punchlines are literally just “those people are stupid/violent/inferior.”

[@rotisseriepossum]

Is this why we’re they’re so fun to laugh at?

[@mickael486]

Ricky Gervais is so far away from Right Wing comedy, it's sad that some left wing people think so just because a couple of his jokes were "controversial". Putting this guy in the right wing box just makes left wingers look bad. Ricky is not right wing and neither am I.

[@xXxKAMIKAZExXx]

The left has gone so far that Ricky Gervais is considered a right wing now.

[@davidwhite1982]

Ridiculous to refer to Gervais as conservative or rightwing just because he makes a few 'controversial' jokes. The far-left ideologues are demonising those who have always been leftwing. Gervais sums it up perfectly in his closing remarks of his latest Netflix show. If we can no longer laugh at ourselves and the absurdities of humanity then we are doomed as a species.

[@CheddarBayBaby]

The Babylon Bee is trying to do this ‘Christian nihilist’ thing but it just folds in on itself. One of the key things you have to be no matter what kind of Christian is sincere in what you say, or at least fake it. Absurdist humor just doesn’t work with a Christian worldview… unless your Christianity has just become a veneer.

[@timy9197]

I mean you could say all of that all you want but Babylon Bee is funny

[@HiroProtaganist]

It's interesting that you mention Christianity becoming a veneer, because that's what a lot a right wingers use it as. Hershel Walker said on national television that he was a good Christian, but it turns out he's a serial cheater, is completely fine with women getting abortions as long as he benefits from it, and won't stick around to raise any kids. Trump walked his big, orange, goofy ass all the way through a protest to a church that didn't want him there for a photo op in which he held the Bible upside down. That's the comedy of the right wing.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

The Bee used to be funny. It used to be a lot of in-jokes about church life like poking fun at lazy sermon writing. Now it’s just a bunch of straw man nonsense that claims to be “parody.”

[@WouldYouKindlyNot]

@@timy9197 The bee was funny when it made fun of church goers like "Guy hopes people see how many chairs he's putting away at once." Once it got into the "Trans people are abomination" territory, it became a crap pile

[@frankjennings4489]

@@Justanotherconsumer Totally agree. Their parodies don’t make any sense when you know how many straw men they’re building, but I guess their audience believes it’s all based on truth so it’s funny to them. It’s all subjective.

[@Kkakdugii]

This video explains for me why George Carlin is my favourite comedian

[@mrpablox127]

Hes not a comedian, hes a speaker.

[@MrLipsDrums]

This video shows me how no one understands george. George played no sides and didn't vote. I'm beginning to think people only know what that hbo documentary showed. In this video in the case of the joke makes the comedian left or right. Which is not at all accurate.

[@TheEverFreeKing]

George Carlin could be funny but he was also an idiot, this is the truth many people refuse to acknowledge.

[@GreenhouseKeys]

@@MrLipsDrums george carlin was a far left loser and so are all of his fans

[@Subzearo]

Is it "punching up" when trans-women push women out of their own sports?

[@Nuke_Skywalker]

it's the same when people confuse dark comedy - which for example can make fun of racism - with actual racist jokes. and worse: they think they're doing smth rebellious when actually they just hold up power structures.

[@VeritabIlIti]

This hits on something I've repeatedly argued with my partner about: the definition and function of satire. Usually considered to be the "highest" form of humor, satire can work really well at questioning existing trends or authorities, but the other side of this argument is that some people won't get that it's satirical, and so think it's either funny to replicate or write it off as insensitive. (Rick and Morty nuts, I'm looking at you.) It's also a noticeable trend that comedy and satire are getting less and less willing to run with the big questions and take risks questioning establishment, as this video showed. So the question is, why?

[@tonoornottono]

rick and morty nuts

[@spartanrabbit]

Highest form of humour? Source plzz lol

[@tosmok]

what the hell? all satire has ever done is run with the big questions and question the establishment, esp in the past 7 years

[@shuheihisagi6689]

This explains why I could not stop laughing at The Holy Grail as a kid

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

I also found other bits funnier as an adult. The bit with the peasants arguing for communism with Arthur almost knocks me out of my chair nowadays.

[@MrGruzefix]

@@lysanamcmillan7972 I didn't vote for you.

[@iainward1314]

@@MrGruzefix you don't vote for youtube commenters

[@gabrielschultz2787]

I feel like using Ricky Gervais as an example of this phenomenon is a bit of a stretch as he reassures the audience multiple times that in “real life” he completely supports trans people and he’s just joking. In addition, I don’t know if there’s many instances that evoke George Carlin more than Gervais’ performance hosting the Golden Globes. I’m not a huge fan of his either way I just found it odd because I’d never thought of him as “right wing”

[@aliasfakename2267]

Same, he's an atheist who regularly mocks religion. Doesn't really seem conservative to me.

[@TheRealitzamechrispratt]

@@aliasfakename2267 American liberals are hardcore Jesus freaks. They hate agnostics and atheists.

[@Knewleon]

@Karl Der Grobe but are they tho

[@morbiusprime2043]

Calling Ricky Gervais a conservative is like calling Ayn Rand a communist

[@cavalrycome]

Critiquing authority can happen at multiple levels, though. Within a minority subculture there are norms that a sub-sub-culture within it might want to dethrone via humor. I wouldn't consider critiques of that kind to be punching down even if those who are being critiqued might want to dispense of them by casting them in those terms.

[@nicolaiveliki1409]

true, but it doesn't apply when a white, old, fat dude is doing it. Yes, I'm a white, fattish dude, so it's just a matter of time...

[@naxithxrazni5661]

Shane Gillis' special has to be one of the best of the past decade tho. I've rewatched that at least a couple times.

[@xankubakuryu1568]

It was boring and predictable

[@Drewggles]

I also didn't consider him a right winger.

[@l3ete1geuse]

Would he be considered a conservative? He seems like he take shots at everyone in power.

[@bengulliford9519]

@@Drewggles He's not right wing at all. This channel fell to complete shit after jared left. All the nuance gone. Now just a bunch of marxist with unsophisicated views

[@MrSaiLikesPie]

@@xankubakuryu1568He’s just a really funny likeable guy. His jokes aren’t supposed to be high brow and heady. If you don’t find him funny then that’s fine, but predictability isn’t a fair criticism. I could hear him say it 20 times and every time it’ll be funny. It’s not what he saying but how he says it. That’s a true comedian imo.

[@SxC97]

I love _some_ political humor. Carlin and old-school Colbert are some of my favorites. Modern day Colbert though is just insufferable. I don't want someone to just lecturing me about their political beliefs. It should be clever and unexpected, not just "orange man bad" for 4+ years.

[@DizzyBusy]

Orange man was very bad though. It can't be overstated how weird those 4 years were for foreign relations.

[@SxC97]

@@DizzyBusy well, I'm old enough to remember the Bush era. As bad as orange man was, imagine if the internet didn't exist to vent on with like minded people and the entire MSM just kept pushing the presidents insane agenda. A bad president for sure, but not the worst by a long shot.

[@Aaron-kj8dv]

Old school Colbert was genius and of course a large corporation took him and ruined him.

[@darthasavage7213]

Ricky Gervais isnt right wing, he's just anti PC.. like every funny comic. Like Bill Burr they tend to make fun of the left's ideals because we act like stupid shit matters when it doesn't, but Burr himself leans left at least according to himself. Gillis is pretty fkn hilarious. I just dont feel like comedy is conservative because its anti - PC, comedy is inherently anti - PC.. Being politically correct is by definition not pushing the envelope.

[@alikan4477]

That Babylon Bee bit around 1:20 doesn't explain their own joke they just repeat it. lol

[@AI-mg3hy]

I think when we expect comedy to take one political side or the other we restrict what comedy can be and do. Most comedy that's "political" now is definitely for those who already agree with and can likely anticipate the punchline. We do need people who challenge us, and I also think James Acaster's bit about self-proclaimed "challenging" comedians is excellent. For those comedians, challenging is synonymous with controversial and aggressively un-PC. Comedians like Carlin (sadly there aren't many) can challenge your beliefs while maintaining a consistent underlying concern for humanity. A significant chunk of both political sides like their comedy to challenge the other side. They don't want to be challenged themselves. They would rather have someone point at the other side and say how stupid they are. I don't know if that can even be called comedy anymore. It's more of an expected affirmation of superiority. I think we are past the point of the possibility of a really talented comedian with the ability to appeal to and challenge most people without making a bunch of people feel like they are the joke. It's frankly pretty scary when I keep hearing Republicans say things like it's beyond politics now, it's time for literal war. I really hope I'm wrong.

[@gaywizard2000]

You are. The world is not really this bad. People should talk to each other more in real life, get off echo chamber media.

[@bluebird5173]

Isn't all comedy supposed to target an audience that agrees with you? People laugh because they agree with the comedian on some level (we've all heard the saying, "it's funny because it's true"). If the audience doesn't laugh, it means they don't "get" the comedian, which kind of defeats their job description.

[@AI-mg3hy]

@@bluebird5173 the video talks about how comedy works by subverting our expectations, giving Andy Kaufman's mighty mouse bit as an example of how that works. Much of what we call comedy now works the opposite way, the way you are describing. I think looking at why most of us have shifted to wanting our comedy to confirm our identities is an interesting way to look at the last few decades.

[@bluebird5173]

​@@AI-mg3hy I would argue that comedy still subverts our expectations even if it's geared toward an audience that knows where the comedian's own political opinions lies. Take Bo Burnham's song "straight white man", for example. Despite knowing Burnham is progressive, the song still subverts our expectations.

[@lokimiguel2452]

@@gaywizard2000 stop smelling your own farts. Most people in real life are in echo chamners. As in friends with people they disagree with.

[@jakeegarris]

Shane Gillis is hilarious lol

[@mangogoat4691]

Ricky Gervais ain’t a real conservative. Just because he criticises liberals

[@BrianFace182]

My favourite joke about Ricky Gervais is by Frankie Boyle. He says that Ricky Gervais joking about trans people by saying he can identify as a chimpanzee is not really that much stranger than Ricky Gervais identifying as a stand up comedian.

[@BadassRandomness]

Never in a million years would I have thought that Ricky Gervais would be called right wing haha He's been making fun of the religious right for years, but now when he makes fun of the left, he's sudenly a crazy right winger. Wild

[@Kris-e1b]

Ok to call Chappelle or Gervais "conservative" comedians is absolutely...well stupid. Yes they both do trans jokes. They make jokes about every group of people. Joking about trans people is a way of showing their acceptance of trans people into society. To not joke about them would be saying that they are not like us. They are different. Neither of them are transphobic.

[@michalvesely5206]

I hope the creator of this video sees this comment. To me it seems a bit manipulative to cut out a clip of R. Gervais standup showing a joke (I would argue) not necessarily about trans people and the people who afirm them (that's just the creator's subjective view of the joke), but rather maybe about the way the "dialogue" is being led by some? Also, later in the same show, Gervais acknowledges trans rights as rights of any individual, similar point your comment makes. Why wasn't that bit included in this video? When I crack a smile watching the show, am I somehow afirming current status quo of governmental and religious structures holding most of the power and hurting the marginalized? Or do I find that kind of funny, because it captures a bizzare lack of tolerance and politeness (towards, let's say people of different opinion, e.g. assuming one's gender based on let's say physical appearance should not be considered offensive) from people telling rather excessively how tolerant and polite other people should be?

[@ihatepenuts1]

I think that reinforcing a social norm is relative. It depends what you think the social norm is. A lot of conservative believe that the previous social norm of the past has been replaced, so to them the jokes liberals might see as reinforcing norms is actually the opposite based on their perspective.

[@yurisei6732]

Exactly this. Right wing politicians advertise primarily based on the idea that the current established authority is left wing, so obviously conservative voters believe the same. The difference between a conservative and a liberal on the civilian level is that while both of them are unhappy with the status quo, one wants to go back to what they believe was a past better time, and one wants to go forward to what they believe will be a future better time.

[@partlycurrent]

But like, just because you believe the social norm has been replaced, doesn't make the discrimination women, ethnic or sexual minorities experience go away. As long conservatives don't get fired from their jobs or disowned by their families for voting GOP, that social norm is still very much in place. Or how they might say it "facts dont care about your feelings".

[@partlycurrent]

@@yurisei6732 It's like those pundits who claim being punk today means being conservative. They're dead wrong, but that doesn't mean they'll stop saying it.

[@yurisei6732]

@@partlycurrent That's not relevant to the question of whether or not right wing comedy is funny. To a conservative, it is, because their understanding of the world is different.

[@partlycurrent]

@@yurisei6732 I never claimed it was relevant to that exact point buddy :D It's another example of the difference in POV that you talked about :D

[@Lobos222]

What is the difference between a Trump supporter and an Ape? A Trump supporter isnt Black. What is the difference between a Black Trump supporter and an Ape? An Ape is not that stupid. :D /jk

[@thomasharrison3447]

Using ricky gervais in the thumbnail is a bit odd. Most definitely not right wing

[@Spiritus_Vorax]

The edginess of comedy strike best when it binds together the unbindable. For exemple a psychopath who become aware and kind of awkward about its own power trip. Humour is at its best when it reinforce a certain personnal plasticity or resilence in the face of the odd. It's like a velvet tingle on a open ended wound, not a desperate denial of self preservation. I mean, it's like catching someone masturbating, it's not funny, just awkward, even if it kinda make you laugh afterward.

[@Norr99]

I love this definition. It places both a lot of politically liberal and politically conservative comedians in the same category of conservative comedy as both groups are using comedy to prop up or affirm existing social and power structures. The only truly “liberal comedy” is the comedy that attacks power structures, no matter the political affiliation.

[@leehilborn8118]

why is the thumbnail ricky gervaise and "conservative" he is not right wing or conservative, nor is his comedy political comedy. dont be click baity

[@ryandague4473]

Blue Collar comedy was the closest thing to conservative humor. Ron White had some self depreciating humor that was great. The joke about his homophobic friend realizing he likes well-endowed men in porn is a good joke that addresses a social structure. (I know Ron White isn't conservative, but his comedy was aimed at a conservative audience.)

[@matthill3206]

If something is funny, it's funny. Comedy does not have an ideology, comedians do.

[@MatthewMortensen1]

Ricky Gervais is not right wing

[@freewilly1193]

When the politicians are the joke, we all suffer the punchline.

[@eymed2023]

Good observation.

[@samurai215]

Facts!! 💯

[@andyberberian4886]

Its interesting to say that Carlin made fun of the System and Gervais makes fun of the "marginalized". You mentioned how Carlin was cancelled all the way to jail, by the people who held power then, the rich people from the System. Carlin was the most perfect mix of a comedian and a hippie. Today the people with the power to send someone to jail would be these ladies with penises. Not making this a gender or LGBT talk. Just pointing out that comedians though the times are making jokes and trying to make fun of those who are untouchable (due to power or status), those that they feel need to be brought down a notch. Gervais did this at the Golden Globes.

[@louderthangod]

I was surprised to not see Bill Hicks mentioned. He’s one the first I think about when it comes to political comedians that are actually really funny.

[@tailofahippopotamus9775]

I have to admit I had a good laugh about the Trump NFTs

[@IanMcGarrett]

I had a good laugh when Trump was humiliating a stage full of monsters back in 2015.

[@Bunny-ch2ul]

The production value was the best part. Very, "For only sixty-nine cents a day, your donation can help keep me out of jail."

[@janettemasiello5560]

@@Bunny-ch2ul Aaand we found the low IQ brainwashed leftist. 🤤

[@ddjsoyenby]

yeah and andy kaufmanesque troll comedian ben shapiros wap bit......."i prefer dry ass p word" classic.

[@Bunny-ch2ul]

@@janettemasiello5560 Eh. Still better than inbred white trash who voted for a reality TV star. You know you're a fucking yokel when you start voting for C List celebrities for office.

[@bui2040]

That Shane Gillis comedy special was actually pretty funny.

[@Deathpenalty66]

Some more news has a really good episode on this. Highly recommend that

[@HiroProtaganist]

I literally just mentioned Cody in a separate comment. It's weird he didn't mention it, but I guess there's only so much time in a day. They both answered the question for us: yes right wing comedy does exist which is fine. It's just not funny, which is also fine. Some of it isn't funny anyway. He kept putting up vids of Shane Gillis who I personally find pretty funny. That guy on Fox News? Not funny. It's not about the political sphere, dude just has shitty delivery.

[@Montesama314]

That one was pretty good. As I understood from the video, con comedy isn't really laughing at an absurdity, it's just being mad at/ridiculing someone else existing and hoping for an angry reaction in return. The real "joke" is in making the libs say their joke is not funny.

[@DivineRedwood]

*Shocker that a Marxist wouldn't find a conservative comedian funny.*

[@anemac9]

Best comedy has always challenged power, we have to remember comedy in the middle ages, or any other illuminated time, when stakes are high and the threat of being dismembered and having your head in the pike for making fun of the ruler you have to be REALLY funny.

[@ziglaus]

The problem with this idea is who we think is powerful and who powerless. We may think its the LGBTQ or racial minorities, but people leaning towards the right see LGBTQ and racial groups as part of a powerful leftist lobby, that is controling elections, schools, media, even technology. So from their point of view, right wing comedy IS laughing at the powerful

[@KIRA-EL]

No. It never is I've always wondered why it's so terrible. And whoever lied to Gutfielld and told him he was funny might be one of history's greatest monsters.

[@brandonmaddox4862]

That’s the goddamn truth right there, he’s every frat boy you heard telling racist jokes at a party that a handful of his bros thought were funny

[@tosmok]

its terrible bc youre an idiot. part of gutfields comedy is that he knows hes not particularly funny, its a talk show first and comedy show second

[@nwchi234]

Alright take it easy, I think Sam Hyde is very funny, comedy is subjective

[@lapulapuspirit]

I feel like a good comic both hates and loves themselves

[@Borzogo]

that tracks. Their sets suffer when they start loving or hating themselves too much. There is a sort of goldilocks zone to hit.

[@lapulapuspirit]

@@Borzogo yeah! I feel like when those feelings don't balance than it comes off as egotistical or tragic

[@joao3547]

Louis CK is a prime example of this

[@neutralbychoice3584]

How is Gervais making a trans joke, right wing or even political? The joke is more “Ha Ha, a woman with a penis, that doesnt make sense to little old me”. Nothing political about about it. I’m not familiar enough with Ricky Gervais to say of he actually says political stuff, but to be honest, only in America can a joke about trans people be political.

[@AmazonCrime]

"Right wing comedy is not super funny" Proceed to show a clip of Shane Gillis doing a hilarious bit where he is making fun of his conservative alcoolic dad when he is watching Fox News.

[@ryllo2886]

that wasn't funny

[@ChrisGuerra31]

Who?

[@psychoboyjack285]

wisecrack brags about its research, and then fails miserably at it. Showing Shane as a conservative while he's making fun of conservatives and then proceeding with Ricky Gervais being right wing is being completely detached from reality.

[@greybread301]

@@ryllo2886idk had me dying

[@shawnv9135]

@@psychoboyjack285 you can make conservative jokes and conservative comedy without being one dude. I know that Chappelle used to be fairly left leaning but he makes so many conservative jokes and even had Elon on a show recently. People aren’t just one thing all the time, it’s important to understand that

[@thefuturist8864]

Interesting that Gervais is the thumbnail when he’s not at all on the political right.

[@bluebird5173]

He is. He just pretends to not to be.

[@PaperbackJourneys]

@@bluebird5173 He’s not on the political right. He believes strongly in socialized healthcare. He’s vehemently against religion in politics and he’s an animal rights and climate change activist but… he’s also a bit of a dik when it comes to some marginalized groups. We can’t say that every idiot is right wing.

[@bluebird5173]

@@PaperbackJourneys Lots of people who hate religion, believe in climate change, and speak up for animal rights are right wing, especially the atheist/"skeptic community" types. Personally, I think they reek of virtue signaling, as if they think that supporting these things somehow makes them "not on the right" despite the fact they punch down on trans people, women, feminism, and social justice in general.

[@raycabralnh]

Ricky would crap himself if you knew he was being used as a thumbnail on a video about conservative comedians.

[@abelabel3664]

Then he should stop with his anti-trans bs

[@raycabralnh]

@@abelabel3664 Can't argue with that.

[@AholeAtheist]

@@abelabel3664 I mean, that's literally just one of his social views.. His overall views are more liberal than conservative.

[@grampagohan3385]

@abelabel3664 again i find extremely conservative to try to outlaw comedy on certain subgroups. Its comedy that yall never realize how similar yall are to the people you hate

[@conniethesconnie]

What if the problem is not the "right-wing comedians" but the left-wing audiences? Take a few minutes to listen conservatives. They will say that liberals are not funny. Neither side is able to see the joke when it is pointed at them. Our nations lack of objectivity and blind obedience to political ideology is dangerous and no laughing matter.

[@4JBrewer]

Ellen Degeneres (a millionaire with her own show and a huge social following) makes an insulting joke about Ricky Gervais, she's calling truth to power - Ricky Gervais (not a millionaire who's still doing stand-up and who is routinely disparaged for being a cis hetero white guy by Ellen's social following) does ANY joke about Ellen Degeneres, he's "Punching Down." Which direction is "down" again?

[@WisecrackEDU]

Did we talk about Ellen in the video?

[@4JBrewer]

@@WisecrackEDU I'll grant you Ricky Gervais has probably NEVER told a joke involving Ellen Degeneres... He's not that self-destructive.

[@runningbetweenspaces]

​@@4JBrewer didn't answer the question

[@craigkemery]

You think Ricky Gervais isn’t a millionaire?

[@4JBrewer]

@@runningbetweenspaces Let me try again - Ricky Gervais has "privilege" and therefore could never be a "victim" - Ellen Degeneres, for all her wealth and influence, has the "privilege" to be a "victim."

[@Crick1952]

I'll watch any right wing comedian before sitting through another John Oliver studio audience laugh track 🤡

[@FrankieTeardrop1998]

Yeah but both are pretty bad

[@gravitationalconstant4044]

Gervais was joking about the absurdity of trans activism. And when every major corporation is being incentivized to push the lgbt agenda, can you really still claim that they are marginalized?

[@TheEdge92]

The question itself is the joke. A serious question would be "Is left wing comedy funny" The answer would be NO

[@tonydarks4895]

When was Ricky Gervais a right wing comedian

[@ThePawcios]

XD with first joke about trans he got classified as right wing fasist

[@dani.lepore9410]

If he keeps making transphobic stuff he will keep being called conservative. Many conservatives can be atheist and Against the church.

[@LizaFan]

Anti-trans politics *is* right-wing.

[@boop53]

thanks for telling me what i can and cant laugh at. I was worried that i was gonna commit a wrongthink

[@FrankieTeardrop1998]

I'm sorry, who said you're not allowed to like shit comedy?

[@JJ-006]

@@FrankieTeardrop1998you clearly

[@FrankieTeardrop1998]

@@JJ-006 you have less brain cells than a rock

[@yoU0Turn]

In my opinion there is just good and bad humor. I love to watch Trevor Noah or John Oliver(he is just right) and Ricky Gervais or Dave Chappelle. I find all of them funny. They just make fun on different things from different perspectives. It does not mean they tell the truth, it just means they are funny. The fact that canceling is now reality just shows there is absolutely no discussing about topics anymore and not that somebody is wrong.

[@Phoen1xGen]

“In June 2017, Gervais endorsed the Labour Party.” Yeah, not right-wing. You’ve missed the nail and hit the wall.

[@erichobbs4042]

Maybe it's just memory, but I laughed out loud at every single Grail clip, even without the audio.

[@iamciril]

The two in the muck were the world's first sovereign citizens. Way ahead of their time.

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

@@iamciril Sovereign citizens are not communists. A lot of their dialogue was cribbed from the Communist Manifesto. SCs are more like anarcho-libertarians.

[@erichobbs4042]

@@lysanamcmillan7972 IIRC they informed King Arthur that they were a self organised anarcho collectivist syndicate, or something like that.

[@nicolaiveliki1409]

absolutely timeless and classic comedy. This time of year, Life of Brian...

[@Shawouin]

The amount of criticism Gervais got prove it's very challenging making Trans jokes!! But like Chapelle, he takes about excess, not about all trans, but about excessivly offended trans activists. Anyone excessivly offended is funny in black humour.

[@WisecrackEDU]

But who is it challenging?

[@solitaryfox69]

@@WisecrackEDU Outrage culture.

[@xankubakuryu1568]

They both use bad trans jokes to punch down on and spread misinformation

[@xankubakuryu1568]

@@solitaryfox69 the Christians? They love hating trans people.

[@bulletsizednuke1100]

@@xankubakuryu1568 I find comedy's fixation on trans people rather odd But also "punching down" and "spread misinformation" have pretty much become meaningless buzzwords

[@glitchyghosting5798]

Ricky Gervais is funny though, your argument basically boils down to 'Comedians shouldn't punch down'. That political comedy can only truly be funny if it's aimed at the powerful or systems of governance rather than individuals or groups you see as marginalised.

[@FritzCopyCat]

On what planet is Ricky Gervais right-wing? It's no wonder Jared Bauer jumped this ship.