# Is Comedy Less Funny Lately?



## ChurchOfGodBear (Oct 12, 2018)

I really think the quality of humor in this culture is declining.  More and more I find it difficult to find genuinely funny movies, TV shows, or even stand-up comedy routines. At first I thought it was just selective memory on my part, but I'm now thinking that comedy in general has moved in a direction where being funny is optional.  The goal now seems to be to get the viewer to nod and say "I see what you did there" rather than to emit this sound we call "laughter".

I'm not saying good comedy doesn't exist today.  It does.  But it's way harder to find than it should be.


Agree?  If so, why do you think this is happening?


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## CatParty (Oct 12, 2018)




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## The Cunting Death (Oct 12, 2018)

Relevant clip from Duckman


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## Bussy Catalog (Oct 12, 2018)

It's happening alright. The majority of current comedians are left-wing, and the culture of panic and outrage that's bringing the left to its knees is forcing comedians to become stand-up therapists to an audience of frustrated liberals. Hannah Gadsby was applauded by the press for doing a Netflix special where she eschewed jokes in favor of teary-eyed anecdotes about her youth.



> Gadsby is just the latest progressive giving up jokes. Comedians’ most celebrated moments these days are laughter-free. Jimmy Kimmel was praised for weeping through a monologue about healthcare policy. Kathy Griffin fainted during her stand-up set about blowback from her faux Trump beheading. “Saturday Night Live” highlighted a somber musical elegy to Hillary Clinton.
> 
> In a 2017 wrap-up, the New York Times enthused that “the most memorable moments of the year in comedy were not funny.”
> 
> This age of political buffoonery, media panic, and perpetual outrage is a comedy goldmine — right when many comedians are losing their sense of humor. As the left grows ever more dour, their political prospects will continue to fade. As will the laughter from an audience who could use a break from the anger and despair.



https://ricochet.com/535983/the-left-gives-up-on-comedy/

Professional comedy is a dying art form, and until comedians ditch the dreary woe-is-us progressivism and get a new sense of humor, comedy is most likely going to go back underground.


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## Arkangel (Oct 12, 2018)

Block Me said:


> It's happening alright. The majority of current comedians are left-wing, and the culture of panic and outrage that's bringing the left to its knees is forcing comedians to become stand-up therapists to an audience of frustrated liberals. Hannah Gadsby was applauded by the press for doing a Netflix special where she eschewed jokes in favor of teary-eyed anecdotes about her youth.


Gadsby's special was a really good TED Talk.


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## chalkoutline (Oct 12, 2018)

Comedy is dead.


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## liliput (Oct 12, 2018)

Let's hope a renaissance of offensive, ball-busting comedians come through the woodwork, and gain befuddling popularity despite the chagrin of sensitive individuals. Comedy isn't dead, it just smells funny.


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## ShittyRecolor (Oct 12, 2018)

I do feel like that lots of comedy shows play it too safe, not just in the sense that they're horrified of doing non-PC stuff (unless it's at the expense of evil whitey), but because they rely on safe, fashionable clichés without giving any real thought to what has made that cliché funny in the past, like lolsorandomness, cheap, unsubtle meta-humor or the oh-so-hilarious and zany let's-repeat-the-same-thing-slightly-differently-over-and-over-again routine (which is like 80% of the "jokes" in 2016's Ghostbusters). They just play it safe and take the easy route, which doesn't necessarily yield the best results. I also feel like many comedians lack the life experiences that would give their stuff that air of authenticity. Not everyone can make something funny by just the way they say it.


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## CWCchange (Oct 12, 2018)

Comedians are still funny, just not their jokes. It's because they're all libtards who have more salt over Trump than the ocean. We know that.


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## Draza (Oct 12, 2018)

Yeah it's pretty dead, i rarely watch Comedy Central unless for past comedy skits like the Office, South Park, Futurama,Chapelle Show, and That 70's show. Besides that, everyhting else is pretty boring.


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## Vorhtbame (Oct 12, 2018)

Being funny requires that you be able to connect with people and present them something about which they can laugh.  Modern "comedians" aren't interested in connecting with their audience or making them laugh; they're only interested in being famous and approved, and laughter is not allowed in this _super serious age_ when _Nazis lurk in every space_.


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## eldri (Oct 12, 2018)

CatParty said:


>


KILL IT WITH FIRE!!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!


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## OhGoy (Oct 12, 2018)

if we're talking _mainstream _stuff, then yes

most of it, especially stand-up, has become more about pushing a political narrative and less about being funny... which hurts comedy for obvious reasons

that being said, we've still got norm macdonald and a whole supply of youtube channels that haven't fallen into this trap, so it's not all bad


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## Black Waltz (Oct 12, 2018)

comedy these days is just "FUK BLONAL BOOF" so yeah


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## Cyber Bowling (Oct 12, 2018)

ShittyRecolor said:


> I do feel like that lots of comedy shows play it too safe, not just in the sense that they're horrified of doing non-PC stuff (unless it's at the expense of evil whitey), but because they rely on safe, fashionable clichés without giving any real thought to what has made that cliché funny in the past, like lolsorandomness, cheap, unsubtle meta-humor or the oh-so-hilarious and zany let's-repeat-the-same-thing-slightly-differently-over-and-over-again routine (which is like 80% of the "jokes" in 2016's Ghostbusters). They just play it safe and take the easy route, which doesn't necessarily yield the best results. I also feel like many comedians lack the life experiences that would give their stuff that air of authenticity. Not everyone can make something funny by just the way they say it.



I think this sums it up well. I'm not going to pretend there isn't an issue with comedians being too PC/left leaning/whatever you want to call it, because that is very much a thing. But, I'd also argue anyone with that mindset isn't particularly funny to begin with. I think lack of originality has a lot to do with it. Like OP said, there are still funny comedians/movies/whatever, they're just harder to find, and I think it is specifically because we're in the age of a lot of people trying to mimic what they see someone else who is successful has done, without understanding why it worked. With comedy especially, that's a big deal because delivery and presentation are pretty key.


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## ES 148 (Oct 12, 2018)

surreal memes exist, what are you talking about


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## Overcast (Oct 12, 2018)

Most of my comedy now comes from memes, certain Youtubers and this site.

Professional comedy is kinda dead to me now.


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## Safir (Oct 12, 2018)

^ This.

What's funny is always unexpected. Humor must break social norms; it has to be always looking for a platform because breaking social norms is by definition not welcome. Funny comedians have to either work in the medium and with the art form that can reach the largest potential audience in the cheapest way or die in obscurity.

The mainstream stuff is not supposed to be _actually_ funny. TV content has to please corporate partners / advertizers, standup acts have to fill the limited seats with the most expensive asses out there, and they have to provide the comfort of the safe and familiar tired old shit. On some level, it's an insurmountable philosophical problem - paying customers have to know what they're getting before they swipe their cards. You're not supposed to be surprised, you're supposed to recognize the cue and laugh. Like church for liberals: everyone chuckles, has an uplifting communal experience, and goes home feeling "nice".


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## BeanBidan (Oct 12, 2018)

When it comes to media, Hong Kong gas some of the funniest wtfs in movies, The Midnight After is the best example of that.


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## Red Hood (Oct 12, 2018)

Part of it is, mainstream comedy in the west is either "clappy humor" where it's not supposed to be funny but you're supposed to applaud the comic for being woke, it's terrible unscripted ad-libbing with Melissa McCarthy beating a joke to death like Bruce Willis on a Yellow Bastard, or it's one of those Judd Apatow switcheroos where the last 45 minutes of a 2 hour movie turns from comedy to drama.

Or it's cringey normie laugh track comedy, BAZINGA.


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## TiggerNits (Oct 12, 2018)

For every unfunny meta bullshit we get a lot more good content out of guys like Bill Burr and Norm Macdonald making fun of them.


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## Staffy (Oct 12, 2018)

Only people in unfortunate cringy videos and internet (especially KF) shitposts makes me laugh nowadays


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## dopy (Oct 12, 2018)

humour is an NPC thing imvho


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## Cake Farts (Oct 12, 2018)

I always thought it was me getting more insensitive, but honestly I think comedians are trying to appease everyone which is why the content sucks.


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## Dolphin Lundgren (Oct 12, 2018)

No, because Jim Norton and Norm McDonald are still telling jokes.


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## Káiser Futura (Oct 12, 2018)

When comedy goes from being a means to criticize society in a satirical way, to be a political and biased medium. That's where the comedy stops being funny.


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## Clones of Alex Jones (Oct 12, 2018)

If you know funny you probably know of Monty python. Terry Gilliam a former Python came out as a trans lesbian  black woman. The response from shit sites like "Terry Gilliam has some very stupid ideas about diversity" Link   http://dlisted.com/2018/07/05/terry-gilliam-has-some-very-stupid-thoughts-about-diversity/ .
What it left out was Terry saying that the producers or whoever the fuck is organizing comedy shit are picking people to fit quotas like a boy band instead of picking whose funny. 

I'm leaving this video of the legendary Patrice Oneal going at with a Proto-SJW. A description wouldn't do it justice.


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## Diabeetus (Oct 12, 2018)

Mainstream comedy is _dead_ and leftists killed it. Jerry Seinfeld said it, Chris Rock said it, any comedian with a brain fucking_ knows it_. 

Anyone who buys into politically correct rhetoric, at least overtly, should've stayed away from comedy. But they saw how effective it was at conveying a message, so they co-opted it. A lot of budding comedians these days see comedy as being a John Oliver character or like Samantha Bee: making fun of anything that is not the socio-political status quo. And personally, I think John Oliver can make funny, informative content, but I take what he says with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, he's a _fucking comedian_. People in John Oliver's comment section will go on and on about how you can't criticize the dude for not giving accurate information because "He's a comedian, he's not trying to be Anderson Cooper", but trust me when I say this: for a majority of John Oliver's audience, _he's their primary news source_. And that's the fucking problem: _people take comedy too seriously_.

Let me put it in another way: y'all know Trump Baldwin, right? Alec Baldwin's Trump impression on Saturday Night Live? Trump Baldwin is not popular because it's funny or it's a good Trump impression, Trump Baldwin's popular because _it validates the viewpoint that Trump is a fucking moron faggot who's as incompetent as he is gay for Vladimir Putin_. They think an exaggeration of Trump is a portrait, and they clap because the artist made a mirror image of someone they hate. They don't laugh, by the way. They clap. 

TL;DR: Mainstream comedy's dead because modern political satire (the most saturated form of comedy popularized by John Stewart, Seth Myers, John Oliver, and other guys) is used as a tool to validate the status quo instead of a tool to make people laugh and feel better. 

(srry for sperging i'm just very passionate abt comedy and seeing Saturday Night Live become a husk of it's former self bcoz of this bullshit makes me very very sad)


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## Rand /pol/ (Oct 12, 2018)

What is "funny"?


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## From The Uncanny Valley (Oct 12, 2018)

It sucks. John Mulaney's new Netflix special made me want to fucking an hero myself.


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## Diabeetus (Oct 12, 2018)

Uncanny Valley said:


> It sucks. John Mulaney's new Netflix special made me want to fucking an hero myself.


Really? His first few were pretty good, was there that big a dip in quality?


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## From The Uncanny Valley (Oct 12, 2018)

Diabeetus-chan said:


> Really? His first few were pretty good, was there that big a dip in quality?



Warning: there's Drumpf shit


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 12, 2018)

Vrakks said:


> surreal memes exist, what are you talking about


Internet humor is garbage.


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## Diabeetus (Oct 12, 2018)

Y2K Baby said:


> Internet humor is garbage.


Thank you Baby, very cool!


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 12, 2018)

Uncanny Valley said:


> Warning: there's Drumpf shit


Lol, you think I'm trying to annoy you with Feels when I do it to literally everyone.


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## Coconut Gun (Oct 12, 2018)

Today I learned that Kiwi Farms loves Norm Macdonald. And rightfully so.

Also Chappelle is still really funny.


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## sperginity (Oct 12, 2018)

All the good stuff is on the internet. Or you're depressed.


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## Rand /pol/ (Oct 12, 2018)

Coconut Gun said:


> Today I learned that Kiwi Farms loves Norm Macdonald. And rightfully so.
> 
> Also Chappelle is still really funny.


Lolno


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## spurger king (Oct 12, 2018)

Ron /pol/ said:


> What is "funny"?



Chris Rock once said that comedy is the blues for people who can't sing. I think comedy is when people try to "win", and despite the fact that they don't have the tools or the skills to succeed, they go for it anyway. Look at a movie like _Liar Liar _for example. When the good-hearted but slimy lawyer finds himself unable to lie, what happens next is spontaneous and funny. _The 40-year-old_ _Virgin_ is similar. The guy's buddies try to get him laid, but without really understanding what makes the guy tick. Eventually they end up facing their own hangups and flaws, and it becomes spontaneous and funny when they end up getting more than they bargained for. 

This is why I find comedians like Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari to be grating and unfunny. Their whole shtick is "I'm a piece of shit with a depressing life, and so are you.". That's an ok place to start, but you have to be _motivated_ to be entertaining. If the things you want are stupid and not worth caring about, that's fine, but you at least need to have a goal that the audience can relate to. 

John Oliver can be funny in the same way a TV commercial can be funny, but it's never gut-laugh funny. He and people like him are representative of the Powers that Be, so when he makes fun of Trump, it's never in a way that points out the fucked up randomness of life. He just comes off as snide and arrogant. Good comedy mocks and belittles the audience, it isn't supposed to make them feel good about themselves.


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## Ted_Breakfast (Oct 12, 2018)

The problem isn't that most comedians are liberals, it's that liberals have changed so much. They're no fun anymore.


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## Flying_with_the_Penguins (Oct 12, 2018)

Traditional comedy is simply experiencing a similar death to many other forms of old media.  You no longer need to suck corporate cock in order to get your material out there for everyone to see, so all thats left to fill positions on SNL and late-night talk shows are boring shills who play it safe because they're too afraid to take a risk and lose what little audiences remain.


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## Scotsman (Oct 12, 2018)

For me, a guy called Frankie Boyle was a good example of comedy in recent years. I don't think I've seen any mainstream comedians in the UK or the US who would go anywhere near the levels he did. More recently he just writes articles for left wing newspapers and is pretty political, but there was a time when he was getting sued every other month, and when people were protesting outside of his gigs.


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## Dolphin Lundgren (Oct 12, 2018)

At least we still have Dylan Moran.


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## SteelPlatedHeart (Oct 12, 2018)




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## Count groudon (Oct 12, 2018)

The sad thing is, a lot of the unfunny chucklefucks we all love to hate these days actually do have the capacity to funny, they mostly just forsake it for the sake of cheap laughs and ticket sales. I mean even Amy Schumer, the absolute pinnacle of modern unfunny comedians, has actually proven that she can actually make some solid jokes here and there when she's not doing standup consisting entirely of "muh vagina" and "reee republicans" jokes. There are quite a few of these people that actually do have potential, but none of them tap into it because they're so comfortable with their cookie-cutter routines that don't really challenge anything and usually rely on non-edgy shock humor.

I'm also noticing that any time I actually do find something genuinely funny on tv anymore it almost always goes out in a ridiculously short amount of time. Like I loved Key and Peele but that show seemed like it's run ended way too abruptly. Maybe I just have an affinity for shitty shows that get cancelled super early, idk.


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## AnOminous (Oct 12, 2018)

I miss Doug Stanhope at his height of absolute heinous disregard for propriety, manners, or anything even resembling human decency.


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## UnKillShredDur (Oct 12, 2018)

I don't necessarily agree with the statement that "the left" killed comedy. George Carlin was a life-long liberal, pretty outspokenly so, and he was also fucking hilarious. I want to believe that if he were still with is today, he would be one of the loudest voices speaking out about the strangle hold that the social justards currently hold on comedy.


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## Kyria the Great (Oct 13, 2018)

Comedy is dying because of mainstream folks not wanting to rock the boat, when you should be wanting to rock the boat in comedy. Comedy is supposed to be a cathartic escape from the dredge and misery of life to bring escapist joy, at least half it can be.


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## UnKillShredDur (Oct 13, 2018)

I get why some people would rate my previous comment , but Carlin spent literally his entire career pushing the boundaries of what you could and couldn't say. Yes I will grant you that during much of that time, the people most in opposition to that boundary-pushing were the right wing fundies, but he did also speak out against political correctness, quite a lot.



Spoiler: NSFW



Shit, Piss, Cunt, Fuck, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits. (And to a lesser extent- Fart, Turd, and Twat.)


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## Maxliam (Oct 13, 2018)

UnKillFill said:


> I don't necessarily agree with the statement that "the left" killed comedy. George Carlin was a life-long liberal, pretty outspokenly so, and he was also fucking hilarious. I want to believe that if he were still with is today, he would be one of the loudest voices speaking out about the strangle hold that the social justards currently hold on comedy.


Carlin was that iconoclast that while popular was not successful in the traditional sense. I'm not talking about him not being an accomplished comic, he was indeed. He was however hilarious as shit because he came from a time when comics were expected to be blunt and the jesters who spoke the truth. That's why people like Lenny Bruce and Carlin were hilarious. They didn't give a fuck about what some committee thought. At the same time, the same committee think groups couldn't be bothered to give them the level of exposure they deserved.

That's why Carlin was never promoted nearly as much as current comics are. He wasn't safe, he wasn't nice, and he wasn't blind to the bullshit both sides of the political spectrum were and are feeding us these days.

That's why you didn't see much of Carlin compared to a safe comic you see today. Sure he did cameos in movies and he had specials and did commercials but it was nowhere near what the safer comics of today get.

Same with Patrice O'Neal. The fucker was a sharp son of a bitch. He spoke bluntly about race and wasn't "fuck whitey" like some comedians. He was honest about how blacks nowadays are controlled by their blackness and that women will make false accusations of rape. Guy was falsely convicted of it after running a train (consenual) on a white girl in Boston in the 80's. 

He was a very successful comic but he was not promoted or allowed to get anywhere near what hacks these days get. He saw the bullshit that Hollywood and the industry will do to keep people in line and just wanted to have as he put it "his ceiling fan". Here's the O&A clip. It's an hour long but I guarantee it's worth a listen.


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## Ted_Breakfast (Oct 13, 2018)

It feels like comedians are 'annointed' these days. We're expected to find certain people funny because the media thinks we should rather than because of any organic appeal. One of the first examples of this I noticed was Tina Fey, who is a talented writer so it didn't feel quite as phony. But when there was this bizarre push for the likes of Amy Schumer and Seth Meyers, it became obvious to even casual observers that we were watching the comedy equivalent of a manufactured boy band.


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## Oglooger (Oct 13, 2018)

I just can't find comedy funny, no matter how much I try.
I can't even chuckle at stand up.
the lat time I remember laughing genuinely was watching Vinny play a spider-man mod for GTA.


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## ChurchOfGodBear (Oct 13, 2018)

Another unfortunate trend is the "Am  I right?" routine, wherein the comic doesn't get laughter so much as a clap and people yelling "That's so true!"  All you have to do is say something the audience agrees with and grin like and idiot.

"Hey... today's video games are too high tech.  Sega Genesis, that thing was the best, am I right???"

"Whoo hooo!  So true!"

You know what isn't there?  A goddamn PUNCHLINE.


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## Maxliam (Oct 13, 2018)

ChurchOfGodBear said:


> Another unfortunate trend is the "Am  I right?" routine, wherein the comic doesn't get laughter so much as a clap and people yelling "That's so true!"  All you have to do is say something the audience agrees with and grin like and idiot.
> 
> "Hey... today's video games are too high tech.  Sega Genesis, that thing was the best, am I right???"
> 
> ...


It's like canned laughter in sitcoms. Watch a clip of Big Bang Theory with the laugh track removed. It's just them saying stupid boring nerdface shit. Oddly I think the character Sheldon has potential to be funny because he's autistic as fuck and it can be played for laughs because even though he's a scientific genius, he's a social tard. Instead they just him spout random science shit. Then the audience laughs, that means you need to laugh, friend!

And their cameos are so forced and unfunny.

Comedy in the mainstream has always been pretty shitty. Underground comedians have always been funny because they aren't beholden to anyone but the audience. They need to make them laugh or they die off.


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## Judge Holden (Oct 13, 2018)

Same reason comics and sci-fi/fantasy literature (and a good chunk of gaming) have gotten so stale and crap in the last few years. Its all become about joining the right cliques, jumping through the right hoops, screeching at the proper targets, ticking the correct boxes, and networking with the right PR/marketing people over any actual talent. 

I mean, why bother signing up a talented man or woman who focuses solely on bettering their craft when you can hire some talentless schlub who will publicly give you asspats (_both figurative and literal)_ and declare war on your personal enemies for you while incorporating all your whims and pet causes of the week, and who you can roll on stage to say 5 minutes of hastily googled jokes (_with the butt of the joke alternating between FFFucking white maaales, drumpffff, or the internet boogieman of the week_) and get massive applause and laughs from a carefully selected audience and get rave reviews from comedy critics who are all in the same private facebook REEEsist group with you and are all very grateful for you hosting the weekly wine tasting night?


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## UnKillShredDur (Oct 13, 2018)

Maxliam said:


> That's why Carlin was never promoted nearly as much as current comics are... He wasn't safe, he wasn't nice, and he wasn't blind to the bullshit both sides of the political spectrum were and are feeding us these days.
> 
> ...That's why you didn't see much of Carlin compared to a safe comic you see today. Sure he did cameos in movies and he had specials and did commercials but it was nowhere near what the safer comics of today get.


A lot of his career happened later in his life, but the dude was literally the host of a children's program. (Hell, that's where I first saw him. It was actually really funny to hear his standup act years later) 





After that, he apparently got his own 2 season Fox sitcom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_George_Carlin_Show
(I don't remember it either, but it happened).
In interviews I've also heard him say, he was never really happy "selling out" like that which is why he didn't do more stuff like it. I think he really did prefer the standup.

Yeah, he wasn't starring in Ghostbuster reboots or anything, but I do think he was bigger outside of just his comedy than you're saying.


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## Tanti-Fanti (Oct 13, 2018)

I don't think comedy has really been on the decline. The problem is that most comedians these days aren't interested in telling jokes. They're only interested in siding with the left or right and making fun of politics rather than making fun of the IDEAs of politicians. People generally don't want to take a crack at one another anymore because it's "too offensive", but at the same time want to make grandiose speeches about how each side is a murderer because of xyz...

It's like they want to have their cake and eat it too. People want to be vicious to one another, but instead of telling crude jokes, they have to hide that they can't tell a joke and make a huge political speech about why they are not allowed to be slightly humorous because it'll be "too offensive". Most stand up comedians I see today don't tell really good jokes like for example, the infamous Salt and Pepper Diner joke. Instead, they go on and on about current events. Something I go to comedians to escape from.

I don't watch John Mulaney or Dane Cook to hear about Trump or the elections. I look at their shit to escape from that. The same can be said for most modern comedians. I know Trump exists. You don't need to remind me.


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## Jozef (Oct 13, 2018)

Absolutely. Modern comedy isn't even comedy at all, it's nothing more than someone standing on stage and ranting "fuck whitey!" and other stupid identity politics bullshit. Also, the one and only thing they ever talk about is Trump. "Trump did this, Trump did that!".. what are they going to do when Trump is no longer president, since 99% of their comedy routine revolves around Trump?
Even when it's not lefty bullshit, it's very, very "safe" as if they're scared shitless to offend anyone. Remember shows like Drawn Together where the whole premise was that it was offensive? Back then it seemed like society was breaking free from all the puritan-esque crap, but now it's a whole lot worse than ever.


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## RadicalCentrist (Oct 13, 2018)

AnOminous said:


> I miss Doug Stanhope at his height of absolute heinous disregard for propriety, manners, or anything even resembling human decency.


I vaguely remember him like that but when I googled it I saw "political activist" and closed the window


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## Maxliam (Oct 14, 2018)

UnKillFill said:


> A lot of his career happened later in his life, but the dude was literally the host of a children's program. (Hell, that's where I first saw him. It was actually really funny to hear his standup act years later)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm not saying he wasn't successful but he would have gotten way more exposure if he was a big sellout shill like the current crop of "comics" you're seeing lately. I enjoy the fact that no matter how much he rubbed the same committee thinktank the wrong way, they had to begrudgingly give him gigs because of demand.

I have a copy of his book "When will Jesus Bring the Porkchops" and it's funny as hell. The guy was always an outside compared to some comics who were given shitty sitcoms that lasted way too long.


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## AnOminous (Oct 14, 2018)

RadicalCentrist said:


> I vaguely remember him like that but when I googled it I saw "political activist" and closed the window



He's more Ron Paul/Gary Johnson than SJW.


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## Monsieur Guillotine (Oct 14, 2018)

I'm glad there's a thread touching on this.

In Canada we have a series of TV programs and comedy events called Just For Laughs. They used to televise acts from their annual comedy festival in Quebec. It always had a number of really good acts, even guys like Ron White, Patrice O'Neal and Dave Chappelle. They even got John Cleese to host one night. I'd say about 90% of the acts were at least mildly funny.

Now they're trying to push this thing called Just For Laughs All Access. Lame comedy club shows featuring fat soyboys, bonerkilling "am I right ladies?" comediennes, and just about every hack with an instrument as a crutch that you can name. The jokes they do tell are weak and uninspired, and then the rest of their acts are their political screeds or female/LGBT empowerment agenda. When the camera pans into the audience periodically, you can see all the womyn having a great time, while all the dudes look bored and/or uncomfortable, but they're grinning to seem polite.

The only funny stand-up comedians are the ones that were already big before this paradigm shift. I don't know if comedy is dead necessarily, but it's definitely been chased into the shadows.


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## Replicant Sasquatch (Oct 14, 2018)

As others stated the real problem with comedy nowadays is it plays it too safe.  Yeah Trump-bashing is annoying, but literally the only reason that's so common is network overlords know idiots will respond to it.


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## MalWart (Oct 14, 2018)

It may sound weird, but it seems as if one of the few places left in which you can find genuine comedians are cruise ships. I've been on quite a few in recent years, and all of the comedians were able to perform their routine without derailing into "Fuck Drumpf!" rants like most of hacks that get the spotlight nowadays.


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## Jozef (Oct 15, 2018)

Monsieur Guillotine said:


> I'm glad there's a thread touching on this.
> 
> In Canada we have a series of TV programs and comedy events called Just For Laughs. They used to televise acts from their annual comedy festival in Quebec. It always had a number of really good acts, even guys like Ron White, Patrice O'Neal and Dave Chappelle. They even got John Cleese to host one night. I'd say about 90% of the acts were at least mildly funny.
> 
> ...


I agree, I watched a little bit of it and it's ridiculous. The only good stand-up comedy currently on TV is re-runs of Comedy Now from the '90s and 2000s.


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## Alfons Schmitler (Oct 15, 2018)




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## UnKillShredDur (Oct 15, 2018)

Maxliam said:


> I'm not saying he wasn't successful but he would have gotten way more exposure if he was a big sellout shill like the current crop of "comics" you're seeing lately. I enjoy the fact that no matter how much he rubbed the same committee thinktank the wrong way, they had to begrudgingly give him gigs because of demand.
> 
> I have a copy of his book "When will Jesus Bring the Porkchops" and it's funny as hell. The guy was always an outside compared to some comics who were given shitty sitcoms that lasted way too long.


I think we're agreeing? My only real answer to that is it seems pretty much accepted that the reason Carlin didn't "sell out" more is because he didn't want to. I guess it would be better if he did, maybe then all of the comedians who cite him as an influence today would have taken more from him.


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## Maxliam (Oct 15, 2018)

UnKillFill said:


> I think we're agreeing? My only real answer to that is it seems pretty much accepted that the reason Carlin didn't "sell out" more is because he didn't want to. I guess it would be better if he did, maybe then all of the comedians who cite him as an influence today would have taken more from him.


That or it could have ended horribly. Look at Bob Saget going from being a raunchy comic to Full House and America's Funniest Videos. How the hell do you see his standup and think "Gee that's a guy I want for some pussified family friendly shows!"?


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## Jewelsmakerguy (Oct 15, 2018)

I wouldn't say that comedy is dead, but it has become harder and harder to actually be funny without "offending" someone. It's why most people these days just cater to the lowest common denominator, like "FUCK TRUMP!" "NERD CULTURE SO FUNNEH!" and "Look at us, we're being meta and not following cliches!" And they don't really do much of anything to either mix it up, or pull them off effectively.


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## hambeerlyingnreed (Oct 17, 2018)

Maxliam said:


> That or it could have ended horribly. Look at Bob Saget going from being a raunchy comic to Full House and America's Funniest Videos. How the hell do you see his standup and think "Gee that's a guy I want for some pussified family friendly shows!"?



I was under the impression that they casted him doing G rated shows so he had to censor himself. Donno why he didn't go on a tour doing actual (adult) comedy. He might have been under contract not to do outside gigs while that show was on the air, but what was his reason after?


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## PantsFreeZone (Oct 17, 2018)

There are only 6 comedians worth paying to watch in 2018. Sadly, I'm not one of them.

Tammy Pescatelli. Nick Di Paolo. Steve Byrne. Owen Benjamin. Daniel Tosh. And the GOAT, Norm MacDonald.

Norm versus hero teacher:


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## Billy_Sama (Oct 17, 2018)

If you know that Blazing Saddles wouldn't be able to be released in this day in age, you know the reason way.


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## From The Uncanny Valley (Oct 17, 2018)

Billy_Sama said:


> If you know that Blazing Saddles wouldn't be able to be released in this day in age, you know the reason way.



Or hell, 30 Rock.


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