Friday 27 January 2012

Thoughts on Comedy

 First of all, let me state that I am not complaing or saying that anything should
be different. Generally, you can tell by the actors involved in the films and programs
whether it's going to be dodgey or not. And so I can easily avoid them. I am merely making
observations in this post. So keep your pants on.

   Call me old fashioned, but I really don't enjoy crude jokes revolving around sex. Sexist jokes are funny, depending on their source. When my boyfriend says I am a woman and I should live in the kitchen and make him sandwiches, I know he's joking, or at least partly, so I can laugh. Just the same as when people suggest Google is female because it starts trying to suggest things before you've even finished typing - though this is even more funny because I know for a fact it's true. I've only noticed that I do that because of that joke. I'd never have realised before.
   But films like the Hangover or Due Date when sex is put so bluntly, I just hate it. I'm not prude, I'm not religious in any way, shape or form, in fact I wasn't even brought up to think that jokes like that are bad. My dad used to try to tell them but I always told him off afterwards. I just personally don't like them. And I've only noticed it more lately that for some reason that sort of comedy is becoming acceptable. Half of the films that come out these days that would have been an 18 a few years ago are 15s or even 12s, and I can't understand it!

   Now, there are actors like Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Zach Galifianakis, and you know that the film is going to be a bit rough around the edges if they're in it, more so for some actors than others. So it's easy to avoid those movies. And I do. I watched Due Date, and yes some parts were funny but others were just too much. I also tried to watch the beginning of the Hangover but that was worse so I didn't get very far in. So I am giving them a try. I watched Step Brothers, and somehow that didn't gross me out as much, and Talladega Nights is actually a movie that sits on the fence, but one I can still enjoy. So I'm not saying every film these people do is going to be crude, and when I do give them a chance, I can brace myself for what might be coming - Elf was a pleasant surprise. And Seth Rogan is...one I can't place. His films aren't as bad as most, but they're still a little much at times, but at the same time, I know if he's just voice acting, it'll be perfectly safe (Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs Aliens - even Paul wasn't too bad, despite Kristen Wiig almost being on the list of cruder actors).

   I'm not bashing people who watch these either. They're just not my kind of comedy, and I understand that these films appeal to people who aren't me.

   What I'm saying is that comedy has really changed. I have the full Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, and Blackadder boxsets, and I'm going to get Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'em soon enough. Clean, situational or unfortunate comedies that, while sex exists, is n ever touched on in such blunt detail. Jonesy can hear a church choir sing and declare that he thinks he's dying, and I will be on the floor laughing (I was still chuckling when I went to bed). Just the same as Sherlock Holmes can have a hammer fight with a large frenchman and I'll be giggling to high heavens. It doesn't have to revolve around sex to be funny.
   But the saddest part is that comedy like that barely exists anymore. And I know times change, and some things become more acceptable and others become less (like some songs in Dad's Army might upset some people), but it can still make people laugh, and give older audiences something safe to watch that they haven't seen a hundred times already.
    And I hate to think what our kids will be growing up with in ten, twenty years' time. Where did Playbus go?! Do they even film Sesame Street anymore? What do kids even watch these days?

   I'm sorry if I sound a little old, it's just a thought I had that I fancied voicing. Get used to it ;P

   Still on the look-out for guest posters to bring some tutorials over here, too! [Epic rounding up skills, eh?]



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