Q: What’s so special about kids with cancer? Why are they off limits? We thought everyone was fair game in comedy, but apparently no, there are sacred cows. Should performers pull their heads in, in anticipation of an angry reaction, or is that what we should be trying to provoke? Of course our work can be offensive at times. That’s the point! We only wanted to be edgy, and we thought our audience wanted that too. Now we feel hurt and betrayed. What’s a way out of this? — Chas, Ultimo, Sydney.
A: I’m not sure what you’re wanting out of here Chas, the feelings of hurt and betrayal, or the frustration of working in an industry where the main sacred cow is entertainment. As you are trying to find a way out, you may want to consider how important it is for you to be in. Like the jesters of old, it appears that you are being asked to be funny or we’ll chop off your head. And yet pulling your head in may result in compromises that you are unable to bear.
You took on a difficult task when you tried to work with kids suffering cancer. You spoke on behalf of others, and so they appeared even more voiceless, arousing poignancy rather than humour, and you risked looking callous. You would know better than I that humour functions by uncovering the unspeakable and the deliberately concealed. Part of the danger here, is that in our culture, death has quite a lot of unspeakable territory, so it tends to block out the funny of lesser unspeakables.
Growing up in my house Chas, you could say anything at all, as long as it was funny. The problem was, I didn’t always find it funny myself. A lot of dangerous things can be said with humour; this is part of your goal, and the reason you are willing to risk being offensive. This time though, you seem to be saying that the very people you trusted to laugh with you, did not, and that this leaves you torn as to which master you’re serving.
You ask should you be trying to provoke an angry reaction. Should you? This sounds like an important question. You have bumped up against something hard and unyielding, and you are being asked to examine who is responsible for the bruises you suffered, and if they were worth it. Don’t let yourself down by hiding behind simply drawn constructions like “edgy”. Allow yourself to fully explore the edges you would like to expand. Otherwise you risk civil disobedience without a purpose, and the sting of the slap you receive will hurt even more.
The question is, what is so special about you? What makes you think that people shouldn’t critique your sense of humour? Want to be comedy’s sacred cow? Make a realistic wish.
Why is it that so many people can laugh at other peoples expense all the time – at celebrities & those in the public eye but cannot laugh at a joke like this? is it because we have no connection to those celebrities so we feel we are distanced & can attack them how ever we feel, going along with the tabloids of who cheated with who & who is now going naked?
so much of comedy is skirting the line – toeing over it even – to get a reaction. im sure Chas & co didn’t want this reaction but its done its job by making some laugh, some cringe, some think & some react. good on you Chasers – stir up that pot! i’ll always be laughing with you even when im cringing…thats why i watch
Andrew Denton, the mentor of the Chaser boys, managed to find the right approach to humour with cancer suffers. Good humour is always edgy, sometimes it goes over the line, as it did in this case.
Problem is that there are people out there that spend there lives mourning the loss of a child. Some do something positive about it. The Chasers seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel for something funny. Calling it “edgy” is just an excuse and they should realise that there time is up.
I know an ordinary guy who is doing an extraordinary thing about this very thing. Friday, 29th of May, Craig Goo-zee left on a 12,500KM ultra marathon around Australia to raise $1M for the Children’s Cancer Institute of Australia (CCIA). He will be cycling, paddling and running for 92 days. Craig was inspired to do this because of his daughter Jessica, who died from cancer 10 years ago. He doesn’t want any other child and family to go through what he went through. So he is raising money for Children’s Cancer Institute Australia (CCIA). He has already done two previous ultra marathons. 1. Avalon to Broadbeach for Cancer: he paddled 800KM raising $150,000. 2. Albany to Broken Bay for Cancer: he cycled, paddled and ran 5,000KM raising $500,000. This A2B4C, Australia Square to Bennelong Point, is his third and will be his last.
His charity website is http://www.A2B4C.com.au. He is fitted him out with an Omniscout so you can keep track of where Craig is at by going to the website http://www.omniscout.ca/omnicontrol/a2b4c.html. You can also read/see what he has been doing on his blog http://a2b4c.wordpress.com/. He also has a supporters group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=97276678625 and YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/CCIADVD.
To the Chaser Team: Im sure Craig would be happy for you to tag along with him. There has been, and will continue to be, plenty of material you could use. It would be one way for you to make up for crass insensitivity.