The Pyramid of Comedic Tolerance

Comedy, like most things in life, is subjective and everyone's idea of what is funny or not varies from person to person. As an adult, I have become quite cynical and have lost faith in society, especially when it comes to things that comedians say that either get taken out of context or blown out of proportion. Most recently, Hank Williams Jr. says some things that most did not understand when he compared a golf match to Hitler and the Nazis and he loses his weekly shot at people remembering he is still alive.

This incident, along with some conversations with friends over the past week, got me thinking about what is tolerable anymore. The simplest way to break it down is to imagine a pyramid. Comedy can be broken up into levels and while the first amendment should protect everything the comedy world encompasses, society still answers to a corporate master who does not want to offend anyone causing them not to buy their products. Case in point, to this day and going forward, you will never see Leno, Letterman or Kimmel do any material related to 9/11. That statement should tell you that for me, nothing is off limits. If you are trying to make a point or tell a joke, funny is funny, even when it is "wrong."

Onto the pyramid...Each level will be based on a great comedy movie. Once again, great is subjective and all my own personal opinion.

Level 1: The bottom level of the pyramid: The Truman Show

These jokes are the innocent of the innocent. They are as naive as Truman Burbank and unaware of anything that may or may not be harmful to the human psyche. Unfortunately, a little bit of awareness can lead to the upper levels of the pyramid. Typical jokes in this level are knock-knock jokes, blonde jokes, and jokes involving the bathing habits of farm animals.




Level 2: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
This level still roams in the area of PG material but tends to add onto the jokes in level one. British humor generally is fairly innocent and the jokes consist of tongue-in-cheek material, unless of course you watch a Jim Jeffries special (I know he's Australian but wow, that guy has a level all to himself). Level 2 starts to get into political material similar to the conversation in the movie about who "voted" for Arthur to be King. Typical jokes in the second level are political and religious based (not including catholic pedophilia).


Level 3: Dumb and Dumber

Again, as you climb up the pyramid, you continue to combine the lower levels but start to add some more choice material. The third level includes the naivety of the first level with minor touches of the second but begins to add just STUPIDITY to the comedy world. All I can think of with respect to this is Jim Carrey walking out of the bar and thinking we just landed on the moon. As you can see in the picture, toilet humor is now in play.


Level 4: National Lampoon's Animal House

Level 4 shows almost a graduation from high school to college, but not quite. Just like the naive freshman of Delta House, the collegiate mind still can find the humor in situations they are not necessarily familiar with. I chose Animal House because it was a movie that exposed race as another tool for humorists and comedians. Race is touchy but if it is done in a way where it is not malicious, it can be really funny. Louis C.K. has a line where he "loathes the people who use 'The N-Word', not Nigger, actually saying 'The N-Word.' Because now everyone knows what you meant." (I paraphrased but the point gets across. I think white guilt plays into some people's fear of telling racially motivated jokes but, again, if it is done in a way similar to Otter recognizing an all black bar and saying "We are going to die," then the comedy comes through and people are laughing at the situation more than anything.



Level 5: Superbad

Level 5 does a great job of combining the previous two levels and taking things to an even further level. Underage drinking and the teenage quest to provide booze for a party proves to be a highly humorous situation. Now, is underage drinking funny? No, of course not, but most are guilty of it at some point or another. Some of the areas where level 5 expands on the previous levels are in the sheer treatment of human beings. Out and out sexist humor, coupled with a neglect for anyone's feelings is where we start to see the pyramid start to divide itself in two. The upper three levels of humor are those that take no prisoners. It all just depends on how far you are willing to go and who you are making fun of in the process.

Level 6: Clerks

Ahhh yes, Clerks. Who will ever forget the classic Kevin Smith line, "Try not to suck any dicks on your way through the parking lot." The entire movie begins to draw lines with the sole purpose of crossing them and that is what level 6 is all about. Level 6 is the intentional laugh. Draw the line of cultural acceptance as the setup, and then cross it with the punchline. Very little is off limits in this level, but there are still some boundaries that are not crossed. It is hard to define level 6 from level 7, but the line is there.

Level 7: THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID: The Aristocrats

This is 100% no holds barred. In the smallest of levels and with the greatest chance of offending someone, you can talk about anything and everything. This encompasses all six levels below it and expounds on the unthinkable. Draw the line, pour gasoline on it, set it on fire and then jump over the motherfucker as fast as you can because once you reach level 7, there is no turning back. Allowing yourself to see the humor in the some of the most outlandish of situations can do permanent damage. Trust me. I have never been the same after seeing Gilbert Gottfried perform this joke live at The Gotham Comedy Club shortly after Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette started filming the feature film. Incest, Rape, Bestiality, and S&M are just the tip of the iceberg. I'll say it again, absolutely nothing is off limits in this realm of comedic material.

I wrote this in two sittings and I hope that it comes across making as much sense as it did in my head when I started it. I loved to be challenged when it comes to humor and I love to challenge others to think outside the box and to try and see the humor in most situations. One line that always sticks in my head when it comes to comedy and lines that get crossed belongs to none other than the late, great George Carlin: "They'll say, "you can't joke about rape. Rape's not funny." I say, "fuck you, I think it's hilarious. How do you like that?" I can prove to you that rape is funny. Picture Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd." Carlin challenged the status quo and to me created a partial generation of free thinkers who are capable of finding humor in most of the 7 levels of the comedic period. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Insomnia

I really don't have much to say and probably won't be posting this for people to read right away but if you happen to stumble upon it, you are reading what I am writing in the midst of another bout with insomnia.

I've had a really hard time sleeping on a normal schedule lately and I refuse to resort to vices such as alcohol to aide in the process. I know they work because I was able to sleep on the road this past weekend after I drank for awhile. It was nice to sleep but not a habit I want to get into.

My mind races when I am awake. I literally am jumping all over the place trying to come up with something. I am bored most of the day and have been fortunate enough to plug myself into local sports deals that keep me surrounded by good people. And I have great people at home who understand that this whole situation is not easy and that I may not be the most pleasant person to be around.

I have gone to the extreme lately. I was told that I take certain situations and I cross the line. It's been fun but I also recognize that this could be volatile. One little slip in the wrong crowd and someone might misunderstand my sick sense of humor. To me it is all about context and without giving people my life story, I wish people understood that you'll know when I am being serious. It's rare, but I am capable. One of the few things I have left is my sense of humor and I need to laugh. It keeps me sane...