None of history's best comics found it necessary to push the envelope. They knew how to make people laugh and that was enough.
Unless you live like a hermit under a large rock, you've at least heard something about Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner (held on May 9, 2009). Wanda Sykes crossed the line of decorum and good taste with a death wish for Rush Limbaugh. She also told this joke: "I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was just so strung out on oxycontin he missed his flight."
Even a tiresome, chronically angry, bomb-throwing blowhard like Keith Olbermann thought she was out of line. "I'm not sure, I think that was probably — probably in bad taste", Olbermann confided to CBS newsman, Harry Smith. Smith defended Sykes' tasteless repartee.. by saying, "you know what, any comedian, anybody who does that job, their job is to push the envelope."
No, that's not true. Not even close! A comedian's job is very simply to make people laugh. Some of the greatest comics of all-time never needed to "push the envelope." Johnny Carson (no conservative by any means), Rodney Dangerfield, Red Skelton, the Marx Brothers, the Howard Brothers (Moe, Curley and Shemp aka the Three Stooges), Bob Hope, Jack Benny, George Burns, Milton Berle, Red Buttons, the recently expired Dom Deluise, Jackie Gleason, Flip Wilson, Jonathan Winters, Bill Cosby, Bud Abbott & Lou Costello…….none of these famous comics were "envelope pushers." Most of this list of brilliant comics did their acts completely free of profanity, as well. But, that's not the focus of this piece. Even some of today's best comics, Dana Carvey, Darrell Hammond, Frank Caliendo, Robin Williams, and Jay Leno know there's a line not to cross.
Ms. Sykes is not alone in her quest to cross boundaries. In April of this year, Janeane Garofalo publicly dismissed the coast-to-coast tax protests (Tea Parties) as purely racism. She recently opened up her show in Boston thusly, "hey, all you tea-baggers out there…….white power!" Al Franken openly called for the assassination of then-President George W. Bush in 2006, during Franken's radio show on Air America. Franken later claimed he was joking. During another radio show, Franken likened the Holy Eucharist in the Catholic Mass, to "chips and Guacamole." When reminded that this is considered a blasphemous statement to all practicing Catholics, Franken shrugged it off by saying that his "wife is Catholic and wasn't offended." Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the literal Body of Christ. Franken's wife is likely not a practicing Catholic any longer.
Harry Smith said of the comic profession, "You can't go home — you can't go home to the community of comedians unless you've gone too far." MY question to Smith is how did we come this far without the presence of disrespectful ridicule becoming commonplace until now? What has changed in the last decade that makes it okay to inject death threats, blasphemy, mean and cruel mockery into one's comedic stylings? Is it funny? I sure don't find it the slightest bit amusing, personally.
Having spent some time as a gag writer and radio comic myself, I know that for humor to be effective, there must be a kernel of truth somewhere within the joke. I have a hunch that were a conservative comic to use such harsh banter in their act, they'd have the book thrown at them, and perhaps would suddenly find themselves without work. Sauce for the goose is never sauce for the gander in show business. There is a distinct and sickening double standard. It's high time to start calling them on it, too.
Death threats for conservative speakers and sycophantic drooling over the current administration at a White House correspondant’s dinner is hardly “envelope pushing” anyway – everyone in the entertainment industry feels that way and articulates their belief with regularity. What would have been envelope pushing would have been to tell some tasteless jokes about the big O-man himself, poke fun at his policies and governing philosophy, maybe even venture into racial territory with a few affirmative action jabs. Or, since the abuse of drugs she can’t pronounce (I haven’t heard of “oxycotton before) provided such hilarious relief, maybe go back to Barry Obama’s days as coke pusher. THAT would be envelope pushing.
The WH Correspondant’s dinner is customarily a time when the current administration is roasted – not the previous one. Don Imus making light of Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades with both he and Hillary sitting 10 feet away or Stephen Colbert going on a 30 minute tirade against the Bush administration from it’s first day to it’s sixth year both come to mind. Nothing Wanda Sykes said was controversial, particularly with the audience she had – it is very much in vogue to utterly misrepresent what was said and wish death upon conservative commentators and the Bush administration. So she doesn’t even measure up by the “pushing the envelope” standard.
I see your point, but differ on this: she did get some booing on the “Rush” jokes.
The line about taste that the author mentions is maybe one of the few things that most people (both right and left) give some measure of recognition.
Colbert’s performance was more parody than tirade I thought. It seems to me what Rush is very good at doing is not crossing the line but stepping right up to it. He taunts people by pushing their buttons; for example, he provokes people to believe he is poking fun at Michael J. Fox’s illness, when what he’s really doing is questioning Fox’s sincerity. He’s baiting them.
I’d like to agree with you, but Lenny Bruce and George Carlin pushed the envelope quite a bit. I don’t remember Lenny much, but George was very funny. I do agree with PM on the lack of Obama jokes. Maybe it’s like my wife, who is Russian, makes fun of Brezhnev, but never Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvilli.
Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage. Oh, and Bill Maher, who’s annoyed lots of different people on many sides of many issues. Lots of “double standards” out there.
Mr. Mulligan: I’m not sure I take your side, at all times, but you always impress me with your insight. True, given the audience, Wanda’s material was not quite “pushing the envelope.” Then again, when would a comedian deliberately choose material that is likely to alienate an audience? I suppose only a professional could answer that (maybe the author.)
There was only gentle teasing of Obama from Sykes. But these are times when levity may be desired.
On the other hand, how about this:
“With all due respect, Mr. President, no one likes your policies. The massive spending will create crippling inflation to last years. People will be selling their homes to pay for dinner (crowd laughs). Really, we would have much preferred you let the auto companies perish, so Michigan could be more like the Sudan (more laughing).
“We all voted for you because you’re black. Colin Powell, me, everyone. White people only voted for you because you can pronounce ‘nuclear.’ You call that a qualification? You couldn’t order a cheeseburger without that teleprompter.
Why, this is the crookedest election I ever saw! Where the hell was the Supreme Court?”