The Trouble with Comedy Today, Jan 2019

The Trouble with Comedy Today, Jan 2019 ©

By

Michael Casey

They burst out laughing and walked away happy, Robin on Reception leant over and asked what did he say, what did he say. They repeated the joke, He half laughed, the thing with Comedy is the Timing. Or you just had to be there. Yes I’m talking about myself in my Hotel days.

Imagine I met one on one 100,000 people over the 3 years so I had 12 hours every working day to Practice, or repeat myself, or do my “act” as Aimee “unkindly” said. If you meet 100,000 people and say something witty then you will get the Timing right, or you may as well shoot yourself, or hide in the Concierge Room, as one nameless person did for 3 years.

But enough of the Donald Trumping, which could be rhythming   slang for something else. It depends which way your mind works and your Political affiliations as to how you react to that as well. It depends do you swing to the Left or swing to the Right, or do you go straight down the middle, you may not even swing at all. It depends on the cut of your jib, whatever that means. Wasn’t Jib Bush the governor or Florida?

American Politics is so confusing, and so very angry. I think after the next election they should finally get rid of the Electoral College. 4 years at University learning how to stuff envelopes and knock on doors, or is that something to do with Walmart bags with 10000dollars or so in. Its all so very American.

I was going to talk about Comedy, wasn’t he Jib Bush’s brother’s Vice President? Its so very hard to keep up to date with what’s going on over there, 5 hours time difference, or 8 to the funny people on the West Coast makes it difficult. At least an Egg on Instagram beat the Kardasians, the yolk was on them. My daughter said there was music too, so was a British Comedian, Ben Elton behind it perhaps, or one of my neighbours up the road, Frank Skinner?

British Comedy is the Best after all. All our best Comedians were at Oxford and Cambridge, Mr Bean was at Queens Oxford, as was my brother. John Cleese from Monty Phython was at Downing Cambridge as was another of my brothers. What does that make me? Jealous? No I’ve had a strange life, but it does make me appreciate Laughter more, believe me I am a Comedy (Humour) Writer after all.

Other Comedians in UK also went to Oxford and Cambridge, those jokers we call the Government, go google all of them. I actually grew up just 4 houses away from Theresa May’s friend from University, though he won’t remember me, apart from throwing snowballs at him after Midnight Mass at Christmas maybe in 1970.

So what made me talk about this today? Well I was going through the newspapers and up popped a piece about Comedy in Today’s world, it’s Jan 2019 now. It was in the Guardian, I clicked the MSN link and started to trawl though it. But it was too serious and a little boring for my tastes. A piece I read in the Observer on my phone about Trump and Nancy a serious Political piece was very good, though maybe Wishful Thinking in parts. As for the piece in the Guardian I gave up on, I won’t waste my Time on stuff that won’t feed my Spirit or Intellect, I don’t expect to be alive in 10 years time, so I’m being selfish with my reading time.

Now in the piece it was on about Political Correctness and how in the writer’s opinion People had to move with the times. I’m condensing what he said, go to today’s Guardian and read it in full for yourselves, I’m sure you’ve all got 50 years left in you.

Comedy is of it’s Time as is History. Windsor Davies from “It Ain’t half hot Mum” a hit comedy from 40 years ago he just died and the Memorial tv pieces were so PC it was saddening, you should realise everything is of its time as is HISTORY itself, so why remove statues etc, that is PC gone mad. The Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai who now lives in Birmingham who was shot in the head, well she was interviewed recently and what’s one of her favourite tv shows,

“Mind you Language” which was a comedy about a multicultural language class. She must have seen it on UTube as it’s from the 1970s I think. Now will she be condemned for watching such a tv show? I should add I taught in an Islamic school for a year, so I learnt a lot while I was there.

Why do people say “I shouldn’t laugh but” or “It’s not exactly correct but” If something is funny then it’s funny. Don’t analyse the joke. Humour is by it’s nature about differences, and if we cannot laugh at our differences then we cannot laugh at anything. We laugh at the “tragedy”of others. We see Mr Bean avoid walking into a lamppost, but then he falls down into a pub’s cellar. We all laugh, then he comes out holding a pint of Guinness, he sips it and has froth on his lips, but then the barman chases him. So he hands the pint to a little old lady who downs it in one and hands him the empty glass, then she points to show the barman which way the thief Mr Bean went.

Cartoons are much more violent as was early Charlie Chaplin, so do we condemn or ban Tom and Gerry? You can pick your own heroes and villains in Comedy. What can you laugh at and what can you not?

Is Religion totally off limits? Do you have to be a Priest or Rabbi before you are permitted to make Religious jokes, can only Teachers control their Pupils, or should they have a sight test? And on it goes.

What about me? Michael Casey the fat silver haired writer in shades from Birmingham, the one in England. Can you call me Micky all the time, of say hey FATSO, you’re an old git with white hair, you’re kidding yourself saying its silver. You’re a poser in those shades, don’t you mean sun glasses you’re not in America, they wouldn’t let you in, you probably have rabies. You’re just a flasher showing your heart bypass scars online. Or do you talk so much BS you’re trying to get the sympathy vote by exposing your chest. And you should buy shares in a toilet paper factory, you and your Ckd.

Now I’ve bored you with a few examples about myself. So how far should you push the humour. Are we allowed to have Springtime for Hitler humour or is it not allowed because it’s in bad taste? I agree with Mel Brooks, tyrants must be mocked. So having a camp gay Hitler is perfect revenge for what he did to the Jews and everybody else. For younger readers go watch The Producers by Mel Brooks its online and was on tv again recently.

Humour is a weapon, as are words, and the Pen is Mightier than the Sword, You’re just a clapped out, worn out has been as I was once told. I’ve gone on to write 17 books over 1,420,000 Words, I also have 2 daughters who will amaze the world in the Future, even though realistically I’ll be dead and buried before they achieve their full potential.

So let’s all of us keep our sense of humour, stop looking for insults where none exist, let’s keep on laughing at ourselves. It’s through laughter we bond and survive the hard times. Nora no Knickers as a child did not become a Prostitute, she swore one day she’d have loads. So she founded a Lingerie company, and became a multimillionaire. Simon the Stutterer was picked on relentlessly, but Nora took him under her wing and they recited from the Newspaper every night. He became a newsreader with excellent diction, he also married Nora no Knickers.

We all can remember jokes, sometimes cruel jokes, but it’s all part of life. Hopefully we all meet our own Nora no Knickers, or a brother or sister, real or acquired who will laugh with us, and defend us if the jokes are too strong. Sticks and Stones can break your bones, but Names can Never Hurt you. Can we just get everything back in proportion otherwise we just become bland like a brick wall.

There was a man walking down the street, ok I’ll change it, you think I’m biased. So there was this woman walking down the street, is that more gender balanced? She was a Lesbian, she wasn’t but a woman walking down the street is not as funny as a man walking down the street. Men always play with their zips, and rearrange their crotch, I blame Michael Jackson myself. Ok so the woman was black, is that ok, as I want to be more inclusive.

Just from a sentence how many are offended? I’m trying to explain being offended, and if I use an example immediately people are offended. So, I cannot mention women as it’s sexist. I can’t say Gay or Lesbian because it’s homophobic. I cannot say black because that’s racist. I cannot mention Michael Jackson because he’ an icon, a dead icon, he would be about my age now. Perhaps we should just joke about robots, they are laughing at us, as they will have all the jobs, and we’ll all be unemployed.

I’m going to talk to my Undertaker now to Pre-Book my Funeral, now am I tempting Fate? Or am I forward thinking, or is it all morbid? Again you are all divided about this hypothetical idea, there is only one certain future for all of us, Death. So can we all just get off our high horses and LAUGH. The test of any Society is Laughter. I’m sure in North Korea they laugh all the time, even their tvs are handicapped so they cannot watch Korean tv from the South.

So everybody everywhere should ask themselves how much laughter am I getting? If your Snowflake attitudes, and your Political Correctness and your straightjacket of Religious beliefs, and any other Rules prevents you from Laughing then you will die a virgin Puritan. Life is for joining in, it is for a merging of ideas, you don’t have to believe in anything else, nobody is forcing you to abandon your Life. Don’t just be a security camera, watching, and observing but not joining in, a lump of metal on the wall.

Laugh and make love with laughter, and when the loving ends you still have the memories of laughter. Or would you just want to be on the sidelines of life, because Laughter is against your Principles.