Hmmm. I’ve read a few comments expressing glee at Bernard Manning’s death.
Yes, he was offensive, rascist, mysoginistic…and I never found him particularly funny, primarily for these reasons. But I certainly don’t wish anybody dead, or even ill health.
But you see, many comedy shows/comedians today are infact portraying similar views masked under layers of so called irony…
So which is worse: simply saying what you think and making no apologies for it, even if it does offend, or saying things and then being cowardly and backing away from what you’ve just said? I was having this conversation with Cara only the other day actually.
On consideration I’d say that you really should strive to do your own thing. I’ll never forget a comment from The League Of Gentlemen in the commentary for their ‘Live At Drury Lane’ show. It was regarding changin certain words and references for the US audiences, and that these were the times that the audience laughed least. Their conclusion? Well that you should just go ahead and be unashamedly ‘yourself’ and let other people catch up. If they don’t want to, if they don’t want to buy in to your humour then fine, but at least you’d have integrity and the fans you have will be all the more appreciative.
So, in a way Bernard Manning was just doing that- doing his own thing. And if people stop doing that where would we be?
We’d more than likey be sat in a focus group trying to decide what we thought which politically incorrect terms were the least offensive.
Well, either that or watching Big Brother.
EDIT: I’ve just stumbled across a quote from Richard Herring which in a way backs up what I’ve been trying to say-
Comedian Richard Herring’s latest show Ménage à Un involves a clever routine in which he pretends to endorse the BNP. “Don’t go thinking I’m the new Bernard Manning,” he tells the audience. “I’m being post-modern and ironic. I understand that what I’m saying is unacceptable. But does that make me better than Bernard Manning, or much, much worse?”
Actually if you read the rest of this article, it makes some very specific points about comedians and masking their material as ‘ironic’….here is it
Regarding today’s comedians dressing up racist, sexist, homophobic comments in the guise of post modern irony… one of the worst offenders must surely be Ricky Gervais…
He’s mainly ‘guilty’ of this in his stand up material but I do remember an episode in the last series’ of ‘Extras’ in which the last ten minutes consisted of him acting in a ‘gay’ play, with his very ‘macho’ friends in the front row, with him feeling very uncomfortable…oh my aching ribs, how we all laughed!
Yes, yes it was ‘ironic’ but supplant that material to a 1970s mainstream sitcom & I think it would be read very differently by all the ‘emperor’s new clothes’ critic lovers of all things Gervais.
I quite agree. I didn’t specify who I meant…but I think we all know. And yes you’ve pointed out a classic example there.