Editor's Notes
According to CNN, comedian Carlos Mencia was yanked from a Mardi Gras parade’s list of celebrity riders for jokes made about Hurricane Katrina.
A local official affiliated with the parade said, “Our group is very sensitive to the feelings of our community and the way our city is viewed.” Details were not provided what exactly Mencia said that they found offensive, but it was probably something similar to everything else he’s done for the past several years. Whether you like Mencia or not, if you have any knowledge of pop culture, you know what you’re getting if you book him and shouldn’t act shocked or call for counseling so the healing can begin just because he shoots off his mouth about something sensitive to you. Hey New Orleans, you might have a few problems more important than what kind of joke a comedian tells for entertainment.
When Senator Obama had to distance himself from jokes told by Bernie Mac at an election fundraiser last summer, I had that uneasy politically correct feeling that comes when your candidate starts shoveling what you know he doesn’t believe. Bernie Mac was a helluva comic and a hard worker, but he wasn’t Mr Rogers either. If you’re a politician and you care that much what the pinheads on cable news outlets say about your opening acts, maybe you haven’t learned from your predecessors the value of distractions – like blaming gays getting married for the fall of civilization as opposed to who our nation is bombing this week.
John Oliver from the Daily Show caught some flack for an interview he conducted recently with an ambassador from Kenya. Kenyans thought his hijinx went too far in showing an offensive lack of respect for the leader. Did he? I think so. Should the ambassador have sat down for the interview on Comedy Central in the first place? Probably not. Oliver did what he always does. Just like Colbert did on Better Know a District when he trumped politicians with serious jabs and off-color comedy that made politicians uncomfortable. Oliver’s piece probably came off as worse though than usual because Africa has enough problems without a Kenyan official being mocked on television.
George Carlin was one of the finest commentators of society’s problems in his prime but that doesn’t mean he should have replaced Walter Cronkite. With the John Stewarts, Bill Mahers and D.L. Hughleys taking their place on the center stage as pundits or reporters, it should be remembered that they’re comedians first and best. The key to comedy is surprise. Shock. You don’t do that being dull and passive. They get away with saying things traditional newsmen can’t or won’t because there’s an understanding of the context of what they’re saying and how we should receive it. It’s the same reason Rush Limbaugh is still on the air. Of course the people who rise up in uproar over what comedians say for laughs turn a blind eye to what Limbaugh says. That’s what makes me laugh.
Ken Carlson is the editor of the Comedians Magazine.
editor@thecomedians.org