“Dangerous Comedy” is Redundant
It’s hard to be funny. Especially in Christian culture. The very nature of comedy tends to rub against an edge. And one person’s edge may be another person’s wheel house. So caution is advised. Because comedy, by it’s very nature, is dangerous.
Take Tim Hawkins. Please. I love Tim Hawkins. I’ve seen his show several times, not to mention numerous YouTube videos. He’s just one of the funniest guys out there. And he is definitely “out there”.
We play clips of Tim’s comedy occasionally on KVNE. Hilarious. But every couple months or so we get a complaint. It’s usually something about making fun of somebody or something. But if you think about it, so much of comedy is making fun of somebody or something. Of course it’s not MEANT to be harsh. But that doesn’t matter. If it rubs you the wrong way, it’s harsh. It’s rude. It’s inappropriate. Pick your adjective.
Once he sang a song to the tune of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire”. It was called “The Dog’s on Fire”. That was a mistake. Another time he parodied some of the cliches we use in prayer. Well, you can’t make fun of prayer. Then just today we received an email complaining that Tim’s observations regarding the Christmas carol “Do You Hear What I Hear” were over the line because making light of our Lord is not funny.
Okay. You’re right. Please forgive me. And I’m actually serious about that. I know not what I do. I’m the Vice President of one of the leading radio stations in East Texas, and I need your prayers for wisdom, because I’ve got to keep this vehicle between the lines, sometimes at the expense of good comedy.
But before you think, “I can’t believe how sensitive people can be”, think again. You’re right. People can be SO sensitive. But you and I are people, too. We all think we’re somehow immune from this sensitivity syndrome. I have often been one of those people. Until it happened to me.
I’ve always admired Jimmy Fallon’s comedy. He’s a great impressionist, musician, and generally very funny guy. I rarely stay up long enough to watch The Tonight Show, and seldom think to watch his videos. But recently I saw an interview where he said he prefers to “stay away from the political stuff, because there are other guys for that.” So I watched his monologue. It was one Trump-bashing after another. He does a funny impression of Trump, but it’s definitely not complimentary. And it went on and on.
Now, if you’re anti-Trump, you likely thought it was fantastic. I’m not in that group, so I liked it less. Particularly after he claimed to avoid the political category. In fact, if I’m honest, I’ll admit if they were Obama jokes, I’d be much less averse to it.
So, I suppose if you’ve got comedic aspirations, just avoid religion and politics?
But that’s some of the funniest stuff!
PROCEED WITH CAUTION.