Comedians’ view: Is the world too politically correct for good comedy?
The axing of Barry Humphries’ name from Melbourne comedy festival’s top award has sparked debate on political correctness. We asked comedians whether it’s still possible to be funny in the PC age.
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The axing of Barry Humphries’ name from Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s top award over his controversial transgender comments has reignited debate on political correctness in comic realms.
Festival director Susan Provan said Humphries’ comments loomed large in the reasons for the removal of Humphries’ name from the Barry Award, while Cassie Workman — whose show, Giantess, is about her gender transition — welcomed the name change.
Workman is one of the six comedians nominated for this year’s top gong, now called simply the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award.
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“The whole world is in a state of transition and I believe that we are moving toward a more loving, and inclusive society,” the statement read.
“As we strive to achieve this, much like in transition itself, we leave behind the ideas and sentiments and affects that no longer serve us.”
British comedy legend Ricky Gervais last year took aim at what he perceived was society’s rise in political correctness and its impact on comedy in his Netflix stand-up show, Humanity.
Gervais pleaded with society to stop saying “you can’t joke about anything any more”.
“You can. You can joke about whatever the f--- you like,” he said.
“And some people won’t like it and they will tell you they don’t like it. And then it’s up to you whether you give a f--- or not. And so on. It’s a good system.”
In January, he reiterated his stance.
“I’m an old-fashion liberal lefty, champagne socialist type of guy,” he wrote.
“A pro-equality, opportunity-for-all, welfare state snowflake. But, if I ever defend freedom of speech on here, I’m suddenly an alt-right Nazi. How did that happen?”
Humphries’ comments in 2016 and again in 2017 were not delivered in jest, but it again raised the pertinent question — can comedians still make edgy jokes on typically edgy topics?
Most argue the world has moved on from comics who draw their humour from bigotry.
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So has the world become too politically correct for comedy?
Wil Anderson doesn’t think it’s PC enough.
“In fact, I want the world to be more PC because PC is really my unique selling proposition,” Anderson said in an interview with the Herald Sun before this year’s festival.
“I’ve never been edgy, I’ve tried to be edgy over the years and it hasn’t worked out for me so the more PC it becomes, the better.
“There’s still room for a white, straight man in his mid-40s in a PC world.”
Veteran comic Judith Lucy struggled with the need for a phrase to sum up what simply boiled down to “not being racist, homophobic or misogynist”.
“So I think this idea ‘PC stuff has gone mad’ is kind of crazy actually,” she said.
To Tommy Little, it was up to the comedian to come up with something better in this day and age.
“I think when people say the world has become too PC just means they’re not funny,” he said.
Joel Creasey said the world should become more PC for those who didn’t understand comedy very well, while Becky Lucas and Dave Hughes believed there were different ways to be funny.
“You can still say what you want, you just have to maybe hear about people not liking it,” Lucas said.
“I think it’s pretty much the same as it always was,” Hughes added. “I reckon it’s fine, you find a way.”
Dilruk Jayasinha wasn’t so sure the world had become too PC for comedy.
“I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “That’s such a heavy question because a) I don’t even know what PC is any more … I genuinely am stumped.”
Tom Gleeson echoed Lucas’s sentiments and agreed the comedian had to wear the fall-out if their material didn’t work.
“No, you can say whatever you want,” Gleeson said. “The crowd guides you, I find.
“People think you can’t say this, yeah, you can say whatever you want, it’s just when the audience disagrees with you they won’t laugh.”
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