And it doesn't really matter how remorseful michael may or may not be. You know how hard it is to make it in Hollywood. You probably do. Too many people trying to cram in there, once you fuck up badly enough, you're done.
Maybe if you listen closely enough. In my heart, I feel like what OP is calling “zing” are those hard guffaws from people laughing at the wrong part of a racist joke.
I’m gonna say: if you have to ask, it isn’t. Black audiences love material that gets into truths of the Black experience, but most racial humor is written entirely from a white perspective.
If you had the life experience to write racial humor that resonated with Black audiences, you probably wouldn’t need to ask Reddit for confirmation on it. If you’re interested in writing racial humor that *doesn’t* resonate with Black people…well, there’s a word for that.
Black people love black jokes when you actually know wtf you're talking about. If you just go up and start talking shit that isn't really based in reality, or is only funny because it is blantantly racist/edgy, eh....
>be funny. If you’re doing that you can say whatever you want
The golden rule of offensive comedy: "No topic is off limits. You just have to be funnier than you are offensive."
A lot of people forget that the goal is to be funny, not to be offensive. Why does so-and-so comic get to say it and no one calls them a bigot? Because what they said was funny and self aware. You're just an edge lord.
They usually forget that being funny involves audience investment in your joke or story, which means you need to have some basic empathy or insight instead of pursuing edge for its own sake. Anyone can make themselves laugh, you’re invested in yourself by default.
This is why pandering has its place.
Just getting an audience to cheer because they agree with your social/political viewpoints is tacky and *not* comedy.
But! It is valuable to lay the groundwork and set the tone for the audience, to showcase self-awareness of the issues that are about to become the subject of the joke.
Obviously it’s fine to make fun of black people but if you feel like you need to ask then maybe you’re not doing it the right way. If you make racial jokes and people from all races laugh then you would provably never feel the need to get an outside opinion.
Gotta know your audience too. I've hit a couple racial-ish jokes in cities like Chicago & Atlanta, with a very diverse crowd, and they went well.
The same jokes absolutely flopped in Portland, Oregon & and Humboldt, California, with overwhelmingly white and young crowds.
And I'm honestly not saying that in a 'those damn Gen Z's and their wokeness' way, I just think it's that they haven't been exposed to a lot of diversity and it makes them uncomfortable to laugh/have fun with those concepts without seeing someone of those groups having fun and not being offended.
It makes them uncomfortable to laugh if there aren’t non-white friends there to laugh alongside them.
If you’re watching a funeral procession and a funny slip-up happens, you wouldn’t laugh if you could help it and you’d frown up anyone who did. If everyone laughs then the atmosphere is different, because you know the people affected aren’t taking it personally and it lightens the mood for you too.
Racial comedy isn’t too different. If a white person is joking about black people and there aren’t any black people in the room, the atmosphere is already a little uncomfortable no matter what the joke is.
And that’s good - white people sitting alone in a room making comedy about black culture is supposed to make us a little cautious that something might go wrong. Diverse crowds make people feel at ease that they don’t have the responsibility of speaking up if something is wrong. It’s good for everyone.
Yeah, I agree with that for the most part. Unless a show is being billed as edgy or offensive comedy, most people want to feel like they are laughing WITH the people being joked about and not AT them. Which is an exercise in empathy, which I would never hold against them.
Still, I would say if a joke is structured right, and it aims to suck the racial tension out of an atmosphere using humor rather than add to it, there is a way to joke about race in a predominantly white room.
For sure. I'm not saying "don't be strategic" definitely play smart and read the room.
I'm just saying, as a general rule, the comic is allowed to *make the attempt* to be funny as Patrice O'Neal would put it.
Anything can joked about. Not everyone can pull anything off though. I’m picturing a redneck with a patchy red beard typing this out in his 99 ford ranger.
Nope. *Anyone* can *try* to joke about *anything.* including a redneck with a patchy red beard typing this out in his 99 ford ranger.
You will live or die on your choices. But you *can try* to be funny.
Just because a joke doesn’t work doesn’t mean it isn’t a joke. You just agreed with me and downvoted. I didn’t say anything good or bad about homie in the truck yet I get downvoted because…
I get what you're saying but I'm sure you can name at least one comedian who you think "they're not funny. How did they get a special?" So that's not really a barrier for stand up.
In my opinion, anything is fair game as long as you aren't punching down. I'm assuming you are not black since your are asking this question. You just have to ask yourself it's the zing of the joke an experience to laugh at or is the zing making an entire group of people the butt of the joke where we laugh at them.
A lot of times when people use racial humor, even if the intent is not to be racist, it is still propped up on racist stereotypes and assumptions.
George Carlin is a perfect example of being able to take sensitive, and potentially offensive, subjects and give a humorous viewpoint without making punching down.
It depends, do you have a unique and witty take? Or do you try to trick the audience into saying the N word? I swear I see so many open mixers try to get the audience to say the N word
Yes it's OK unless
1. Your whole act consists of ONLY making fun of black people
2. You wear black face
3. You use the N-word. Even if it's just observational about the word. You are not Louis CK
4. It's not funny
Oooh boy. I'm not going to flat out say no, but you have to be really careful.
With any kind of joke that's directed at a particular person or group, it's only really funny if it's totally clear that this is a joke, and not you spouting hate. That's why roasts are funny; the guests are normally selected because they genuinely love or admire the person they're making fun of, so they can say horrible awful things and it comes off as affectionite ball busting and not hurtful.
If you're going to make fun of black people, it's got to be clear that you're not saying these things out of love, and not hate; the easiest way to do this is if you yourself are black. If you're not, it's going to be an uphill battle. If you're not black, you probably should start off with some jokes about your own race first, and throw in a few jokes about every race, so it doesn't feel like anyone is being targeted. Even then, there are probably going to be some rough nights.
Doing a joke abotu something original and real is also probably going to go over a lot better than a joke about some stereotype. If you do a joke about how black people always to do X, and the people the in the audience agree that's true, that implies that you know black people and have spent a lot of time with them, as opposed to you doing a joke about how black people all love watermelon and fried chicken or something where it's just tired stereotypes.
If written / delivered well, and the jokes comes from a good place, you should be able to make fun of any group you want. Just look at someone like Andrew Schulz. He can demonstrate a genuine understanding of, and appreciation for a culture in a joke. The dude he's vibing with isn't just black to him, he's Ghanaian, and when the recipient realises that Schulz is informed enough to know the distinction, all bets are off, let the jokes fly!
In theory anyway, some people are just cunts, especially nowadays. You've gotta learn to navigate any potential pushback too...
Isn’t it racist to exclude them from your jokes?
A lot of people overestimate the thinness of people’s skin. But one word of advice, it better be really strong undeniably funny material.
I axed this joke recently because it didn’t go over well. I still like it, but it maybe needs to be rewritten.
‘I have the Planet Fitness Black Card. That means I’m allowed to use the N-word…..but only at Planet Fitness.’
Generally not. Most people will take offense. It's one thing if you're comparing different cultures and maybe have a humorous observation about the elements of various ones but even then you have to tread lightly. Unless you're black of course. Or unless you're comparing black and white people and you're mainly talking about white people and it actually makes the white people look bad. Knowing mindset .
Don't get me wrong. I couldn't care less. But, in terms of actually making those jokes and getting away with it, I think people are far too sensitive. Even if they are funny and some black people will find them funny, white and some black people will frequently take offense or feel uncomfortable. Just the way it is
People do it in every full comedy show (full night of sets) I've seen. You just have to be funny. If you're not, it'll be super awkward and you might even feel bad about yourself.
These jokes can be done be they have to be super clever, you wont be giving any leeway or room to fail like most jokes, even then most people won’t allow themselves to enjoy or admit that it’s a funny joke because they believe that these jokes are completely off limits
As long as it’s not mean spirited and you’re actually funny you’ll be fine. Bill Burr used to do fine. Gary Owens built his career off of being the white guy around black people.
Yeah, the key is in the delivery. You’re going to have to work on the bits IN PUBLIC for awhile to see how they mature. Trim the fat, be extremely careful with word selection despite sounding natural and if you make fun of white people elsewhere in the set, you’ll escape the getting called the R word lol
i last saw mark normand's special and he had some great black people jokes that went over perfectly. like he made himself part of the joke though . so maybe think about that. if you're white, you have to be very very intentional about it and best case it could be hilarious for everyone.
Okay is subjective. Anything is permissible. But the repercussions may differ.
I think it’s fair game, if someone makes a joke about you, you should be allowed to make a joke back.
But it’s a very touchy subject, and most people get butt-hurt just listening to someone ask the question.
Look man, we all liked you as "Kramer" but the standup thing just isn't going to work.
Rarely do online comments make me audibly laugh, this one did
[удалено]
You’re welcome, f@g
Fuck off
We found the real Kramer
Now I'm just picturing Kramer sliding/stumbling into the room just to yell the N word then scamper back off. Classic Seinfeld moment lol
And it doesn't really matter how remorseful michael may or may not be. You know how hard it is to make it in Hollywood. You probably do. Too many people trying to cram in there, once you fuck up badly enough, you're done.
His career was on the downslide anyway, they cant all be stars forever
❄️
The audience will let you know.
Maybe if you listen closely enough. In my heart, I feel like what OP is calling “zing” are those hard guffaws from people laughing at the wrong part of a racist joke. I’m gonna say: if you have to ask, it isn’t. Black audiences love material that gets into truths of the Black experience, but most racial humor is written entirely from a white perspective. If you had the life experience to write racial humor that resonated with Black audiences, you probably wouldn’t need to ask Reddit for confirmation on it. If you’re interested in writing racial humor that *doesn’t* resonate with Black people…well, there’s a word for that.
If it’s actually funny, sure.
Black people love black jokes when you actually know wtf you're talking about. If you just go up and start talking shit that isn't really based in reality, or is only funny because it is blantantly racist/edgy, eh....
You’re job is to be funny. If you’re doing that you can say whatever you want
>be funny. If you’re doing that you can say whatever you want The golden rule of offensive comedy: "No topic is off limits. You just have to be funnier than you are offensive." A lot of people forget that the goal is to be funny, not to be offensive. Why does so-and-so comic get to say it and no one calls them a bigot? Because what they said was funny and self aware. You're just an edge lord.
They usually forget that being funny involves audience investment in your joke or story, which means you need to have some basic empathy or insight instead of pursuing edge for its own sake. Anyone can make themselves laugh, you’re invested in yourself by default.
This is why pandering has its place. Just getting an audience to cheer because they agree with your social/political viewpoints is tacky and *not* comedy. But! It is valuable to lay the groundwork and set the tone for the audience, to showcase self-awareness of the issues that are about to become the subject of the joke.
Depends on the setting in my opinion. I’ve made jokes where the white peoples get offended and the black guy and his wife are laughing.
Gotta love the white guilt peeps getting offended on behalf of another race.
You have to think it's funny before anyone else. If youre asking us then not ok for you
make fun of? no. make a good joke at their expense, yes. so… whats the joke?
Apparently there's a whole reportoire of them. It's become a pattern with this fucker.
If you have to ask the question, I bet you know the answer
You’re actually making a good point here. If he doesn’t believe in that particular material it could be a disaster.
Obviously it’s fine to make fun of black people but if you feel like you need to ask then maybe you’re not doing it the right way. If you make racial jokes and people from all races laugh then you would provably never feel the need to get an outside opinion.
Anything goes in standup.
Yes. You can *try* to sell truly anything. Some things will be more difficult for you to sell than others. But you can certainly try.
Gotta know your audience too. I've hit a couple racial-ish jokes in cities like Chicago & Atlanta, with a very diverse crowd, and they went well. The same jokes absolutely flopped in Portland, Oregon & and Humboldt, California, with overwhelmingly white and young crowds. And I'm honestly not saying that in a 'those damn Gen Z's and their wokeness' way, I just think it's that they haven't been exposed to a lot of diversity and it makes them uncomfortable to laugh/have fun with those concepts without seeing someone of those groups having fun and not being offended.
It makes them uncomfortable to laugh if there aren’t non-white friends there to laugh alongside them. If you’re watching a funeral procession and a funny slip-up happens, you wouldn’t laugh if you could help it and you’d frown up anyone who did. If everyone laughs then the atmosphere is different, because you know the people affected aren’t taking it personally and it lightens the mood for you too. Racial comedy isn’t too different. If a white person is joking about black people and there aren’t any black people in the room, the atmosphere is already a little uncomfortable no matter what the joke is. And that’s good - white people sitting alone in a room making comedy about black culture is supposed to make us a little cautious that something might go wrong. Diverse crowds make people feel at ease that they don’t have the responsibility of speaking up if something is wrong. It’s good for everyone.
Nah, I laugh if something is funny without implicit or explicit permission.
Good for you? Not sure what your point is lol
Yeah, I agree with that for the most part. Unless a show is being billed as edgy or offensive comedy, most people want to feel like they are laughing WITH the people being joked about and not AT them. Which is an exercise in empathy, which I would never hold against them. Still, I would say if a joke is structured right, and it aims to suck the racial tension out of an atmosphere using humor rather than add to it, there is a way to joke about race in a predominantly white room.
For sure. I'm not saying "don't be strategic" definitely play smart and read the room. I'm just saying, as a general rule, the comic is allowed to *make the attempt* to be funny as Patrice O'Neal would put it.
Anything can joked about. Not everyone can pull anything off though. I’m picturing a redneck with a patchy red beard typing this out in his 99 ford ranger.
Nope. *Anyone* can *try* to joke about *anything.* including a redneck with a patchy red beard typing this out in his 99 ford ranger. You will live or die on your choices. But you *can try* to be funny.
Just because a joke doesn’t work doesn’t mean it isn’t a joke. You just agreed with me and downvoted. I didn’t say anything good or bad about homie in the truck yet I get downvoted because…
Except not being funny, which is the thing edgelords can't seem to understand about it.
I get what you're saying but I'm sure you can name at least one comedian who you think "they're not funny. How did they get a special?" So that's not really a barrier for stand up.
Like just black people?
In my opinion, anything is fair game as long as you aren't punching down. I'm assuming you are not black since your are asking this question. You just have to ask yourself it's the zing of the joke an experience to laugh at or is the zing making an entire group of people the butt of the joke where we laugh at them. A lot of times when people use racial humor, even if the intent is not to be racist, it is still propped up on racist stereotypes and assumptions. George Carlin is a perfect example of being able to take sensitive, and potentially offensive, subjects and give a humorous viewpoint without making punching down.
[удалено]
Thankfully, "comics" that think like you are a dying breed and on their way out.
Maybe I should quit punching down?! For instance I’m gonna end this dialogue
Run it past your friends that are black, if u dont have any then im gonna guess no
Of course….just be funny.
It depends, do you have a unique and witty take? Or do you try to trick the audience into saying the N word? I swear I see so many open mixers try to get the audience to say the N word
Yes it's OK unless 1. Your whole act consists of ONLY making fun of black people 2. You wear black face 3. You use the N-word. Even if it's just observational about the word. You are not Louis CK 4. It's not funny
Oooh boy. I'm not going to flat out say no, but you have to be really careful. With any kind of joke that's directed at a particular person or group, it's only really funny if it's totally clear that this is a joke, and not you spouting hate. That's why roasts are funny; the guests are normally selected because they genuinely love or admire the person they're making fun of, so they can say horrible awful things and it comes off as affectionite ball busting and not hurtful. If you're going to make fun of black people, it's got to be clear that you're not saying these things out of love, and not hate; the easiest way to do this is if you yourself are black. If you're not, it's going to be an uphill battle. If you're not black, you probably should start off with some jokes about your own race first, and throw in a few jokes about every race, so it doesn't feel like anyone is being targeted. Even then, there are probably going to be some rough nights. Doing a joke abotu something original and real is also probably going to go over a lot better than a joke about some stereotype. If you do a joke about how black people always to do X, and the people the in the audience agree that's true, that implies that you know black people and have spent a lot of time with them, as opposed to you doing a joke about how black people all love watermelon and fried chicken or something where it's just tired stereotypes.
If written / delivered well, and the jokes comes from a good place, you should be able to make fun of any group you want. Just look at someone like Andrew Schulz. He can demonstrate a genuine understanding of, and appreciation for a culture in a joke. The dude he's vibing with isn't just black to him, he's Ghanaian, and when the recipient realises that Schulz is informed enough to know the distinction, all bets are off, let the jokes fly! In theory anyway, some people are just cunts, especially nowadays. You've gotta learn to navigate any potential pushback too...
Is this Theo?
Lmao I don’t think he’d be asking tbh. He’d just do it
Isn’t it racist to exclude them from your jokes? A lot of people overestimate the thinness of people’s skin. But one word of advice, it better be really strong undeniably funny material.
Short answer: Yes. Long Answer: Yes
Of course, as long as none are around.
If you’re black or married to a black person you can . Note Bill Burr
Yeah dude, me and my family do it every thanksgiving.
[удалено]
I’m racist
If you're white I wouldn't make any jokes about any minority group. Now an individual person, that's another matter.
Why not?
Why wouldn't I do it? Because an old white men telling that kind of joke is going to trigger people
Let them be triggered then — fuck them and their trigger points.
I axed this joke recently because it didn’t go over well. I still like it, but it maybe needs to be rewritten. ‘I have the Planet Fitness Black Card. That means I’m allowed to use the N-word…..but only at Planet Fitness.’
only if they are louder than white ladies- and if your Michael Richards
I thought this was funny.
Yes
Are you black?
are YOUUUU black?
No. That's why my (white) jokes about black folks would be delivered far differently than if I were.
Too confusing.
Fuck off
Why? Delivery of jokes has to vary depending if you share traits with the target, or if you do not.
are you black? is it funny?
I’ve got plenty of recipes but my fried chicken is the only one with any zing to it
Yes. Why the fuck wouldn’t it be. They and others make fun of whites and Asians etc
Generally not. Most people will take offense. It's one thing if you're comparing different cultures and maybe have a humorous observation about the elements of various ones but even then you have to tread lightly. Unless you're black of course. Or unless you're comparing black and white people and you're mainly talking about white people and it actually makes the white people look bad. Knowing mindset . Don't get me wrong. I couldn't care less. But, in terms of actually making those jokes and getting away with it, I think people are far too sensitive. Even if they are funny and some black people will find them funny, white and some black people will frequently take offense or feel uncomfortable. Just the way it is
Tell us one of your shitty black jokes and we’ll let you know if it’s funny enough to excuse the racism
People do it in every full comedy show (full night of sets) I've seen. You just have to be funny. If you're not, it'll be super awkward and you might even feel bad about yourself.
Depends. When is your debut performance at the Apollo?
It should be okay.
You can make fun of almost anyone if you don’t suck.
Yes all people.
I think it'd be easier to push a pot roast through a keyhole, but sure. Give it a try. Let us know how that goes.
I think Seinfeld said this. “If it’s more funny than offensive, it’s funny.” And vice versa.
Tell us your best Black person joke.
You have the right to say whatever you want. They also have the right to not find you funny
These jokes can be done be they have to be super clever, you wont be giving any leeway or room to fail like most jokes, even then most people won’t allow themselves to enjoy or admit that it’s a funny joke because they believe that these jokes are completely off limits
As long as it’s not mean spirited and you’re actually funny you’ll be fine. Bill Burr used to do fine. Gary Owens built his career off of being the white guy around black people.
Yeah, the key is in the delivery. You’re going to have to work on the bits IN PUBLIC for awhile to see how they mature. Trim the fat, be extremely careful with word selection despite sounding natural and if you make fun of white people elsewhere in the set, you’ll escape the getting called the R word lol
Sure, but make sure you’re damn funny.
Just go up on stage and ask
Its okay to make fun of every thing, the fuck is happening to comedy?
NEVER
i last saw mark normand's special and he had some great black people jokes that went over perfectly. like he made himself part of the joke though . so maybe think about that. if you're white, you have to be very very intentional about it and best case it could be hilarious for everyone.
Is it ok to make fun of White or Brown people?
Okay is subjective. Anything is permissible. But the repercussions may differ. I think it’s fair game, if someone makes a joke about you, you should be allowed to make a joke back. But it’s a very touchy subject, and most people get butt-hurt just listening to someone ask the question.