After watching the Skit, "Jokes Seth Can't Tell", it reminded me of the 2017 opening monologue of Peyton Manning at the ESPY'S Awards. Both Seth and Peyton state that they don't feel completely comfortable telling these jokes the writers have written for them to tell. Mainly because Seth is a middle aged white man and Peyton is speaking to his peers in the audience.
Seth says that they tell a lot of jokes on the show that come from a diverse group of writers they have on staff. Seth feels uncomfortable telling the punch lines so he has two of his writers come on to do so. One is a black female in her mid twenties and the other is a white female, lesbian in her mid twenties.
The jokes are racist and homophobic therefore having these women tell the punch lines "seems" less offensive and funnier somehow.
Seth says that they tell a lot of jokes on the show that come from a diverse group of writers they have on staff. Seth feels uncomfortable telling the punch lines so he has two of his writers come on to do so. One is a black female in her mid twenties and the other is a white female, lesbian in her mid twenties.
The jokes are racist and homophobic therefore having these women tell the punch lines "seems" less offensive and funnier somehow.
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Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH8xW9KIXB8
Now with Peyton Manning he came out and said, "I'm not going to rip on any of you guys tonight. These ESPY folks wanted me to say all this stuff, come out here and mock athletes and coaches. I said NO! Absolutely not! I'm not going to do it. And here are a few of the jokes I hated the most! Cause I would never say these." After each joke he read, he went on to say how sick and disgusted he was by it and he would never say anything like that. The audience was loving it.
Now with Peyton Manning he came out and said, "I'm not going to rip on any of you guys tonight. These ESPY folks wanted me to say all this stuff, come out here and mock athletes and coaches. I said NO! Absolutely not! I'm not going to do it. And here are a few of the jokes I hated the most! Cause I would never say these." After each joke he read, he went on to say how sick and disgusted he was by it and he would never say anything like that. The audience was loving it.
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| Peyton Manning Opening Monologue at ESPYS 2017 FULL |
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZmg6GFk_s4
Peyton could offend joke after joke and took no responsibility for what he was saying, much like Seth did in his skit. It was funny to see how both were able to deflect responsibility as they both told each joke. Classic, "That's What She Said!"
Peyton could offend joke after joke and took no responsibility for what he was saying, much like Seth did in his skit. It was funny to see how both were able to deflect responsibility as they both told each joke. Classic, "That's What She Said!"
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ReplyDeleteI found this post to be a unique and insightful view into how some jokes about sensitive subjects can be inappropriate for some people to tell while it's viewed as okay for other people to tell, especially when the jokes are poking fun at a demographic of which the joke-teller is a part. I think this all goes down to the fact that, for certain demographics, it is their right to make statements about members of their demographic because they have experienced those funny observations themselves within their demographic's community. It's like how rappers and other musical artists of colour can use the N word in their work and it is viewed as artistic expression, but if a white person says it then it is highly offensive. This is because black people have taken the word and tried to change the connotation of it within the black community so as to gain power over a word which is highly offensive when coming from a non-black person. This is similar to certain members of the LGBTQ community using the word "queer" as an identifier. While the word "queer" was seen for a long time as a homophobic slur, those of us who identify as queer (like myself) have reclaimed the word and given it new meaning to gain empowerment over a word that was once so harmful to the LGBTQ community. It's okay for us, but not okay for straight people to use. It's like picking on your sibling, it's okay for you to do it because it comes from a place of unconditional love and you would never actually wish them harm or hurt, but if someone else were to pick on your sibling you'd turn on that person in a moment's notice to stand up for your sibling. The difference I think, is that the person picking on your sibling is doing it intentionally to cause them harm or distress, while when you do it to your own sibling it comes, as mentioned, from a place of love. I think this is applicable to comedy as well.
ReplyDeleteI find this post both very unique and enjoyable! I think it's interesting how he had an African American woman state the jokes, rater than himself, to make it seem less offensive. I mean it makes sense. But looking a little deeper into you post, it actually brought the subject into my head that in our society today, it has become normalized for people within a certain group or ethnicity, to use slurs or statements towards one another that would not be okay if someone outside of their group or ethnicity used the same statements. I think your post portrays and brings up other points and subjects that you may have not even intended!
ReplyDeleteHey folks! If you liked the Seth Meyers clip, stay tuned! It and a bunch of others from his show are on our syllabus in Unit 5 or 6 (can't remember exactly). I think Alex read/watched ahead a bit. :)
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