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Smooth Dunk | Bluesky
Transcript
5 panel comic
Panel 1: Pink guy saying: I just made a silly joke!
Panel 2: Pink guy turns to see a door swing open, revealing a Weird Greenish Guy in the doorway
Panels 3-5: Weird greenish guy begins to walk towards Pink Guy in a very creepy manner. He says: I’m Gonna take it SERIOUSLY
By panel 5 Weird Guy has Pink Guy in a death grip. He’s going to throttle him for having the audacity to tell a silly joke on social media
My litmus test is i ask “what is the joke?” If theres a clever turn of phrase or twist to expectations I chuckle to myself and move on. If I cant figure out what the clever turn of phrase or twist in expectation is, or the punchline being some kind of -ism or -phobia then yeah I’m gonna take it seriously. Unfortunately making jokes where the punchline is racism, sexism, homophoboa, transphobia, or any other kind of punching down gets a lot of engagement and responses.
“It’s just a joke, bro” only goes so far, you’re right
Homophoboa sounds like a not-so-fabulous fashion accessory.
“Gaysoupsnake” sounds messy but hot
Lmao it kinda does.
I joked about fucked up stuff that happened to me and brave lemmings came in to make sure I knew how fucked up it was to do that to people. It was stunning and brave and I had no idea
I’ve found self deprecating humor or telling stories about fucked up shit happening to you is rarely funny and usually elicits more of a awkward fake laugh and/or pity vibe than a belly laugh vibe.
There goes most of comedy.
How so?
Most good comedy are stories about something fucked up, usually where the comedian is being self-deprecating.
Do you have any evidence that thats the case?
It’s such a pervasive observable reality in comedy I’m struggling not to just say “watch a comedian.” Really, any comedian.
Recently, we could go with John Mulaney’s performance about his drug use and rehab experience, something he continues to reference in his new series. There’s James Acaster who’s done entire shows that mix absurdism and heavy sarcasm with self deprecation. Patton Oswart did a fairly famous bit on him and his daughter dealing with the death of his wife. Pete Davidson’s performances are about his drug use and lack of self respect.
The entire show Seinfield and every character in it. Curb Your Enthusiasm which is about the creator of Seinfield, who made the show inspired by himself, his lack of boundaries and social awareness. The show Barry is 200% dark humor.
I could go on, but I’d be naming most comedies and comedians.
You know, maybe those reactions denote that it’s bad humor but either of those are way better than virtue signaling against a person who is badly attempting to express pain.
I dunno. The comic made me think of a particular kind of internet person who is only here to be seen saying correct things in front of other morally correct people.
If you’re dealing with pain and trauma, therapy might be a good idea. Making dark self depreciating jokes online probably isnt going to actually help you deal with it.
What if the point if the joke is to make fun of racists for genuinely having those views?
I sometimes put on a voice and give a conservative sounding statement and optionally end with my normal voice “or something like that” - where while I honestly mean to make fun if those views; if there is something wrong about that, I would like to be corrected, if that’s okay to ask
I already described my litmus test. You explained who your punchline is hitting. Punching up at the jerks is fine by me.
Tone doesn’t always come across in text and Poes Law is a bitch. I hope your comments are taken in the right way though.
What does taking those things seriously change as far as your response is concerned? If you mean ‘I try to correct that person’s behavior’ then that seems like a losing battle that’s also adding to the engagement you mentioned. If you mean ‘I downvote and move on’ then that seems like a sensible choice.
My actual response depends on the situation and how i’m feeling at any given moment. Usually its just ignore and move on, sometimes I’m feeling in a “be snarky online” mood.
What does it change? Eh maybe someone somewhere will see the pushback on the -ism/-phobia and rethink. I’m not saying it does, it probably doesn’t most of the time, but I’m forever realistically optimistic and recognize I need to put in the work to make real that optimism.
I do it for the groups that are being targeted by the “joke” as well. To show them that other people don’t agree with it.
Exactly this too! Try to drown out the assholes with a chorus of positivity.
Surprisingly, sometimes, it actually does work and make someone rethink their stance when you rebuff a hateful comment online. It’s incredibly rare, and even rarer that you find out it happened, but I have seen first-hand proof of people changing their views due to comment sections.