4 Reasons Why ‘Cancel Culture’ Is A Good Thing (With Crappy Messaging)
As a comic, one of the most frequent questions I get is, “How do you deal with ‘cancel culture?’”
My response often catches them off guard:
“Cancel culture is a myth created out of fear of a changing world.”
Sure, many comedians have been dragged through the mud for a ‘controversial’ tweet, joke, or bit they’ve done, but most are still wildly successful: Dave Chappelle, Shane Gillis, and Jimmy Carr are just three shining examples of the myth that has become known as ‘cancel culture.’
Anyone has the ability to share their perspective on social media, so it’s not like getting offended didn’t happen before 2007 — it did, it just wasn’t as widely broadcast/used as clickbait by media outlets.
To those who complain that “You can’t say anything anymore,” it’s not that you can’t say anything, it’s that the world, and comedy is undergoing a much-needed evolution.*
1.) Cancel Culture Is Challenging People To Explore Their Curiosity Rather Than Make Judgments
Going for the low-hanging fruit or spouting off the first punchline that pops into your head is lazy writing when you can ask yourself so many more questions that reveal so many cleverer (I can’t believe that’s a word), less obvious, and, in turn, funnier punchlines. If the ‘offensive’ tweet is funny and honest, then the inevitable backlash will fade faster than the polite laughter after Dad tells a joke. If it’s lazy writing and not funny, then the backlash has a higher chance of spreading. For example, many of Jeff Dunham’s puppets, a lot of 80s and 90s stand-up that pokes fun at different races and sexuality, or many of the jokes I wrote in high school (I cringe at what I used to think was funny), are based on surface-level misunderstandings of different cultures and people. The reality is that these jokes are still fair game, but if the punchline is aimed at victimizing or poking fun of others, it’s not comedy so much as it’s playground-level bullying. If you make yourself, your own misunderstanding of the complexity of human beings, or someone in power without being cruel, the comedy is more widely accepted. It’s why comics like Chappelle and Bill Burr seem untouchable — they cleverly frame themselves as the bad guy and their writing is so complex it feels like their jokes are punching down on others, rather than being a self-deprecating take on their own POV.
2.) Cancel Culture Is Pivoting Comedy Toward Collective Growth By Challenging Antagonistic, Counterproductive Behavior
Good comedy has always been progressive because it comes from a place of pushing society to be better by laughing about the status quo. To make a message like this stick, the intent of the comedian should be to provide a release valve of tension for the audience so that they leave feeling better. True, there will always be those who are easily offended, but if your goal IS to offend or to minimize the humanity of others rather than bring joy to all who happen to hear you, you’re no longer a comedian; you’re an antagonist acting against your own well-being.
3.) Cancel Culture Pushes Comics To Connect With Their Audience
A comedian’s job is more than just making people laugh and feel good, it’s about building connection and trust with the audience. Jokes may be funny and draw laughter, but if authentic connection is established, those jokes can easily double the laughter and strengthen the internal reward chemicals released as a result. One way the comic does this is to read the room and respond to the curveballs the situation throws. They’ll adjust their material to the audience in front of them and build connection in the moment instead of powering through the crowd’s uncomfortable body language and muffled responses. On the flip side, even if the comic is killing (has the room doubled over in laughter), once in awhile a vocal dissident will speak up about a joke that offends their sensibilities. Luckily, we don’t live in the Lenny Bruce days (See? ‘Cancel culture’ isn’t new) where the comedian gets arrested for mentioning the unmentionables. The good news is that most people who are offended by sexual, violent, or political/religious humor simply don’t laugh and know to pick a comic that fits their sensibilities next time.
4.) Cancel Culture Stems From An Intrinsic Desire To Build Empathy (Though, I Agree, Its Methodology And Messaging Could Use Some Work)
In the case of the vocal dissident, a good comic will address the elephant in the room in a way that maintains the connection with the rest of the audience. One of the best techniques I’ve seen used by headliners is asking the offended party questions so that his or her answers highlight the absurdity of their position. It usually works to either quiet them down, they take the hint that they’re not wanted and leave, or they’re drunk and have to be escorted out. Whatever the case, empathy is key because it’s clear that person has their own inner complexity to unravel.
In a perfect world, those who get offended would question and explore why they feel that way. Until then, it’s the comedian’s job to uncover the complexity of those emotions based on THEIR experience of them. This includes pointing out the irony that those lambasting ‘cancel culture’ are being equally offended by something with which they disagree.
“PC culture isn’t killing comedy. It’s driving it. As it always did.” — Ricky Gervais
In a world that needs to be more curious and kind rather than judgmental, think of ‘cancel culture’ as more of a ‘kindness culture.’ It’s a societal awakening of our deep-rooted evolutionary traits of empathy, exploration, and communication. Instead of complaining that “you can’t say anything anymore,” EXPLORE your intent and FIND NEW PATHS for connecting the same ‘offensive’ joke to your audience, but do it in a way that CHALLENGES YOUR PRESENT UNDERSTANDING.
*This doesn’t mean to stop doing fart jokes. I’m 34 and a well-timed flatulence punchline will ALWAYS get a giggle out of me.
Learn more about building a stronger connection with your team by tapping into the benefits of using humor in the workplace. Visit watercoolercomedy.org
