PUTTING THE PUNCH IN PUNCHLINES
Cay-Cay-Cable Guy
Meet Larry the Cable Guy, arguably the most successful comic in America today.
You've probably heard of him since LTCG had the top-grossing comedy tour last year, beating Chris Rock. His latest album, The Right to Bare Arms, is the highest-charting comedy record since 1978. This CD is spotlighted at Target and other major department stores that rarely carry comedy discs. He also has a regular stage on the WB and Comedy Central as part of Blue Collar TV.
LTCG's core audience is the self-described "redneck" crowd, mostly in red states, that eat up his "white trash" humor like marshmallow fluff. But his popularity extends to the blue states, most recently evidenced by the fact that is headlining at San Jose's HP Pavilion this Sunday.
I've since listened to or read enough of his stuff to conclude that the success of his jokes rely upon his audience sharing specific values.
If you want a taste of his values, you can scan through his website "commentary" to discover that he repeatedly makes "ching chow ching chow" jokes about the Chinese, refers to Arabs as "back ass rag fags" while equating them all with terrorists, and makes similarly derogatory statements about women, every other racial minority, and gays and lesbians.
One of LTCG's routines consists of him standing on stage and spotting something behind him. "Aw, those are my shadows," he says, relieved. "I thought a couple black guys were sneaking up behind me." According to the May 5 issue of Rolling Stone, this joke kills.
Sure, nearly every comedian makes jokes like these that thrive on stereotypes. I'm not a comic, and I don't play one on TV, but I certainly plead guilty to writing material that depends upon the common (mis)perceptions of groups -- e.g., "all Irish people drink," "all Republicans are fluffers," "all Japanese men have nice buns," etc.
But whereas most comedians rely upon caricatures as harmless or outdated as Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation, LTCG sounds like he's doing warm-up for Alan Jackson's Aryan Nation.
When Larry cracks that "there'll be a new show out next week called Black Eye on the Queer Guy," it's hard to distinguish between the joke and a recipe for another Matthew Shepard.
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Similarly, I don't think it's a stretch to conclude that when he does long rants justifying what took place in Abu Ghraib prison, millions of his fans have been validated or brainwashed into defending the US military's right to commit torture, in clear violation of international law.
For the record, I know that Larry the Cable Guy is a persona created by a man named Dan Whitney. But whether he believes what he says, his audience is clearly laughing because they share his character's value system. I don't ever get the impression that people are laughing at him.
I have too many battles to choose before I join the so-called 'P.C. police.' If I nitpick every problematic thing a comedian ever says, my head would explode. Most of my favorite sources of comedy -- South Park, Family Guy, The Daily Show, Wonder Showzen, The Onion -- are replete with jokes that are, quite simply, "wrong."
But when the best-selling comic of 2005 is blatantly advocating punching queers, it's impossible to just dismiss him as a jokester.
These hateful jokes, along with the recent Hot 97 controversy, have me constantly ruminating on the question of hate speech vs. free speech. On most days, I consider myself a First Amendment absolutist. I've been censored enough to know the fear of a totalitarian government that monitors our speech. However, I also know that hateful insults are an effective way to spread discriminatory attitudes, especially when done under the banner of comedy.
This all raises a few questions:
Given how many millions of fans follow LTCG, why aren't stand-up comedians like him targeted? Why waste our time on seminal vesicles like those "Jersey Guys" radio hosts when Larry has over a thousand times as many listeners?
Do comedians get a free pass, so long as it makes someone laugh? Moreover, is there any effective way to battle hate speech in comedy?
Is there a line in comedy?
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