jone70 said:

Dave1992 said:

We should have? Hitler might have ruined your 21st birthday by surviving the gas attack in 1918, but my generation is (thankfully) so far away from these horrible times, that - yes - we do laugh about Hitler. In fact, there's loads of Hitler jokes. There's also loads of jokes about Jews, told on national television by our Chief Rabbi. Imagine! And all this laughing about horrible things (which is closely associated to this weird thing called "black humour") will help in making sure that noone will ever take a crazy motherfucker like him seriously, ever. When there's a new one coming up with some racist idea, we'll just laugh and say "man, that's old!" and move on.

I don't agree with that at all. The Guggenheim Museum just had a retrospective of Maurizio Cattelan's work, which included a child-sized wax figure with the face of Adolf Hitler, on his knees, in a posture of what could be read as supplication (Him, 2001). I can tell you first-hand that visitors to the museum were not laughing at that shit. There were several people who were deeply offended and angry about it as well as the fact that the work was chosen to be on one of the postcards they were selling in the gift shop.

I sort of get what you're trying to say; it might be nice in theory, but in reality (at least in my experience) Hitler is still a terribly polarizing figure that most people do not find humorous.

Well, that was just clumsy business by the Guggenheim. Of course, Hitler is still a very much polarising figure and not everyone will be able to laugh at it.

Yet. We have to take this step by step, start where it's possible and make it possible where it isn't.

Just to make sure no fools get any stupid ideas in their heads: we should not laugh at all the horrible deaths and all the tears people cried (and still cry to this day). Hell, I lost my own great grandparents because of that. And hell, my childhood friend was stabbed because he was Sinti. We should mock the idea of anyone considering the possibilty we could be seduced to support such horrible things again.

morningsong said:

Hm, I thought this was all just a simple little question. I guess it's a character assestment.

Anyway, I liked Ali G, I don't remember much of Borat, and I never saw Bruno, probably never will. He's okay in small doses, but it gets too obvious after a while, which gets boring.

It depends on your "why"!

No, it got a bit out of control and we started talking about the power of racism, but shit like this happens when you simply want to have a good old laugh!

Dave1992 said:

Genesia said:

I'm sorry, but the idea that you should have to work to figure out why something is funny is ridiculous. Something is either funny or it isn't. If I don't find this guy funny, I'm certainly not going to try to figure out why. I'll just find something else to laugh at.

Like this thread. It's damn near absurd now - I figure it'll only take a few more posts 'til it's deathly funny.

This is the most unintellectual approach to humour I have ever read

Why should I go for a walk in the woods when I can simply google "tree"?

Since I find most intellectuals to be a pain in the ass, this is a greater complement than you know.

They are (as my father so eloquently puts it), "educated beyond their intelligence."

Your last statement is (again) utterly ridiculous. Why would I google "tree" when I can simply look out the window? I do not need to know what kind of tree I'm looking at to know whether I find it beautiful.

jone70 said:

Dave1992 said:

I (and many of my friends) know almost every single important date in the history of fucking mankind.

This post speaks volumes...

About what?

Either...

- my "arrogance" and that of my whole generation of stupid teens who care about nothing but clothes, sex, drugs, partying and violent video games; who think they know everything and would only call the date Brangelina got engaged "important"?

... or...

- how nice it is to know that some younglings actually do educate themselves and, even if their world-view might seem weird, extreme or silly to older people, they actually might have a point, or at least know what they are talking about?

But I was serious. It was always important to me to learn about history and learn the facts. I never thought it was that interesting (I'm more interested in the here and now and the future), but I always thought it was very, very important.

Dave1992 said:

Well, that was just clumsy business by the Guggenheim. Of course, Hitler is still a very much polarising figure and not everyone will be able to laugh at it.

That makes no sense. How is the Guggenheim responsible for the subject matter of Cattelan's work and the public's response to it? You completely missed my point, which was that, contrary to what you implied, Hitler is not a great source for laughs.

Genesia said:

Dave1992 said:

This is the most unintellectual approach to humour I have ever read

Why should I go for a walk in the woods when I can simply google "tree"?

Since I find most intellectuals to be a pain in the ass, this is a greater complement than you know.

They are (as my father so eloquently puts it), "educated beyond their intelligence."

Your last statement is (again) utterly ridiculous. Why would I google "tree" when I can simply look out the window? I do not need to know what kind of tree I'm looking at to know whether I find it beautiful.

Your father was doing what Cohen is trying to ridicule.

And my statement was meant to be ridiculous. But whatever. Tha' 'effa need to roll an' 'omegraawn first, cuz all dis racialism stuff is too intellecticatin' an' deep an' shit.

I think he's funny...I think genital warts are funny, too but I know they aint for everybody

Dave1992 said:

Genesia said:

Since I find most intellectuals to be a pain in the ass, this is a greater complement than you know.

They are (as my father so eloquently puts it), "educated beyond their intelligence."

Your last statement is (again) utterly ridiculous. Why would I google "tree" when I can simply look out the window? I do not need to know what kind of tree I'm looking at to know whether I find it beautiful.

Your father was doing what Cohen is trying to ridicule.

And my statement was meant to be ridiculous. But whatever. Tha' 'effa need to roll an' 'omegraawn first, cuz all dis racialism stuff is too intellecticatin' an' deep an' shit.

Keep diggin', Dave. Just keep diggin'.

orger said:

I think he's funny...I think genital warts are funny, too but I know they aint for everybody

jone70 said:

Dave1992 said:

Well, that was just clumsy business by the Guggenheim. Of course, Hitler is still a very much polarising figure and not everyone will be able to laugh at it.

That makes no sense. How is the Guggenheim responsible for the subject matter of Cattelan's work and the public's response to it? You completely missed my point, which was that, contrary to what you implied, Hitler is not a great source for laughs.

I was simply adding that this probably was to be expected.

I didn't miss your point; I actually agreed. I never said the whole world is laughing at Hitler. I said that my generation (in some parts of the world) thankfully found a way to "disarm" the neonazi movement and it's our ideal to make it possible for as many people as possible to join in.

Genesia said:

Dave1992 said:

Your father was doing what Cohen is trying to ridicule.

And my statement was meant to be ridiculous. But whatever. Tha' 'effa need to roll an' 'omegraawn first, cuz all dis racialism stuff is too intellecticatin' an' deep an' shit.

Keep diggin', Dave. Just keep diggin'.

Genesia, you know I love you and I respect a lot of things you say. But sometimes I'm happy you're not my great grandmother, 'cause sometimes you're just a lil ol' prude!

Dave1992 said:

Genesia said:

Keep diggin', Dave. Just keep diggin'.

Genesia, you know I love you and I respect a lot of things you say. But sometimes I'm happy you're not my great grandmother, 'cause sometimes you're just a lil ol' prude!

Stuff your sanctimonious "love," baby boy.

Genesia said:

Dave1992 said:

Genesia, you know I love you and I respect a lot of things you say. But sometimes I'm happy you're not my great grandmother, 'cause sometimes you're just a lil ol' prude!

Stuff your sanctimonious "love," baby boy.

Well, either "sanctimonious" or "baby boy"! Otherwise it's a bit of an oxymoron...

Come on, let's kiss and make up.

I just did a Google image search for "tree"....talk about some unfunny shit

Lisa10 said:

Nay.

He's really not funny to me. My husband thinks he's hilarious.

It's alright if you hate him! Come to think of it, I don't find him that funny either!

Dave1992 said:

Lisa10 said:

Nay.

He's really not funny to me. My husband thinks he's hilarious.

It's alright if you hate him! Come to think of it, I don't find him that funny either!

Bit late to the lovely party this turned out to be, but nah, I really don't find him funny.

MacDaddy said:

Bit late to the lovely party this turned out to be, but nah, I really don't find him funny.

Nevermind! In April, I'll be showing up early...

Dave1992 said:

sonic said:

hes an asshole.....nuff said.

Now why would anybody say that? I don't know you personally, but people who have called Cohen an "asshole" or "arrogant" or whatever have usually been either boring, submissive, humble bores or simply do not get the purpose, intelligence and value of his humour.

Like I said, I don't know you personally, but your "nuff said" suggests that you didn't really think this through or that you simply don't want to take your time explaining why someone is an "asshole" to you.

Please evaluate.

well if you really want to know...I DONT FIND HIM FUNNY. i prefer FUNNY people like jim carrey...will farrel....simon pegg...or steve carrel. i thought borat was garbage....just NOT funny. perhaps saying he was an asshole was out of line...but it sure is "right up his alley" since he seems to enjoy showing off his.

sonic said:

Dave1992 said:

Now why would anybody say that? I don't know you personally, but people who have called Cohen an "asshole" or "arrogant" or whatever have usually been either boring, submissive, humble bores or simply do not get the purpose, intelligence and value of his humour.

Like I said, I don't know you personally, but your "nuff said" suggests that you didn't really think this through or that you simply don't want to take your time explaining why someone is an "asshole" to you.

Please evaluate.

well if you really want to know...I DONT FIND HIM FUNNY. i prefer FUNNY people like jim carrey...will farrel....simon pegg...or steve carrel. i thought borat was garbage....just NOT funny. perhaps saying he was an asshole was out of line...but it sure is "right up his alley" since he seems to enjoy showing off his.

Fair enough

I, Happen to really like him. I like his ''political'' and social humor... but i can see why others don't like him. Now Dave me and you are a few years apart... i find people around our age range love Sacha. But a lot of the oldergeneration i met seem to think he is rude, arrogant and nasty.

Oh well

now when anyone asks Seacrest what he is wearing, he can say "Kim Jong Ill"

who else could have gotten away with that?

he is great!!

and if anyone has seen him in Hugo, you would know he can act too

Not a huge fan for Bruno, and I thought the movie in particular failed in that it just made him look like an asshole instead of turning the joke back on the idiots he interviewed.

But this scene will love forever in my mind.

He's great. A fave mainstream comedian of mine, but he did take British satire king, Chris Morris's formula and commercialised it.

You might want to check Chris Morris's work out if you like this guy. Chris, to me, is the biggest genius to ever work in comedy.

He did release his debut film in America last year with Four Lions - a comedy about a group of suicide bombers planning a large scale attack that proved to be insanely funny, intelligent and even moving.

SBC has become a comedian more or less, but what he started as could be compared to performance art because his characters were all about bring about a real reaction in people in a real life situation.

He was illustrating more about "normal" people than he was about white hip hop kids or middle east men or gay fashion icons.

But now he is famous, he isn't really able to do that as much, which is unfortunate.

He was aight as Ali G but everybody else? Nah. He's just famous for being controversial, not necessarily for being funny...

Okay watch the Ali G thing and is was funny. Not ground breaking. But funny. The other fashion thing was just boring and not at all funny. I understand what he is trying to do-but it aint funny to me. Overall-meh.

I think he is hilarious, especially as Borat and Ali G. Found the sketches to be funnier than the films though.

Dave1992, I know exactly what you mean when you talk about laughing at 'racism' etc.. It doesn't have to be offensive just because a joke is about race, or other serious matters like for example rape. Rape itself is not funny (obviously) but that dosn't mean you can't joke about it - it depends on context and what the joke is doing. Ricky Gervais once joked he drunk and drove one night and regrets it ever since because he nearly knocked over an old woman. He then said 'Don't worry, in the end I didn't kill her. In the end I just raped her.'

It's funny because 1. you don't expect him to say that next after being so apparently 'caring' about her wellbeing and 2. as if raping someone is an acceptable thing to do as long as you don't kill them. It's that logic that makes it funny. Not rape itself. Same thing with race. Get over it.

nay.

yay.

Loved Borat.

Didn't LOVE but enjoyed Bruno.

Does he go too far? YES

Does he take it to the point where it becomes uncomfortable to even watch? YES, but I think that's the whole point of his brand of humor.