Reader be warned, the comedians, films and TV shows mentioned in this post may shock, offend and amuse you. Comedy as a genre has evolved so much from the humble, wholesome beginnings of primetime family sitcoms such as The Good Life, Last of the Summer Wine and Love Thy Neighbour (well, maybe not that one), and nowadays it seems that the only way to get a laugh is through dirty words, disgraceful behaviour and by generally being very very bad. Here are some of the most controversial moments ever in comedy:
On the radio….
Ah radio! One of the oldest, most reputable media forms around, it has always been there for us. It somehow feels comfortable. Images of grandparents sitting around a roaring fire eating worthers originals come to mind when you think of it.
But radio has a dark side too. Shock jocks rule the airwaves, especially in the USA, where infamous characters like Howard Stern are free to force a porno star’s head down a toilet bowl, or the wonderfully named Bubba the love sponge can castrate a pig live on air.
By comparison Britain’s own Chris Moyles seems a little tame, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting in trouble a few times in the past. Moyles has been accused of
homophobia,
sexism (after branding women who peed in the shower “dirty whores”) and
racism (live on air by Halle Berry) and got in trouble with his own bosses last week after
declaring that Polish people make good prostitutes. Oops!
But the biggest controversy on British radio came in October when Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand teamed up on the latter’s Radio 2 show to inform legendary actor Andrew Sachs of his granddaughter’s sexual activities.
They loved it, but Sachs didn’t and neither did the 38,000 people who phoned in to the BBC to complain. As a result, Brand and Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas resigned while Ross, one of the BBC’s biggest paid stars, was suspended. Now that’s a costly phone call.
On the TV...
“Paedophiles have more genes in common with crabs than they do with you and me,” said DJ Neil Fox on a special edition of satirical mockumentary Brass Eye. “Now that is a scientific fact-there’s no real evidence for it-but it is scientific fact”.
Understandably Foxy was slightly annoyed with the show when it first aired in 1997, but while he and the other celebrities duped by the programme were probably more concerned with how stupid they sounded, everyone else was more miffed at the subject matter. Unsurprisingly, a show about paedophilia didn’t go down too well with the general public and 1500 people complained.
But while that one episode of Brass Eye managed to outrage so many, it’s still nothing compared to the 12 years (and counting) of controversy over infamous US cartoon South Park. The cute little show about four 8-year-olds once broadcast an episode where the word “sh*t” was said, unbleeped, 162 times while the fan favourite Trapped in the Closet show annoyed Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise so much that he forced Paramount (the makers of the show) to cancel a repeat broadcast.
There have been so many controversial episodes of South Park that it's impossible to list them all here, but click on over to the Manofest blog to see their top 10.
At the Cinema...
I find it kind of strange how the film so often called "the greatest comedy film of all time" is also one of the most hated. But wierdly, that's certainly the case with Monty Python's Life Of Brian. If you've never heard of the film, or the Pythons, then...well...is a comedy blog really for you? Take a look at the clip below for a little taster:
Funny, right? Well not according to the protesters and activists who were outraged upon it's release in 1979, claiming that the film was blasphemous. Seemingly unaware that their vigorous campaigning was actually boosting attendance at cinemas, nuns and rabbis picketed screenings in NYC, Mary Whitehouse and friends canvased Britain with anti-python leaflets, and the film was banned altogether in entire countries. In the UK, some local councils voted to keep the movie out of their cinemas, even though in most cases they hadn't even seen the film! Some of these bans lasted long into the 21st century, and in fact, the Welsh town of Aberystwyth still has theirs imposed today!
By contrast, in the case of the immensely popular comedy film Borat, it was not the viewers of the movie that found it offensive but, rather randomly, it was the "stars" of the film themselves. Many of the participants, or as they like to be called, 'victims', of the cringeworthy mockumentary spoke out against Sacha Baron Cohen, feeling that they had been purposely misinformed of the nature of the film and tricked into a hoax project, which as a result, had made them look...well...rather stupid. And that was just the lucky ones! Dharma Arthur, a news producer at the station hijacked by Borat in the clip below, claimed that she had lost her job over the chaos the fake Kazakhstani caused:
Other participants have claimed that the film
used their images illegally, hurt their businesses, and
defamed their characters, some going as far as to sue Cohen and the producers of the movie and
attempt to prevent the release of the DVD. The film even caused problems for celebrity guest star Pamela Anderson, one of the few people in the film to actually know what the hell was actually going on. After
Borat's release she told DJ Howard Stern (remember him from earlier on? I love how this post has come full circle!) that
she clashed with her then-husband Kid Rock over her role in the film, thereby putting a strain on their three month marriage which ended just a few days after a private screening where Rock had first seen the film. A comedy that broke up a marriage?! That's pretty darn controversial!
But what we need to remember comedy fans is that the genre needs to be edgy, it needs to push boundaries and it's a good thing that it can still shock us. Some of the most controversial moments in comedy have also been some of the best, and while some people were offended by the moments featured in this article, others just had a bit of a laugh. I can't wait to see what the next controversy will be!
Videos Courtesy of: youtube.com, spike.com
Photos Courtesy of: wikipedia.org, theherald.co.uk
