How far is going to far? In comedy, there’s a fine line between a brilliant line and appearing to be a complete asshole in front of an audience. Personally, I find this specific area interesting because it cannot be clearly defined AND it differs for neither man nor woman.
There’s a trait among comedy writers – GOOD comedy writers – that really allows them to do what they do best. Every single one of them has a shameless dark side, an ability to make a joke in the darkest of situations. The best example I can think of comes from an interview with Tina Fey I once read. In it, she stated that the very next day following Steve Irwin’s death, she walked into the Saturday Night Live writers room “…and people were already cracking jokes about it.” While jokes and cracks like that obviously wouldn’t make it onto the air, it’s that perspective on everything that gives comedy writers that ability to be funny.
What do we decide is offensive and what is simply a joke? Can we laugh at a one liner about K-Fed but frown on a joke about Barak Obama? Is there a way to tell what is considered ‘going too far’? Sensitive subjects vary from person to person, but in general include deaths, tragic accidents, funerals and other various situations where things are not the best….for a set amount of time. There is such a thing as bringing up the subject too soon, where audiences are not yet ready to laugh at things like Hurricane Katrina. I’m not sure what the time limit is, but once the green light is on, it’s like shopping at Target the day after Thanksgiving – an absolute flood.
This whole issue of whether or not one’s joke is crossing the line is all part of the package of being a writer. It’s a constant learning experience, and one that you can only learn from trial and error…hopefully, not so much error. Otherwise, you might not be such a successful writer.
