It is weird to think that we have to look back and say that is hilarious, but they wouldn't be able to get away with that today. In comedy, there are some topics you just do not touch. But I'm beginning to worry that five to ten years from now, no stand-up comedian will be able to go on a stage and touch any topic.
I do not think current comedians like Kevin Hart or Melissa McCarthy are bringing anything new to the table. Whether it is in films such as "The Happytime Murders", Night School", " Tammy", or "Ride Along", it feels as if it is just the same shtick over and over again. The days of Murphy, Pryor, and Chappelle are long gone, and in their place are factory-made comedians. When comedians that want to do something new, like John Mulaney, get out there, they never get the proper exposure.
Comedy should not be limited to one bracket. What someone else finds funny may likely differ from what me or another person find hilarious. Even television shows like "Family Guy" that made a name for itself by pushing the envelope when it came to dark humor and offensive jokes is now starting to hold back as well.
Staple "Simpsons" characters, like Apu the Indian owner of the Kwik-E-Mart, are being written out of the show for presumably political correctness. Part of the reason "The Simpsons" was such a game changer in the first place was because it challenged the system in a way and poked fun at things TV shows and specifically animated shows did not at that time, including certain races. It is becoming more and more rare to find a show that does not feel restrained when it comes to humor and self-awareness.
One of my favorite shows on Netflix is "Big Mouth", which has John Mulaney as the voice of the main character. It is a very hard R-take on puberty that pulls absolutely no punches, a reminder of what comedy looked like before this "new age". Dave Chappelle's "Chappelle Show" is widely regarded as one of the funniest programs to ever hit the air, and it is a shame to know that half of those jokes would likely have a harder time going through the FCC today than ever.
The white supremacist skit, the R. Kelly skit, the racial draft skit, and even the famous Tyrone Biggums crack addict skit would be met with some kind of controversy today. The films that are released today that are not straight-up comedies but implement humor in them, such as 2017's "Get Out" and even a few of the Marvel films like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Ant Man", are better at doing comedy than most modern comedies.
Many of the films today just feel overly manufactured and forced, as if there is potential for greatness there, but the studio is just being restrictive.
Today, I feel that many people are finding any situation to complain about instead of simply enjoying things. Everything does not always have to be life or death. The world is ever evolving, but whereas comedy became even more clever and pushed more boundaries as the times changed. Instead, it feels as if it is going backward instead of continuing to evolve.
Stand-up comedians may not be able to let loose onstage anymore. They may have to cut around the apple instead of just going in. The world has never been as squeaky clean as some make it out to be, and pop culture needs to exploit that more. "Saturday Night Live" does that great occasionally.
I love watching people who make me laugh and take my mind off of the realities of the world for an hour or two. But currently, the comedy of the past few years has me thinking about the sad reality of where comedy is headed as opposed to the humor.
