Is it just me or do most of today's new comedians rely on swearing like drunken sailors as a way for getting laughs? Now, I'm no prude;I enjoy listening to George Carlin, Richard Pryor and similar comedians who occasionally drop the F bomb. But with today's comics, the majority of their routines are crammed with vulgar,course language. It's as if the use of foul language nowadays is the routine itself.
One time while I was listening to Comcast Rhapsody Radio, there was a female comedian who dropped the F bomb( as well as the MF bomb) a number of times. I remember thinking," Is this really necessary? " I know if I ever see her name again in the "now playing" window, I'll immediately switch to another performer. She's simply too crude, too base and much too reliant on toilet humor for my tastes. Oh,I also don't think she's very funny either. However, if your idea of gut busting comedy is someone swearing endlessly; then she's the comedian for you. But not for me.
Now you're probably thinking," I bet Joe wouldn't mind if the comedian using vulgar language was a man." You know, the old double standard. Well you couldn't be more wrong. I don't care if the comic is a man or a woman; a comedy routine that relys on a stream of swear words to get laughs becomes tedious after a while, it's as if they have nothing funny to say, so vulgarity is used in place of actual wit.
Hell, it's even in video games you can download online. My friend Larry and I were in the computer room in his house while my 14 year old nephew Joe was there downloading a video game on his computer. As Larry and I were talking we heard a gruff military voice bark," Are you ready, motherf***er?" He quickly turned to his son saying," Joseph, turn it off." Larry and I couldn't believe a video game contained that kind of language. Especially a game young kids can gain access to.
Look, I employ swear words into my vocabulary at times. I'd be kidding you(and myself) if I said otherwise. But if I did that all the time nonstop , I would wonder, really wonder, about my intelligence. And while some people see the use of foul language as just words, in reality it's a lazy, easy way to communicate. It takes no effort to blurt out offensive four letter words. Maybe today's new breed of comics should go back to the old school of comedy which chooses substance over shock value.
Don't get me wrong, shock value can be funny. But used over and over again,the audience becomes inured to this and the comedian has to seek out new ways to shock and offend them. It's known as pushing the envelope. However, don't you think that these days we've pushed the envelope far enough?
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