The E=mc2 Collaboration: Asking Questions about Louis CK
For this journal, we were given a special, almost top-secret assignment: ask 20 questions about an assigned fellow E=mc2 project. Mine was Noah Cohen-Greenberg's project about Louis CK, a renowned comedian who has released several shows and had a movie coming out called "I Love You, Daddy". However, during this week of writing questions, five women had come forward about Louis CK and admitted that he had sexually harassed them in the past; my deepest condolences to the person who has their whole project centered around this man.
So, I’m just going to be straight about it. I don’t find Louis CK funny at all. Like at all. When he talks about his children, I find it adorable and somewhat funny, but other than that, I think his excessive use of masturbation jokes and comments on races is borderline offensive. I appreciate that he pushes boundaries and makes us question our values and behavior as a society (he isn’t one to sugarcoat), but while I was watching Hilarious and the beginning of 2017, I felt like he had to insult every single group in order to make no group feel left out. African Americans were mad fun of, whites were made fun of, the Chinese were made fun of, etc. And in light of the recent news on his behavior, I don’t personally like his character either.
However, I think I understand why I was picked to analyze this project. I’ve always been the type of person to squirm in my seat whenever sexual topics get mentioned, and I rarely, if ever, say a cuss word. I’m fine with other people cussing and speaking about everything underneath the sun, as long as I am not expected to. So when I opened up Noah’s show outline and saw pages upon pages of some of the dirtiest jokes I have ever heard, I sighed. Of course. Let’s read through a high school boy’s analysis of masturbation and sex jokes. And when I watched Hilarious, I grimaced numerous times, but I made it through. Yet I, according to my own project, am trying to understand people and their beliefs, so I should try and keep an open mind; this was almost the ultimate test of that. I needed to understand why this topic, why this person.
Bott told me to be critical, to provoke through my questions. I dislike provoking other people, especially about their passions, because their passions often are entwined with their ideals and beliefs. When you provoke someone on topics like these, you basically attack their character. I'm fine with defending my own beliefs and character (“self-defense”), but I hate the heightened tension and rush of heat that comes with the opposite. So...hopefully these questions are a nice in-between.
Questions:
General Questions:
Where is the line drawn in humor? Is there a different line for different comedians?
How do comedians handle insulting or making fun of several groups of people? What separates their jokes from a common schoolyard insult or imitation?
Does society need dark humor in order to get through tough times? Is dark humor a coping mechanism?
Do comedians have a target audience, or do they try to appeal to as many people as they can? What methods might they use to keep the most people interested? For example, Louis CK tells jokes about really inappropriate topics, but then tells jokes about his life as a father of two young girls; both of these may have very different audiences.
How much profanity is okay within a show? Does this limit a comedian’s audience when he uses a lot of cuss words, and is it ethically right to try and censor the comedian? Will limiting profanity detract from the “truth” of the performance?
How do comedians influence public opinion about issues? In the SNL programs, the Will Ferrell sketch about George Bush, and Louis CK’s commentary on white privilege, controversial topics were discussed, and one side was generally favored. Does this create a subconscious leaning toward that side due to the other side of the argument being made fun of?
Do you believe that someone can be “trained” to be funny, or is it something that naturally arises as one grows up? A way to test this is to give several different people the same story/prompt and ask them to embellish it and make it funny; there are numerous inaccuracies with this, but it would be an interesting study.
Questions on Louis CK:
How will the recent news on Louis CK affect his career? Will this be the end of everything, especially with numerous associates media companies, including FX, cutting all ties?
Why do you think that these recent allegations won’t impact your question, given that you are studying Louis CK? Part of what makes him funny to some is how he can joke about these topics, but won’t he be viewed differently now that the public knows that there is a darker past behind those jokes?
Is someone’s character and personality traits important to how funny they are? Are we more likely to laugh at someone who we perceive to be a “good” person or a “bad” person?
How has his role as a father influenced his jokes and his perspective? Does the audience connect with him more when he talks about his children/family?
Are the best jokes personal stories or a hypothetical stories? Or does it depend?
Questions on the October SDA:
Why would men prefer other men telling jokes? Is it due to being able to relate on a deeper level or just feeling uncomfortable with a woman joking about them? Could you do a survey of women and men in GHS on this idea?
What do female comedians have to do in order to rise in the comedy world (act a certain way, dress a certain way, have certain restrictions, etc.)? How is this different than men?
What would be the best method of dealing with the inherent sexism in comedy? In one interview that I read about a female comedian, she said that she hated being asked what it’s like being a woman in comedy because it always has the same answer and the same public response: (http://www.jenkirkman.com/jens-blog/definitive-guide-of-how-not-to-interview)
The Future:
How is this project going to be sustained? What else are you going to do for the next six months until the symposium? Based upon the news, no new work will be coming from Louis CK for a while or possibly forever.
How can you incorporate more of your own voice into future SDAs and journals? I realize that a lot of your journals are analysis and your own questions/theories, but I feel like most are missing something. I liked your Silverman journal because it showed you; it wasn’t just a paragraph about his newest joke.
How are you going to appeal to people who don’t have find Louis CK funny at all? Are you going to ignore them and follow Louis CK’s format, or are you going to tailor your structure to your eventual audience?
Is it possible to interview stand-up comedians in the local area or your family friend who used to be a stand-up comedian?
Can this project be expanded to a greater societal idea, like the need for dark humor in society, and Louis CK can be the main case study? Or will you purely stay with the Louis CK analysis?
Bonus Question: Why will you not update your website? I’m sure everyone in Emc2 would love to be able to read everything else that you have written/done.
