1 The Thin Black Line Black comedy and its descent from subversive comic provocation to mainstream inglorious offence By Chris Beck A thesis submitted for the Master of Arts (Research) Swinburne University 2017 1 2 ABSTRACT This thesis examines whether black comedy still lampoons influential institutions and probes social mores with sharp satire and strong language or simply aims to offend for its own sake. It questions whether the freedom of speech that comedians in the 1960s advocated to defend their social and political subversion is now assumed, as a right, by comedians for the less edifying practice of humiliating people and targeting the vulnerable. Black comedy in the 1960s questioned our attitudes to politics, religious power, and sexuality. While black comedy In the 21st Century addresses complex issues of social importance it tends to do so through humiliation, deception and mockery. Black comedy is inspired by politics, protest, provocation and the broad array of experiences that could be described as the human condition. The Thin Black Line explores the intersections between social acceptability and social outrage. This study concentrates on prolific exponents of black comedy and treats the terms dark and black comedy as interchangeable. This thesis argues the political agitation that characterised much of dark comedy in the 1960s and 1970s has been largely replaced in the 21st Century by what might be termed superficial abuse, in that the comedy does not seek to right perceived injustices or expose prejudice, but aims to do little more than cause offence. The common element in the comedy being examined is that it created controversy by taking on taboo subjects, including child abuse and the sensitivity of minorities, such as people with a disability and various religions. The changing motivations behind the championing of free speech are illustrated by the comedians’ work, the reaction to it and the period of time the comedy was created. The ability of later generations of comedians to push that ‘black’ line further owes much to dark comedy originators, Lenny Bruce’s fight for free speech and resistance of police intimidation in the 1960s and George Carlin Supreme Court challenges in the 1970s. This thesis proposes that many 21st Century comedians are using freedom of speech to condone abuse and prejudice. 2 3 By comparing the lives, work and times of Bruce and Carlin to comedians in their wake, who also caused outrage, this thesis considers whether black comedy is still iconoclastic or has become little more than a bully’s playground. DECLARATION: The thesis [examinable outcome] contains no material which has been accepted for the award from any other degree or diploma, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. To the best of my knowledge the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; and where the work is based on joint research or publications, discloses the relative contributions of the respective workers or authors. Signed Chris Beck METHODOLOGY: This thesis uses a journalistic method. Journalism at its purist is committed to reporting the truth. Journalism has a pragmatic and realist view of situations and events to analyse. Journalists’ main pursuit is to inform. Although recent history has the disgruntled such as Donald Trump describing news stories that sully his image as ‘fake news’, the research that informs this thesis has not been attacked for its truthfulness. There is the issue of ‘what is truth’ but that is a problem in any form of method that is not mathematically or scientifically based and even then truth can be questioned. This thesis compares comedy practice that triggered social repercussions over a timeline of 50-60 years. Tolerance in society and its institutions such as the Church is apprised through the evolvement of dark comedy, and the response it generated. Comedians from the 1960s who created controversy are compared with controversial comedians that succeeded them. 3 4 Through a journalistic method I access a wide range of published primary and secondary source material in journals, biographies and articles, which was written contemporaneously about the protagonists and their work. This thesis recognises that journalists play an important early role in recording historical events, which over time can be interpreted in new ways and are inevitably seen through the prism of contemporary values and expectations. For example, in the 1960s Journalists wrote about Lenny Bruce’s arrests. Those reports are invaluable as they recorded both the basic facts of what occurred and the commentary of the protagonists, including Bruce himself. In assessing material written about the protagonists, I have sought to acknowledge and understand the biases of those who recorded and interpreted the events. In many cases the biases and sympathies are transparent. In others, less so. In a topic as rich as this, and which deals with contested and controversial ideas, understanding and navigating bias is important. The journalistic method is useful in this regard as this is precisely what journalism, at its best, seeks to do in order to get close to the truth. When done well, journalism is clear and concise in order to accurately describe and analyse. At its core good journalism is about engendering greater knowledge and understanding. In adopting a journalistic methodology the challenge for this thesis is to do likewise and to clearly set out the case with the mission to inform, not to obscure events or ideas in arcane theoretical concepts and literature. All comedy has humour, but not all humour is comedy. Humour is the much broader category of anything that may make us laugh, often unintentional, such as a friend sneezing and expelling his false teeth across the room. Comedy is professional entertainment of jokes and sketches, mainly pre-conceived and intended to make people laugh (Mankoff, R. 2014). This thesis refers to the jokes and material under discussion as comedy, as opposed to humour (apart from direct quotes from references) because it is evaluating the work of comedians in their professional practice. The Thin Black Line, the title of the thesis, is a common phrase to pronounce what is socially tolerable with commentary or actions. “The line was crossed” is an 4 5 everyday rebuke to something said or written that offends or humiliates a person, group or institution. The comedians I investigate have all ‘crossed the line’. The focus is on professional comedians who have publicly offended, the means of offence and the groups or individuals who took offence and why. To investigate black comedy and its level of public influence, it is important to concentrate on comedy that created controversy and the ‘who, why, when and how’ it offended – the times, the comedians and their motivations. Although there are many journals that explore aspects of black comedy, there appears to be none that solely address this thesis hypothesis. My approach includes character assessment derived from the comedians’ influences, upbringing and the times of their formative years. For example Bill Hicks was raised in a small town in the 1970s by religious parents. He was a loner who largely rejected his parent’s views as a teenager and locked himself in his room for large periods. He idolised the choleric political satirist Richard Pryor and social satirist Woody Allen who were both productive in the 1960s and 1970s. Hicks went on to perform bilious, anti-authoritarian routines about advertising, personal rights and politics. Academic literature shaped the approach this thesis takes to content analysis. Through the study of journals and books that helped explain the comedians, and the areas they lampooned including religion and race, and their relationship with freedom of speech and political correctness, including: The Haunted Smile The Story of Jewish Comedians in America, Epstein, L. 2002, Public Affairs; which wrote about Bruce and Jews of his generation caught between an American and a Jewish identity, uncomfortable and confused about their role. This concern over identity included how he felt about his role as a comedian – freedom fighter, social commentator, iconoclast or comic? This study uses academic literature as well as contemporaneous print, online and video media including The New York Times, The Guardian and The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, regarded as quality press. These media outlets have reputations for taking responsibility for the accuracy of their profiles, reviews and comments. Biographical and autobiographical works from comedians Lenny Bruce, George 5 6 Carlin, Chris Morris and Bill Hicks and the comic material created by the protagonists emphasise the divide between the catalysts of dark comedy and current comedians. The work of high-profile comedians who caused controversy and offence is explored in context with the world they live in to understand changes in the intent of dark comedy. The Trials of Lenny Bruce (2003) details Lenny Bruce’s arrests and conviction in the 1960s relating to his derisive satire about officialdom and religious figures such as the Pope. The text positions him as an inspiration to comedians and progressives in a decade of conservative politics and social change. Literature about Bruce contextualised his radical philosophy, religious satire and struggle for freedom of speech. In 2010, in a time of heightened world terrorism and a lighter approach to online and print media, creators of the animated series South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, received death threats over their crude comedic depiction of Islam. The popularity of South Park, described as conservative in the text, South Park Conservatives, The Revolt against Liberal Media Bias (2015), is an important aspect of this study. The South Park series, employed tragedy and humiliation to comic effect in controversial episodes lampooning religious institutions and individuals, while claiming a vulgar populist television show, Springer, that arbitrarily humiliated vulnerable people, as a major influence on them as College students.