Kai Hanno Schwind by Chelsea Clinton (Bromwich 2017). Though the common thread of criticism was directed at the hitherto allegedly unbroken rule within American politics and media that children of presidents ‘should be off limits’ (ibid) it points to a larger recurring debate within Western mainstream media: how appropriate is the use of children as topics in the discourse of comedy entertainment and how should it be done best?

The increasing desire to protect children from the dangers and ambiguities inherent in society corresponds with the invention of childhood as ‘My four year old a socio-cultural concept which some research- ers locate at the beginning of the nineteenth is an asshole’: century (Ariès 1962). The advent of the middle Considering ethical classes and the development of schools helped to ‘differentiate children from adolescents and challenges of adolescents from adults’ (ibid: 128). After the rise of the mass media throughout the twenti- children as the eth century scholars have been analysing efforts butt of jokes in by parents and authorities to mitigate negative effects on children (see, for instance, Maccoby contemporary 1954; Barcus 1969; McLeod et al. 1982).

comedy and satire Because humour and comedy depend on socio- cultural context they reflect the moral and Drawing from relevant theory in humour ethical boundaries these humorous discourses research and media studies, this paper analy- operate in at various times. Hence, what is ses the representation of children and minors important is a thorough reflection of the ethi- in comedy, in particular within darker forms of cal climate by those producing humour and humour and satire. By focusing on two recent comedy. After all, as Blackburn (2001: 5) has cases – an excerpt of a stand-up routine by argued, ‘the satirist and cartoonist, as well as comedian Louis CK and a controversial sketch the artist and novelist, comment upon and criti- featured at the Oscar ceremony in 2016 hosted cize the prevailing climate just as those who get by Chris Rock – it explores to what extent the known as philosophers’. use of children and minors as part of disparag- ing humour discourses present moral and ethi- The ethics of humour and satire are a constant cal challenges and possibly violations. It argues subject of public debate as well as academic for a more nuanced discussion by proposing a research across various disciplines. However, categorisation of the humour and comedy tar- the use of children and minors in comedy and geting children and minors and by arguing for satire has rarely been the focus of scientific individual meta-ethical analyses of the media- research – a gap this paper hopes to contribute tion of these cases. to in closing. By analysing specific cases and dis- cussing relevant theory of the inter-disciplinary Keywords: comedy and ethics, satire, taboo field of humour studies and media studies, I comedy, disparaging humour, children, stand- up comedy argue for a refined and nuanced discussion of the ethical ramifications of the utilisation of Introduction children and minors in comedy, both as subjects When comedian Katie Rich, a regular staff mem- and participants. ber of popular television sketch show format Saturday Night Live (NBC 1975-present) issued Hence, a central question this paper will address a tweet about Barron Trump, Donald Trump’s is: how can the democratic necessity of being youngest son (aged ten at the time), contro- able to generate humour and satire from all versy ensued (Itzkoff 2017). The tweet read: realms and discourses of society be reconciled ‘Barron will be this country’s first homeschool with an equally relevant concern to protect its shooter’ (Rich 2017) and resulted in a tempo- most vulnerable members? First, though, I will rary suspension by Rich from the show and a introduce the relevant psycho-social dynamics variety of publicised criticism, among others of humour as a cultural phenomenon.

52 Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 PAPER On the meaning of humour of humour, the comedian or joke-teller is not Humour as a communicative tool and socio-cul- in control of its audience anymore. Inevitably, tural substance permeates almost every aspect this makes mediated humour a ‘team-effort’ of the society we live in. As Gournelos and where writers, directors, editors and, to a cer- Greene assert, ‘humor is … a highly complex tain extent also, critics are equally responsible rhetorical, social, and political tool. Moreover, for the dissemination and possible ethical con- we can never be quite certain who is laughing, sequences of humour as are the comedic per- how they’re laughing, or why they’re laughing formers themselves. …’ (italics in original) (2011: xviii). However, over centuries of academic research, within Hence, what has to be addressed in the conclu- the interdisciplinary field of humour stud- sion to this analysis are two main questions: ies, three dominant theories of humour have should there be an ethical code of conduct emerged: incongruity, superiority and relief within the industry of comedy production or, theory. In brief, the incongruity theory claims conversely, is its absence a prerequisite for that humour arises when a built-up expecta- humour and comedy to work in the first place? PAPER tion is resolved with a surprise turn, whereas the superiority theory connects the occurrence On children, humour and mockery of humour with social hierarchy and the dis- Before focusing on the cases and the ensuing mantling of authority (laughing up or down). ethical dilemmas, it seems useful to map out The relief theory renders humour as a tool and how the relationship of children and humour method to enable a discourse to help us cope has been explored in academic research. Vari- with all kinds of fears and desires, from the ous disciplines, chiefly social-psychology and unease attached to bodily functions to more linguistics, have been focusing on the dynam- profound experiences such as birth and death. ics of children and humour in terms of levels of comprehension and personal development, Without exploring all theories in more detail, it meaning an enquiry of what types of humour is important to note that they may overlap and make infants laugh. Hurley et al. (2011: 242) in many cases occur simultaneously when we try state that children laugh at ‘deformity and the to analyse certain jokes or humorous discours- grotesque’ and stress the importance of humor- es. In the specific cases of this paper, aspects ous visual stimuli: ‘Well before an infant can get of superiority and relief theory dominate the a verbal joke she may exhibit a delight almost analysis. In particular, the latter, which is also amounting to an addiction for the simple game described as catharsis theory, addresses the of peek-a-boo, in which an adult or other child approaches to joking with more taboo-laden briefly hides behind an occlude, and then is subjects: ‘… in catharsis theory, humor comes suddenly revealed – “Peak-a-boo!” – to peals of from a momentary eruption of relief of psycho- laughter’ (ibid: 220). logical and/or social tension (e.g., laughing dur- ing a funeral or at a faux pas)’ (Gournelos and Of specific relevance for our approach are Greene 2011: xviii). Humour and comedy involv- studies examining the psycho-social effects of ing vulnerable members of society, in particu- humour and laughter experienced by infants. In lar children, causes anxieties reflected in relief his study on ‘Laughter and ridicule’, Michael Bil- and superiority theories. However, for our pur- lig (2005) explores the dynamics of ‘corrective poses, it is not only important to be aware of mockery’ as an important part of every child’s how different types of humour work, but also socialisation: ‘There is the overt message of the to reflect on what they actually accomplish. adult, laying down the rules. Then there is the covert teaching that indicates how the adult Here, it is vital to differentiate between world of rules can be disrupted’ (ibid: 204). Psy- humour used in every-day social interaction chologists, such as Johnson and Marvis (1997), and humour in its mediated form – comedy on conducted studies with children in their case stage, television or online. The dissemination of study on ‘Little Ari’, in which they showed that humour through media, especially social media, earliest incidents of verbal humour occurred in seriously complicates analyses and negotiations the form of linguistic mistakes. When Ari called over the meaning of a joke, ‘because mediated things by the wrong name, his parents laughed, humor is not firmly located in one context any- which in turn informed Ari of his errors. Anoth- more, making mediated jokes even more poly- er, more ‘classical’ example, stems from the semic and ambiguous’ (Kuipers 2008: 388). With studies of Sigmund Freud (1990 [1909]). Here, regards to our topic, ‘context’ also refers to an Freud describes the embarrassed reactions of often-cited mantra within the world of comedy ‘Little Hans’ towards the flirtatious attempts of – ‘know your audience’. Through the mediation a little girl and the amusement this causes to

PAPER Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 53 Kai Hanno Schwind Hans’ parents. The disciplinary laughter works Case 1: Louis CK stand-up routine in two ways: Hans learns what is appropriate American writer, actor, director and stand- behaviour in public as well as that inappropri- up comedian Louis CK reigns among the most ate behaviour can be socially funny. prolific and unique voices in contemporary comedy. After decades of experimenting with What these approaches have in common is the different styles and types of comedy, Louis CK hypothesis that embarrassment and ridicule play created a distinct type of comedic performance an important part in an infant’s development, in which the ambiguous play with taboo-sub- that a child learns about ethical frameworks, jects and the use of (allegedly) personal mate- moral norms and social etiquette through ‘mild rial based on his private life constitute the forms of punishment’ such as being laughed at. main threads of his humour. As a recurring The conclusion, then, is that this serves as an theme, his two daughters feature in his stand- important aspect of every child’s socialisation, up routines, often in outrageous and reveal-all as long as ‘the mockery was enacted with dis- segments that have continually transgressed plays of delight to ensure that the child, who boundaries of what was deemed acceptable was being mocked, was not being excluded within stand-up comedy. A striking example from joining in the laughter’ (Billig 2005: 204) . of the use of his children is this excerpt, a rou- tine from his HBO special Shameless (2007). The What cannot be underestimated, however, and section about his younger daughter is approxi- what makes these claims problematic, is the mately five minutes long and consists of an out- social hierarchy and maldistribution of power rageous description of the little girl’s character inherent to these dynamics. In particular, if and demeanour. Louis CK delivers the routine children and minors are subjected to an unde- in a ‘dead-pan’, mostly matter-of-fact manner. fined audience in mass and/or social media, The bit is structured into four different ‘anec- this imbalance in power is disproportionately dotes’, which serve as accumulative steps, each enhanced because mediated exposure is sig- addressing aspects of disparaging and humiliat- nificantly different from (parental) face-to-face ing humour towards his child: interaction. As a consequence, various types of disparaging humour face constant criticism by Step 1 – abstraction: The other kid we have, practitioners and audiences alike. As Hurley et she is a girl, she is four … she’s also a fuck- al. argue: ing asshole (audience laughter) … it’s true man, I’m serious. I say this with no remorse. In effective humor you want the butts of Fucking asshole, she’s a douchebag (audi- your jokes to be approximately equal in ence laughter) … she is… fucking jerk. The cleverness to the audience – there’s no other day I’m like, we’re like trying to leave, mirth in pointing out the ‘stupidity’ of (real) put your shoes on, please, put your shoes idiots, or infants, or cows, for instance. This on, put your shoes on. How many times can is why moron jokes lose their allure once you say that to someone before you just childhood is over (2011: 267). wanna kick them right in the fucking face (audience laughter)? Seriously, if you’re Still, the processes of joke negotiations are with a group of people that are trying to go bound by the contexts of their humorous dis- somewhere and you can’t go, you can’t go, courses and it seems too short a deduction to because a member of your party just refuses simply declare children and minors a thematic to put their shoes on (audience laughter), ‘no go area’ for humour, comedy and satire. that person is a fucking asshole, ok? (audi- Hence, the following discussion of cases will ence laughter). You don’t do that to peo- hopefully enlighten the debate and specify the ple. Imagine you’re with a group pf people: argument. ‘Hey, we can’t go’. ‘Why?’ ‘cause fucking Bill won’t put his shoes on, he just won’t Laughing at children – the cases put ’em on!’ (audience laughter). ‘Fuck, Bill The following cases chosen stem from various what’s your problem?’ ‘I don’t wanna put realms of mass media, more specifically stand- ’em on!’ (audience laughter), ‘Fuck you!’ up comedy and sketch comedy. What they have in common is that they utilise children and In Step 1 Louis CK uses inter-familial abstrac- young adults as targets of comedy, as ‘butts of tion to generate humour. By transferring the their jokes’. As I am going to show, they do so irrational childish behaviour of not wanting to from different perspectives, ideological points put your shoes on onto a grown man (Bill), the of departure and, ultimately, with different absurdity of the situation and frustrated reac- results. tion of the parent are successfully transformed

54 Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 PAPER into comedy. At the same time, this opening we went to an ice-cream place … and every- serves as a striking introduction to the little body at the ice-cream place was giving me, girl’s stubborn character. like, a dirty look. And I realise: they think I hit her! And she has a black eye and that’s Step 2 – equalisation: The fucking kid sucks, why I’m taking her to the ice-cream, that’s seriously. The other day, I walk into the what they think (audience laughter). And I kitchen. She’s talking to my wife, she says: was so insulted, I wanted to say: ‘Hey, fuck ‘Mum, I saw a doggy today!’ and I’m like all of ya, ok? She’s this big. You think if I ‘Really? Where did you see a doggy?’ and hit her she’d have a black eye? (audience she’s like: ‘I’m telling mum and not you!’ laughter). She’d be fucking decimated, (audience laughter). I’m like: ‘Hey, fuck you, there’d be nothing there. Look at this shit. I’m just asking to be nice anyway’ (audi- I would ruin her head with one punch, eas- ence laughter). ‘You think I actually give a ily (audience laughter). She has no defen- shit about a dog you saw? (audience laugh- sive skills, she fucking sucks, she’ll be like ter). ‘Like that was gonna be an awesome (mimes friendly smiling child face), smiling PAPER story that you saw a fucking dog!’ (audience at me (mimes punching the kid) (audience laughter). ‘Who gives a shit?’ ’I’ve got better laughter) … just a dent, like a fucking bomb stories than you, I have an interesting life. went off’ (audience laughter) … I’m on fucking television. I won an Emmy. You don’t ask me what fucking happened to Here, Louis CK plays with the audience’s anxiety me today, you little bitch!’ (audience laugh- of listening to a first-hand account of domes- ter, applause) … (laughs) No, I didn’t say tic child abuse and the taboos attached to that to her, obviously. But that’s the thing violence against children. The comedy ensues nobody ever calls her on her bullshit (audi- through exaggeration and the unexpected ence laughter). That’s how she got to be an turn of his reaction to the shocked onlookers asshole in the first place (audience laughter) (‘And I realise: they think I hit her’) by the inap- … Nobody just goes: ‘Ah, fuck you, you don’t propriate and incongruent double-take reply ‘I know!’ (audience laughter). I’d love to be was so insulted’ and ‘You think if I hit her she’d just for one day, to be fucking, totally…’Oh, have a black eye?’. Again, he sets the anecdote you drew a dog? Let me see this … that’s not up with the de-escalating disclaimer: ‘I would a ... shitting me? … that’s a scribble, that’s never fucking hurt her’ though with a more nothing. That’s not even a … anything. ambiguous spin than before by adding ‘but I Show me a dog that looks like that I’ll give wanna, I do’. In the final part of the routine, you a thousand dollars, seriously’ (audience Louis CK then addresses the actual issue of his laughter) … comedy – parental overstraining – by injecting a further taboo subject: In Step 2, Louis CK equalises childish and adult behaviour and contextualises inevitable ‘short- Step 4 – taboo: children and sexuality: I don’t comings’ of infants and children by measuring know, I love my daughter, but people really them against grown-up standards. The accumu- don’t get what it’s like with a kid full-time. lation of insults presented like a lot of bottled You know, we parents make you love our up parental frustration is broken by a meta- kids, because we dress them up and take ‘em comment (‘No, I didn’t say that to her, obvi- out, and you look at them and go ‘awww, ously’), offering a first disclaimer that all of his nice’, but you don’t know what she’s like reactions are, in fact, made up for comic pur- when she comes home, and the dress comes poses. This is important, since Louis CK is about off, and she rubs her ass in mud, she’s fuck- to enter the next area of taboo. ing gross, she won’t fucking take a bath, like, once you have a baby, you can’t force Step 3 – taboo: children and violence: The the kid … fuck her, let her sleep in her other day I was just like, dreaming about clothes, not dealing with it tonight. Her hair fucking kicking (audience laughter) … like, gets clumpy. She stinks. Sometimes it’s like, kicking her out of the window … you know, fucking, uurgh (mimes turning away in dis- just fucking ‘pfooom’ (audience laughter). I gust) … rancid, stinky, fucking kid. She fuck- would never fucking hurt her, but I wanna, ing … in front of people, she like scratches I do, you know (audience laughter) … One her asshole in front of people, like fucking day my daughter had a black eye, because deep asshole scratching (audience laughter) she walked into a door, because she’s stupid … in the fucking panties, and then she smells (audience laughter) … and, uhm, she had a her finger (audience laughter), that’s the little black eye, and I took her to ice-cream, kind of person I’m talking about. She’s dis-

PAPER Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 55 Kai Hanno Schwind gusting (audience laughter and applause). and veracity. Despite never using their actual I come home and she’s just laying there on names, we assume that his daughters exist and the carpet with just, spread eagle naked and are forced to negotiate our unease with the she’s just stretching her vagina open going fact that the anecdotes presented are shared ‘arrrgh’ (audience laughter) … fucking, without their consent. What becomes clear holding it open and I’m like ‘fuck’ (mimes from studying Louie CK’s stand-up comedy is jump scare) … shit … ok … wow … that’s that his humour originates to a large extent … wow (audience laughter) … don’t react … at the intersection of the offensiveness of his hey, I can’t go ‘ahhhhh’ (screams and mimes material with the ambiguity of his stage per- pointing in shock), that would fuck her up sona. Constantly meandering back and forth (audience laughter) so I go ‘Hey, hello, hi, between straight-forward genuine punchlines how are you?’ … ‘how was school?’…’ok’ … and a subversive meta-perspective on his own ‘aarrrrrgh’ (mimes daughter screaming) … comedy we remain unsure of where his humour (audience laughter) … actually originates. As a consequence, we are faced with fictitious versions of his daughters What makes this bit controversial is the repug- that are utilised to convey CK’s distinct humour nant and sexually explicit portrayal of the of an overwhelmed and exhausted parent. child’s body and inappropriate behaviour Here, children are not really harmed, but have (stretching her vagina). Another transgression to be fictionally harmed for the sake of his CK plays with and generates humour from is comedic trajectory to work. Still, as Willis (2009) the indiscreet exposition of his daughter’s pri- points out, in comedy this artistic licence comes vate life. This is not how children are usually with the disclaimer that, talked about by adults – neither in real life nor in fiction. At this point, when his performance … being a comic figure with a licence does gets more and more exaggerated (‘ahhh’ and not place people outside of social life or ‘aaarrrrgh’) and the ‘shtick’ of transgression mean that comic talk has no social conse- and inappropriate exposure has been recog- quences. … This ambivalence of the comic nised and registered with the audience, Louis figure is also paralleled, of course, in the CK ends on a surprisingly thoughtful punchline: material offered (humour), which is by design ambiguous. Thus, the comic fig- I don’t know what the fuck to do about it ure can use any or all of these factors as either. She does it all the time and I can’t … an excuse should jokes cause offence, as, I don’t wanna stop her … cause you know indeed, we all can when taking on the role what? She’s happy! That’s the happiest I of teller: ‘It was only a joke’ (ibid: 137). have ever seen any person, in my entire life. That’s a fucking human being, at their hap- To illustrate a converse approach in utilising piest, just ‘aaarghh’, that’s what we all wish children in comedy and its ethical consequence, we could do. We should all be doing that, I will now introduce a second case which fea- but … we gotta fucking stop it, cause she’ll tures children as actual performers. be fucking homeless if she doesn’t cut this shit (audience laughter). Case 2: Chris Rock sketch at the Oscars In 2016, comedian Chris Rock hosted the Despite the outrage, disgust and shock of his 88th Academy Awards ceremony. That year, daughter’s behaviour, Louis CK, the father, rec- the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci- ognises the freedom of mind and body and lack ences had been criticised and ridiculed for its of impulse control as something positive, as a lack of diversity in nominating Afro-American value to strive for and, thus, ultimately as some- actors (for instance, through the hashtag cam- thing that needs to be protected. As such, his paign #OscarsSoWhite). Black comedian Rock (over)sharing of outrageous and taboo-break- addressed the controversy and boycott by a ing anecdotes becomes an act of solidarity with variety of (black) actors in his opening mono- both parents of children. The routine can be logue, but it was a short sketch later in the read as a plea for uninhibited and outrageous show which caused significant offense and crit- behaviour which, though frowned upon, is ulti- icism in the aftermath of the broadcast. First, mately liberating. Chris Rock made a comment about the Acad- emy’s legal advisors. He said: The question remains, however, whether Louis CK’s use of his daughters in his comedy rou- The result of tonight’s Academy Awards tines is ethical in the sense that his naturalistic have been tabulated by the accountant performance instigates a claim for authenticity firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. They

56 Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 PAPER sent us their most dedicated, accurate and for their daughter to participate as part of the hard-working representatives. I want you Oscars telecast (Tseng 2016; Kovvali 2016). The to please welcome Ming Zhu, Bao Ling and insufficient preparation and pre-production, on David Moskowitz… top of the fact that the children merely had a ‘walk-on’ part in silly costumes and no speaking Three Asian children, dressed as ‘mini-lawyers’ lines, render their use in the sketch as exploitive with suits, glasses and briefcases entered the and ethically problematic. In her discussion of stage to laughter and applause from the audi- the use of child actors for controversial theatre ence. Their appearance was the ‘punch-line’ plays, Ott (2010: 19) argues: to the sketch, drawing humour from the racist stereotype that Asian (and Jewish) people ‘are The inclusion of children may provide an good at maths and business’. Anticipating and accurate reflection of the world and may commenting on the controversial nature of the inspire the audience to analyse their actions joke, Rock added another punchline: ‘If any- and the effects that they are having on the body’s upset about that joke, just tweet about rest of society. On the other hand, some PAPER it on your phone – that was also made by these productions use the child on stage as a kids.’ token shock element: manipulating the audience into an unearned, strong emo- In effect, the first part of the sketch, exploiting tional response. In this case, however, it is a cultural-ethnic stereotype, was supposed to not only the thematic context (comment- serve as a ‘red herring’ to set up a satirical joke ing racism with racism) that is problematic, criticising the effects of globalisation and the but also the lack of ethical consideration ignorance by the American public towards child towards a vulnerable group of media work- labour in China and other Asian countries. That ers, here: child actors, and their parental said, in this paper I will neither analyse how guardians on behalf of the producers of a the sketch was executed in terms of its comedic globally broadcast show. trajectory nor deconstruct its socio-cultural and racial context. What is important for our pur- Hence, the close analyses of these two cases pose is the fact that the sketch used real chil- show that a more differentiated and nuanced dren as actors which, ultimately, complicates its approach is needed when assessing the ethical execution, reception and meaning. As part of dynamics of the use of children and minors in the critical reaction to the sketch, actress Laura comedy and humour. I will now offer a cate- Kung, the mother of one of the children, pub- gorisation of different types of comedy involv- licly criticised the producer’s ethical approach: ing children and finally suggest a meta-ethical framework in which to evaluate them. [She] had been told that they would be introduced as accountants from Pricewater- Categories of disparaging humour houseCoopers, the firm that tabulates the When children and minors serve as the butt of a Oscars results. She assumed the bit would joke in comedy and satire they do so for differ- be complex, perhaps an artful takedown ent reasons. In order to evaluate the ethical and of the crude stereotype that Asians excel moral consequences of this, at times, contro- at math. Instead, she would soon realize, versial approach to humorous entertainment, I Rock’s elementary joke merely restated it. have identified different perspectives of dispar- … So it came as quite a blow when Rock aging humour towards children and minors and himself, given the chance to provide young propose the following categorisations. actors of color with ‘great parts’, chose to, as actress Constance Wu put it, ‘parade lit- (1) Parental and familial humour: taking the tle kids on stage w/no speaking lines merely cue from the first case analysed for this to be the butt of a racist joke’. Much like study, Louis CK’s routine about his four- Rock’s decision not to participate in the year-old daughter, this type of comedy fea- boycott, the Kungs’ decision to participate tures children as part of anecdotes or other in the bit made moral and practical sense, verbal recollections. The humour originates which makes it all the more heartbreaking from observations of everyday behaviour, (Kovvali 2016). mostly within a family setting and can feature elements of exaggeration as well In the critical assessment of the production as controversial and offensive jokes. The of the piece, it becomes clear that the par- comedic trajectory of parental and familial ents were presented with the entirety of the humour and comedy is often to make claims sketch only after they had signed the contract about and comment on parental shortcom-

PAPER Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 57 Kai Hanno Schwind ings and frustrations. There are differences anisms of ridicule and ostracising known in terms of the material and comic disposi- from ‘schoolyard bullying’, it is important tion by male and female comedians, reflect- to specify that this type of comedy in its ing the confirming or subversive approaches mediated form is not necessarily employed to perspectives and stereotypes of gender with malicious intent by some comedians. in society. In stand-up comedy, this type of For instance, though arguably ethically ill- humour is represented by, among others, advised in the prevailing socio-political cli- Louis CK, Jim Gaffigan, Mary Ellen Hooper, mate at the time, the controversial tweet by Lisa Alvarado and Hugh Fink in the US and, comedian Katie Rich about Barron Trump, Dara O’Briain and Michael McIntyre in the mentioned in the introduction to this UK. paper, did not set out to target and bully Barron Trump as such, but rather used his (2) Humour featuring children as cipher: in public persona as ‘son of Donald Trump’ to this type of humour and comedy, children comment on the controversy surrounding and minors are utilised not to make fun of the new president and his conservative and distinctly childish or infant behaviour or controversial stance on gun regulation in comment on family relations, but to call the United States. attention to other issues and grievances in society. The use of children adds a layer of However, other stand-up comedians have controversy and possible offense, in par- adopted a far more problematic approach ticular if taken literally, often an ambigu- to this type of bullying humour. For exam- ity these types of comedy and satire delib- ple, the case of Canadian comedian Mike erately play with and take into account. Ward and his jokes about Jeremy Gabriel, The sketch using Asian child actors at the a young boy who suffers from a facial dis- Oscars ceremony discussed in this study is figurement and received some media inten- an example for this type of humour (further tion on Canadian television because he complicated by the use of actual children on was invited to sing for the pope. Comedian stage). But also stronger forms of satire can Ward, a few years later, made him the sub- be categorised as such, for instance the con- ject of his television comedy special, jok- troversial cover of French satirical magazine ing about the boy’s alleged terminal illness Charlie Hebdo, in September 2015, which and calling him ugly. The case became con- featured a cartoon drawing of the refugee troversial when the boy, by now 19, went boy Aylan, or rather Alan, Kurdi who had public and claimed that Ward’s jokes had drowned the previous year in the Mediter- resulted in him being bullied at school and ranean Sea (Cavna 2015; Davy and Hackel caused so much distress that he had tried to 2015). The ethical scope of using the boy’s commit suicide. Ward was ordered to pay a image was discussed widely, for instance fine by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal, by Cavna (2015: 1) who, despite claiming which Ward declined and appealed on the that drawing children in peril had almost grounds of free artistic expression (Birell become a metaphorical tool of the trade by 2016; Khandaker 2016). political cartoonists, asked: ‘But how is such an image’s effect changed when the child What the case illustrates is the problem- has a virally published name, and a still- atic ethical negotiations of mediated dis- fresh universal association? … How are the paraging humour towards individual chil- rules of satiric engagement altered when dren used mostly for ‘shock value’, with the child is already a symbol infused with the targets, or victims, clearly voicing their white-hot politics and deeply poignant dis- disapproval of their involvement. As a con- comfort and loss?’ sequence, an imbalance of power ensues, plausibly giving reason for the argument (3) Bullying humour: this type of comedy draw- that, for the most part, this type of humour, ing humour from ‘laughing at children’ ‘or attempted humour, is not only inap- clearly derives from the realm of the so- propriate but also disastrous for the vari- called ‘darker forms of humour’ (Kuipers ous social identities and relations that are 2008; Lockyer and Pickering 2009). Here, drawn into it’ (Lockyer and Pickering 2009: comedians deliberately pick on children and 1). As such, it has significant moral and ethi- minors by focusing on alleged physical or cal ramifications for its butts, targets, its mental short-comings and making fun at perceived ‘other’ – children and minors. their expense. Even though the dynamics of this kind of humour are similar to the mech-

58 Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 PAPER (4) Adultified representations of children: this structured and its structuring inevitably shapes type of comedy draws humour from the the experience of communication’ (ibid: 179). trope of using children as substitutes for This reminds us of the responsibility we have adults and adult behaviour. In particular, towards children and minors as the ‘weak ele- cartoons are making use of this effect, for ment’ in these discourses, for ‘wronged subjects instance in the comic strips such as Peanuts are often silent’ (ibid). At the same time, we (1950-2000), or animated cartoons such have to be aware of the pitfalls of a misunder- as The Simpson (NBC 1989-) or South Park stood advocacy for the vulnerable, in particular (Comedy Central 1997-). The culturally pro- in an ethical climate of over-cautious political jected innocence and naivety of children and correctness. their demeanour is used to convey ‘grown- up truths’ and to comment on adult behav- In conclusion, we can assert that questions of iour. The inclusion of controversial themes offense at an individual level should only par- and language, in particular in South Park, tially inform these debates. Rather, the main has occasionally been perceived as offensive focus should be on where the comedy or acts of PAPER and problematic (Ravenwood 1999; Shea ridicule originate from. What kind of laughter 2010; Poniewozik 2015), but because it does does the disparaging humour induce? Does it not make use of actual children as actors possibly represent, or at least point to, larger (the voice actors are all adults) and presents socio-cultural dynamics which give the ridiculed its comedy in a highly artificial, aesthetic subject, either as group or individual, some and distorted reality, its satirical effects tar- empowerment by eventually making them get society as a whole and not children as ‘own the joke’? vulnerable, disempowered individuals. Questions such as these, then, underline the Conclusion necessity of carefully conducted meta-ethical As I have shown in the early section of this analyses of individual cases, in which also the paper, jokes, in general, represent a process media as ‘conveyors of the message’ have to of negotiation about the line between funny be the subject of constant critical investigation. and offensive (Kuipers 2008: 384). More pre- As a consequence, the entertainment industry cisely: ‘Humour is only possible because certain and media workers at all levels of the creative boundaries, rules and taboos exist in the first process have to be aware of the distinct ethi- place. Their existence, along with the satisfac- cal challenges in working with children and tion and sense of agency gained in overcoming minors. Perhaps ethical codes of conduct and them, are equally vital to why we laugh’ (Lock- concepts of parental mediation across the yer and Pickering 2009: 16) That said, in evalu- entertainment industry and media in general ating the ethical ramifications of comedy and have to be refined and strengthened to protect satire targeting children and minors, it is impor- one of the most vulnerable groups. tant to apply a social critique of its humour. For example, Weaver (2011), in his study of racist References humour, examines ‘the ways in which racist Ariès, Philippe (1962) Centuries of childhood: A social history of family life, New York, Random House humour acts as racist rhetoric, has a commu- nicative impact, is persuasive, and can affect Barcus, F. E. (1969) Parental influence on children’s television view- ing, Television Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 3 pp 63-73 impressions of truth and ambivalence’ (ibid: 1). Billig, Michael (2005) Laughter and ridicule: Towards a social cri- For humour is always equally inclusive as it is tique of humour, London, Sage exclusive and, if it targets vulnerable groups or Birrel, Ian (2016) Edinburgh festival: Nothing funny about come- members of a society, particular attention and dian who drove disabled child to attempt suicide, inews.co.uk, 7 consideration is required. August. Available online at https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/ comics-nothing-funny-driving-disabled-child-attempt-suicide/, accessed on 28 June 2017 Both the categorisations of disparaging Blackburn, Simon (2001) Ethics: A very short introduction, Oxford, humour towards children in general and the University Press discussed cases, in particular, show that there Bromwich, Jonah Engel (2017) Chelsea Clinton and others say: is a fundamental difference between vari- Leave Barron Trump alone, New York Times, 23 January. Avail- ous types of ‘corrective mockery’ (Billig 2005) able online at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/arts/television/ in face-to-face interaction and the variety of barron-trump-tweet-katie-rich-snl.html, accessed on 30 May 2017 approaches of comedy and satire as part of Cavna, Michael (2015) So Charlie Hebdo drew the drowned Syr- ian boy. Was it wrong?, Washington Post, 16 September. Avail- mediated communication. As Madianou (2011), able online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/ in her discussion of media ethics, rightly asserts: wp/2015/09/16/so-charlie-hebdo-drew-the-drowned-syrian-boy- ‘The media are not neutral conveyors of mean- was-it-wrong/?utm_term=.c533cf0840ff, accessed on 27 June 2017 ing: mediated communication is asymmetrically

PAPER Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 59 Kai Hanno Schwind CK, Louis (2007) Shameless, HBO, excerpt: ‘My four-year-old McLeod, J. M., Atkin, C. K. and Chaffee, S. H. (1972) Adolescents, is an asshole.’ Available online at https://www.youtube.com/ parents, and television use: Adolescent self-report measures from watch?v=fOaIFgse4Hw, accessed on 28 May 2017 Maryland and Wisconsin samples, Comstock, G. A. and Rubinstein, E. A. (eds) Television and social behaviour, Vol. 3: Television and Davy, Steven and Hackel, Joyce (2015) Why Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons adolescent aggressiveness, Washington DC, US Government Print- of the drowned Syrian boy are lost in translation, pri.org, 17 Sep- ing Office tember. Available online at https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-17/ why-charlie-hebdos-cartoons-drowned-syrian-boy-are-lost-transla- Ott, Meredith (2010) Child actor ethics – Children in plays with adult tion, accessed on 27 June 2017 themes, Saarbrücken, Lambert Academic Publishing

Freud, Sigmund (1990 [1909]) Analysis of a phobia in a five-year-old Poniewozik, James (2015) How ‘South Park’ perfectly captures our boy (‘Little Hans’), Case Histories 1, Penguin Freud Library No 15, era of outrage, The New York Times, 8 December. Available online Harmondsworth, Penguin at https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/arts/television/south-park- sketches-grander-satire-themes.html, accessed on 29 July 2017. Gournelos, Ted and Greene, Viveca (2011) A decade of dark humor: How comedy, irony, and satire shaped post-9/11 America, Missis- Ravenwood, Emily (1999) The Innocence of children: Effects of vul- sippi, University Press of Mississippi garity in South Park, CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 1.2. Available online at https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1038, Hurley, Matthew M., Dennett, Daniel C. and Adams Jr., Reginald accessed on 29 July 2017 B. (2011) Inside jokes: Using humor to reverse-engineer the mind, Cambridge Massachusetts, MIT Press Rich, Katie (2017) Barron will be this country’s first homeschool shooter, twitter.com @katiemaryrich, tweet, 20 January, no longer Itzkoff, Dave (2017) Katie Rich of ‘S.N.L.’ is suspended for tweet available mocking Barron Trump in The New York Times, 23 January. Avail- able online at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/arts/television/ Shea, Nina (2010) National Review: An uncensored look at ‘South katie-rich-snl-suspended-barron-trump-tweet.html?_r=0, accessed Park’, npr.org, 27 April. Available online at http://www.npr.org/ on 30 May 2017 templates/story/story.php?storyId=126300994, accessed on 29 July 2017 Johnson, K. E. and Marvis, C. B. (1997) First steps in the emergence of verbal humour: A case study, Infant Behaviour and Develop- Tseng, Ada (2016) What it’s like to be the butt of the joke: One of ment, No. 20 pp 187-96 the kids at the Oscars speaks out, Pri.org, 2 March. Available online at https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-02/what-its-be-butt-joke- Khandaker, Tamara (2016) This comedian is fighting for his right to one-kids-oscars-speaks-out, accessed on 25 June 2017 ‘make fun of everything’, vice.com, 26 February. Available online at https://news.vice.com/article/this-comedian-is-fighting-for-his- Weaver, Simon (2011) The rhetoric of racist humour – US, UK and right-to-make-fun-of-everything, accessed on 28 June 201 global race joking, Farnham, Ashgate Publishing

Kovvali, Silpa (2016) Parading kids onstage … to be the butt of Willis, Ken (2009) Merry hell: Humour competence and social a racist joke? This is Chris Rocks’s idea of progress?, Salon.com, incompetence, Lockyer, Sharon and Pickering, Michael (eds) 8 March. Available online at http://www.salon.com/2016/03/08/ Beyond a joke: The limits of humour, New York, Palgrave Macmil- parading_kids_onstage_to_be_the_butt_of_a_racist_joke_this_is_ lan pp 128-147 chris_rocks_idea_of_progress/, accessed on 25 June 2017

Kuipers, Giselinde (2008) The sociology of humor, Raskin, Victor Note on the Contributor (ed.) The primer of humor research, Berlin, De Gruyter pp 361-398 Dr. Kai Hanno Schwind is an Associate Professor at Westerdals Oslo Maccoby, E. (1954) Why do children watch television?, Public Opin- School of Arts, Communication and Technology, Christian Kroghs ion Quarterly, Vol.18, No. 3 pp 239-244 Gate 32, 0186 Oslo, Norway. Telephone: +47 94 24 80 32; email: Madianou, Mirca (2013) Ethics of mediation and the voice of the [email protected]. injured subject, Couldry, Nick, Madianou, Mirca and Pinchevski, Amit (eds) Ethics of media, New York, Palgrave Macmillan pp 178- 197

60 Copyright 2017-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 14 No 2/3 2017 PAPER