Considering Ethical Challenges of Children As the Butt of Jokes in Contemporary Comedy
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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