I was raped and molested as a child. It's as horrible an experience as you can imagine. Only sharing this in hopes it gives added weight to my opinion that NOTHING should be off limits in comedy. Funny is funny.
except that i can't imagine, thus i shall be outraged and offended per the social norm on your behalf because you are such a powerless victim and must be treated with kid's gloves for the remainder of your life.
So often these days, people who complain about offensive things are not actually the subject of the offense. They're people who are just worrying too much about what other people think or feel, and are taking it upon themselves to complain about all the potentially offended people they can think of.
Louis CK has said himself that he makes jokes such as these to help people laugh at stuff that "isn't funny". It's all about being able to laugh at something otherwise impossible to laugh at.
That's... the point? Why ever feel bad about something? If you have the mental capacity, try to laugh at unspeakably unfunny things. It really is a road to recovery in some way.
Louis CK isn't one of my favorite comedians, and I didn't know about his attempt to joke about the subject of pedophilia before watching this video. But I think it makes sense that in a world where there is synthetic violence (say, for example, call of duty, or, Bioshock) which is enjoyable, one must accept the truth of said world, which includes that "it's better to talk about it than to not be aware that it happens." And beside that, even though there is potential harm, there is potential benefit.
My mother and grandmother watch that show every morning. It pretty much consists of the hosts complaining about anything and everything. Most of which they dont actually know anything about. You should hear them talk about video games...
Hammington DC Same here. Why do we need people telling us why we need to feel bad about things without letting us use our own minds to decide whether or not it is?
Excuse me, non-american here. After watching a couple of clips from The Talk, I have a couple of questions. What is the point of putting the most clueless people on earth on a talk show where they discuss "important matters"? Like, I really cannot understand. It's like watching a fish trying to bake a pie. Is it funny? Is it ironic? Is it serious? Is everyone aware of how absolutely crap it is? Do people agree with it? If someone watches it, or knows someone who does, can you explain to me, why?
"I know someone who was molested at 3 YEARS OLD!" " *AUDIENCE APPLAUDS* " "THREE YEARS OLD!" " *APPLAUSE INTENSIFIES* " 1:32 So... child molestation is grounds for applause no matter if it's comedy or serious? Ok then.
Nico van Os That wasn't my point. You don't clap during a Remembrance day ceremony, even if you do hear good news. There's no reason to clap about that in a serious setting
I don't know what "the talk" is I'm comparing the context that they're using... Culture depends on it too, though. Where I'm from, people do not clap at funerals, or on solemn subjects, unless it's a joke.
г-н зонт The bit you are referring to is from a talkshow called 'The Talk'. A talkshow is not the same as a Remembrance day ceremony or a funeral. People applaud for a good argument all the time. ***** was laughing her ass off (lmao) why don't you ask her why she was laughing about a 3y old being molested?
Because crowds are easily stirred, and whenever they intonate a phrase in a way that seems to be something "meaningful" or "axial" to whatever argument they are trying to push, the crows just reacts by clapping without thinking about what was said. Sadly this seems to be the case (to me, since I have no evidence for it) whenever the audicience is one that already agrees with you before you have even said anything.
LUFC Holmesy she said child molestation should never be used as a joke and they started clapping and it grew while she continued speaking, they were supporting her statement prior to that and supporting her further because she knew someone......
Because crowds clap at the stupidest times, and that's a friendly audience clapping in support for statements that they'd never clap for if they weren't her audience.
arey bhai aap yahan ...aur kisi ne dharaa nahi ab tak. sirf 12 likes. vaise louis ck bhi bimaar hi h. apne hi mental experiences se nikla hoga ye monologue
I was molested when I was a child, and I think the CK joke was one of the best he ever made. It is so fucking funny BECAUSE he is actually making a very good point. The only dangerous thing is silence and taboo. Because silence and taboo makes victims ashamed of talking. Silence and taboo makes the pedophiles who never toke action unable and afraid to talk about their problem and try to fix it with professionals. Those people on CBS are the perfect cliche of the people who made me unable to talk about my trauma to anyone for 20 years. They are treating molested persons like fragile beings unable to defend themselves in life, which is exactly what a child molester does, by the way. I don't need your fucking compassion. What I need is more Louis CK.
No topic should be off-limits for any form of discussion or discourse. Being offensive is a right of free speech, as is being offended. The unfortunate thing about this example was that, rather than using the comedy as a springboard to discuss a very important and complex issue, they took the easy way out and instead danced around the issue by asking what should or shouldn't be joked about. If we don't discuss or even acknowledge topics for fear of feeling offended or uncomfortable, how can we better our society?
Basically. I'm a "OMG EVIL" SJW but I honestly do not agree with the women sitting around the table especially the one bringing up her personal experiences and friend. It's like "I have a black friend" so I'm not racist. There's more to it that's going on. In this example is the joke offensive? To some obviously it is. We can discuss the issue and the goal is to make sure they feel better about it -- being offended isn't a choice made by someone to feel bad or to strike out at someone, they just didn't like or it hurt them what was said. In this context, I think he's right to make this joke, and he does an amazing job of tiptoeing around the issue in a way that is brutal and messy, but keeping in mind those who have been molested or otherwise.
I think there's another issue here, one of language. I think the two sides are talking past each other. The anti PC crowd seem to think that the PC crowd want to BAN whatever they find offensive. As if OFF LIMITS means NOT ALLOWED. As I hear it, that's not at all what they're saying. "Off limits" seems rather to mean "people ought to have better taste than to talk about this". Even the woman saying "no nightclub, no place ever deserves to have that made fun of" is expressing her opinion and her utopia, not a concrete law or policy suggestion. And while I love "offensive" humor, I think that we need "The Talk" JUST AS MUCH as we need child molesting jokes. Both are an important part of free speech. SJW wouldn't be hurting anyone, if it weren't for the people reacting to them with ad hominems. I'm on the non-PC side, but I really hate my side. Why the hate? Why the us vs them? Isn't the bloody point that we want EVERYONE to be allowed to express their opinion? So why react with such hatred towards the people who express opinions different than us. If someone actually ATTACKS our free speech and suggests REGULATION or LAWS, now that's a reason to reach for our metaphorical weapons. But I haven't heard the women on The Talk do that - the only person I've heard do that REPEATEDLY is now the most powerful person on the planet, and he seems to be the hero of many anti SJW-people. Paradoxically.
Johannes Wiberg Well honestly, I can't trust someone who blocks all people associated with the other side. Besides most SJWs don't actually care about mpst of what they talk about, most are just hipsters that want to be included.
Red Sparrow People always take the easy way out. There’s this thing in Physics called ‘The path of least resistance’ and every atom, quark, molecule and every single quanta of energy seems to follow this rule. That’s why people are fat and that’s why we don’t have millions of Casey Neistats or Bruce Lees etcetera etcetera. Another good example is religion(fiction). Why do you think there are so less theoretical physicists around the world but millions of theists. I’m not disregarding the existence of an omnipotent because I’m not intelligent enough to do that but the point I’m trying to make is that it’s a hell lot easier to believe in a fictional story than it is to understand Quantum mechanics. Most (not all) people do and always will continue to choose the path of least resistance because using your brain requires time, energy and a lot of effort.
Exactly. People are nit picking/ constantly sifting through the information that other people should receive. People telling others left and right, "It's wrong", "Do this", "Stop that" which I think is a load of bullshit.
Honestly, I don't care too much about comedians being 'offensive' or people complaining about jokes they find offensive. Tell whatever jokes you want, complain about whatever you want. What I care about far more is the large (and growing number) of people who can't tell the difference between irony and genuinely hateful words/behaviours, and will defend the latter with great vehemence and cite 'political correctness' when someone calls them out on their genuinely held bigoted beliefs. I also think it is incredibly unhelpful to suggest that people who speak out against prejudice are just doing it because they like making a fuss, and massively unhelpful to suggest that such people don't know anything about it. I love Seinfeld, but I really don't think he knows more about stuff like that than the average person.
Buffoon1980 I understand what you're sayin', but I'm pretty sure Seinfeld, in that context, was speaking out against the people that see comedians, and just throw out "That's sexist, that's racist," without backing it up or really having a real reason to do so, outside of being offended by it.
However, if someone wrongfully interprets a joke for genuinely hateful words/ behaviour, which in the instance of Louis C K's joke happened, it wouldn't be wrong to cite political correctness. You're right in that prejudice and spreading of hate should be called out, but it often happens that the people who do so misunderstand what the person making the joke was trying to say.
"We have to let comedians near the things we find uncomfortable, or perhaps even [DRAMATIC PAUSE] wrong." Hahaha. Good video, nerd. Though I will never not find that dramatic pause funny.
+Kurtis Rainbolt-Greene didn't even bother to look where? I can't prove what I said, no. But I sure as hell didn't make it up. I'm going with what the medical and psychological diagnosis and explanation is as it stands right now. What part of what I wrote do you disagree with?
Looking through the comments, I found a few different molestation victims talking about how the joke made them laugh. The only "evidence" I found against your point was third-party lip service. So I can safely agree.
I have always ordered what it must be like for someone like you. Like an episode of Family Guy where they joke about the inadequate child kidnapper in the store. I have not had anything that bad happen to me, and I have a pretty dark sense of humour. I just wonder what it's like to laugh at something like Jews being burnt alive, and then right afterwards watch a joke that could unravel your whole day. No one would blame you for being upset, but no one provides the solution. I have been robbed multiple times, once by my best friend. Does that count because it had an affect on me. Does getting the belt from your dad count, or is that not rapey enough? To me it's like religion in schools. It's impossible to have them all equally represented, so there should be none in schools. It's impossible to please everyone with jokes, so we shouldn't even attempt it.
It really isn't that hard. You deal, you move on. Some people have a harder time moving on then others... but I mean... what else can you do really? Like unless it leaves you with some serious mental scars like PTSD or something, you just get on with our life... because there's not much else you can do. I won't lie, there are jokes about child abuse that do offend me... that's not one of them. Mostly because if you think about what a joke is and how they work. Like a joke that was about survivors or the powerlessness of victims.. yeah I am probably going to get offended. But that's not a joke about or directed at victims. It's a joke about the victimizer, which is a whole different category. I don't know many survivors who would be offended. I guess you could consider it a trigger for any one who suffers from PTSD or other mental scars, but they tend to do there research before they walk into a show... and they would be more traumatized them offended.
The Misandrist Misanthrope That's a very fair point. Though, I don't think moving on and being offended are mutually exclusive things. There are lot's of things I find offensive that have no root in trauma. But I digress. I don't think being offended is a totally unreasonable response. Regardless of how feel about it, I can respect why some one might find it offensive. Personally for me though, and what drove my original post was, falls outrage of the women on The Talk to be what offended me. Just this notion that I need some one else to get offended for me to be very patronizing. And really that's what was going on in my post.
+Romeo Cote I do understand the intent behind Louis' joke (another commenter talked about how he was dissecting the character and how the audience fears to see that character as a human rather than a dark character), however, no matter how much you've moved on (for me, anyways), hearing about these sort of things can be triggering for a victim, like it did for me. Though I agree the people on The Talk went overboard- they could've said that it is triggering material and there should be a warning or something just in case, but the joke can still continue.
You're right. We must trust comedians to help navigate us through the abstract, murky, undefined territory of "morality", even if they lead us to places we find uncomfortable or wrong. However, this does not give comedians a free pass or impunity. Bad comedy is still bad comedy, especially, shock humour, in which talentless comedians try to hit the lowest common denominator by provoking shocked reactions by saying radically offensive or insulting statements. Louis CK is not one of these talentless comedians. Notice how he holds our hand and delicately guides us to the logical conclusion that child molesters must really love molesting children, especially if they are putting their lives in danger to do so. This is not a shocking statement. It is an inevitable conclusion to what Louis CK was saying. If we are confounded and offended by a logical conclusion, rather than an outlying statement, it reflects poorly on us as a society; either we've hit an area in which we are very ignorant, hypocritical or both. And this is very true for pedophilia and child molestation. Often when we approach the issue, our first response is to 'kill all child rapists and pedophiles'. This is great for getting rid of the immediate problem, but it doesn't get us any closer to understanding why child molesters do what they do and how they become who they are. Rather than arrogantly condemning all child molesters, we ought to sit them down and try to learn where their behaviour stems from so we can prevent this type of behaviour in the future and reduce harm to children. Is it a mental illness? Is it a sexual orientation? Is it socially constructed? Is it seen throughout anthropological history? We must learn to address and deconstruct child molestation critically and thoroughly rid our ignorance of the issue. And to give credit to Louis CK, we wouldn't even be having this discussion is it wasn't for him. The man is a genius. Those that irrationally struck back against his stand-up fail to look at the bigger picture. At least he has the confidence to make us talk about the problem. Those that were offended would rather us never talk on the issue, inadvertently allowing thousands more children to be put into harm's way.
I utterly agree with you. I've understood the power of comedians for a long time (I think most of us do, at a subconscious level at least), and I've been aware of their importance in history since I know of Court Jesters and Buffons. I've just recently realized, though, that comedians use humour as a kind of filter to sieve reality and make it more attainable, more easily handled. In moments of crises, for example, comedians become the voice of reason and wisdom when all other voices either remain silent or are shouting nonesense. When people enter a stand-up or a comedy film, they enter with this huge, incomprehensible, terrible reality that they can't grasp, and often one or two hours of comically revising a few aspects and phenomenons of that reality leave them relieved, relaxed, not only because of the laughing (which is a tremendous and vital help), but because the filter was applied to those aspects and phenomenons, and it has dissected them to the point where they don't seem so scary or horrible. D.R.
***** Yeah, most of the times that's what's expected. But as the Myth of the Cave, man... if only but one heard the Call, then all is not lost, hehehe. D.R.
+ilovekitkats The same issue happened when the episode of UK satirical comedy 'Brasseye' called 'Paedogeddon' was aired. The irony was so sweet; a show mocking and satirising how the subject of paedophilia is sensationalised in the press and met with extreme fury, mania and panic from the public to an unnecessary degree was responded to with sensationalism in the press and met with extreme fury, mania and panic from the public to an unnecessary degree. (A further bit of irony occurred when the show's creator Chris Morris saw that the article in a tabloid newspaper that condemned the 'Paedogeddon' episode as "sick" was on the same page as a large photo of singer Charlotte Church with a caption that read 'She's a big girl now' followed by a set of bullet points about how much her breasts had grown since she was a child star - despite the fact that at the time she was just 15). That clip from 'The Talk' where the woman from 'The Big Bang Theory' really bugged me. She's in a comedy whereby subjects are occasionally joked about that are likely to offend a small demographic of people - but she's okay with it (Or rather, okay with it enough to accept a paycheck). But then it comes to a subject that she personally is uncomfortable with and therefore NOBODY should be allowed to talk about it, joke about it or listen to people who talk about it or joke about it. In short I say to her: Fuck the fuck off. Any topic can be used for humour, it's about not confusing the subject of a joke with the target of a joke. I also read an article recently that it has been proposed to the German government that they should open up medical/psychiatric facilities to help people who are sexually attracted to children - but haven't committed a crime - and are afraid of opening up about it in the fear that they'll be utterly exiled and condemned. These clinics with apparently try to rid this desire from them. Interesting and a far more mature and useful way of dealing with the problem than just sticking fingers in your ears shouting "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! LALALALLALALA"
ı got sexually abused when i was 6. and this joke DOESNT OFFEND ME AT ALL. because society find offesive everthing about rape now nobody cant talk about it. that is why i didnt talk about it too when i was a kid. because ı thought this is something we shouldnt talk. people should talk. dont make talking about rape a TABOO.
So? The point is hes making jokes about sex crimes when he ends up being a pervert in another way... Thats why its awkward and not hypocritical you dolt.
I'm a mental health therapist and I work with sex offenders and also people who have been molested. Louie is starting an honest dialogue that should have been started literally decades ago - what he said wasn't really funny to me personally, but it NEEDED to be said. Thank you Louie for exploring this taboo, and unpacking some of the cultural logic (and illogic) behind it. --- For some people pedophilia is basically a sexual orientation. It's definitely a very unfortunate orientation that will lead some people to cause a great deal of harm, but does necessarily lead to sexual offending (there's a difference between pedophilia and pederasty just like there's a difference between heterosexual thoughts and feelings and heterosexual acts). There definitely needs to be more treatment for people who have this unfortunately condition. Treatment *does* help for sex offenders who are not classified as "antisocial personalities" (aka, sociopaths), and despite popular opinion the vast majority of sex offenders do not meet this criteria. Best practices and research should inform policy rather than closeminded overly-emotional fucking morons like the woman who spoke on the talk show immediately following Louie's segment; people like this inadvertently perpetuate the problem because they increase stigma and prevent people from trying to get the help they KNOW they definitely need.
murdock- In case you haven't caught it yet, I think you will enjoy a recent Radiolab episode: www.radiolab.org/story/revising-fault-line/ It's about a guy that underwent brain surgery to correct repetitive seizures and ended up with a child porn obsession that he was only partially able to control. After having been caught and doing time, he now lives a normal life with therapy and medication. It's 48 minutes long, but I find the story compelling and it made me rethink my pre-conceived notions in much the same way that your comment did.
adri m pathology is socially constructed. Which is why over time societies have changed in the way they view mental health problems. Not too long ago we used to think about homosexuality pretty much the same way we still think about pedophilia (being gay was illegal well into the nineties). What behaviour or mental state is deemed harmful very much depends on the status quo. If the status quo is: children aren't fully formed, vulnerable beings that need extra-care and extra-protection, then yes, pedophilia is a pathology. Historically speaking that wasn't always the case. (Childhood as a protective state first came up after industrialization). I'm not trying to normalize or moralize pedophilia. I'm just saying: it is a sexual orientation, it's just one that is disfunctional, because you can't live it without breaking the law. So there needs to be a protective infrastructure in dealing with it. But so far, we don't really have one other than waiting till a child has been abused and then getting rid of the abuser, which is a pretty lame process if you ask me.
I hear you, I really do but they need to be euthanized. I feel bad for them from the bottom of my heart and it's unfortunate they were born with a dangerous sexual orientation but there it is. Again it's sad that they have this dangerous mutation but they have to be put to sleep. Molesting a child causes so much damage to a young innocent person it can't be accepted, tolorated or managed. I refuse to risk even one child getting molested. Therefore I believe they should be removed from society permanently. It's very sad for them but it has to be done in my own opinion.
I have an idiot father who beat me sometimes in the past, and I laugh with jokes about that. People is too stupid to understand humor and use that humor to let things in the past.
I like dark humor and satire because it makes you laugh, but gets you horrified and thinking. There is a famous article back in time during the famine in Ireland where a writer says to end the hunger to eat babies and also use there skin to make things like gloves. It's pretty fucking horrible half of the class thought it was real. I was chuckling. I admitted I found it hilarious and said its satire. So when that was found out some kid yelled, but that's not funny why joke about something like that people are starving! To which the professor turned to the student and said exactly it was to get the attention of people who were trying to turn a blind eye to one entire countries problem and have them force it with a well written and witty joke to actually think about it for once.
+Jamie Northup Was it a Joke though, it wasn't framed or presented like a joke. He could have easily said, we're and I'm afraid things we are getting so hungry a man told me he contemplated eating his own child as tears swelled in his eyes as the hunger had infected him so deep his mind was in shambles, a broken soul was born today. The message would've gotten to the people just as hard if not harder. An image always hits harder than a joke. Most comedians take the dark out of a situation and frame the joke around the situation rather than make the situation itself a joke. For instance, Dave Chapelle: Chivalry is dead, is the situation, and women killed it, is the joke. With Louis C.K. the joke is molestation.
one of Nerdwriter's best videos imo-- he brings such nuance to complicated topics, and nowhere is that nuanced approach more clear than here in this vid-- cheers all
Armaggedon InACan ah thats cool. I think the first video I watched was this one. Loved his channel ever since though. His analyzing art videos are great and help me with writing my own essays.
I'm not so sure. I think, to use the analogy of the video, it's clear that Louis C.K. became a "corrupt" detective. Did a lot of good things, but abused his "privilege" to wade into the morality fog. And that his career as a comedian should be rescinded.
I really enjoy your videos and every video of yours makes me think about the topic for hours. Moreover they sometimes really change my mindset or my behaviour because of the different points of view you are delivering to the viewer. There is no other channel on TH-cam like yours and I really hope that you keep making this super interesting content. Keep going!
Comedy is a vital psychological tool we need for dealing with difficult subjects.We need to be able to laugh about something in order to feel like we have power over it - to make it not something to shrink it terror from but confront with confidence.
+Roman Jones People attempting to seem morally superior would rather take the "horrible thing happens - Only things that can be said about it are how horrible it is." road. While intelligent individuals not attempting to represent a group or adopting a psuedo-moral stance take the "thing is horrible, but we are aware of that and can still find humor in it because we aren't cunts." road.
One of the core functions of humor is to disarm the traumatic and painful experiences of life so that we may finally approach them, process the emotions, examine them and find some resolution so that we can move forward. The "too soon" response is a common indicator that people aren't yet ready to face the emotional weight of a topic and unfortunately I think Louis ran into a similar problem here. In my view, that just makes it all the more necessary.
i wouldn’t say the whole thing was hilarious(the joke wasn’t made that well) but things that are horrific and uncomfortable can often be only openly talked about or brought up through humor and hopefully we all get more insightful about those things in some way.
Despite recent developments I still believe that this is one of your greatest videos. I couldn't think of any better way to explain what comedy means to me and why I think it is important to protect it's freedom. That message holds true and Louis C K's WORK still is a good example of that.
+Baw Jaws False. 6-7 minutes is not enough time to delve deeply enough into a subject of morality in comedy. Just because he is very articulate does not mean he did the subject much justice.
I just found your channel today but dude! All of your content is so diverse and uniquely interesting, and well produced (kudos on the background music). great stuff man.
nerdwriter i really like your talent of observing people and the way you write and talk is very powerful. many more subscriptions equal justice for what you deserve man
I don't comment often so I may not fit the norm. First of all I am a Stand-up amateur and I am also a proponent of may social justice causes. I find this dichotomy fascinating and like most dichotomies false. I think we need to accept a gradient. I have a story of an example. For instance I have a bit about the death penalty. I pretend to be someone who is proposing our system in a world where there isn't one. I take on a creepy demeanor and describe our normal system in unusual terms to expose some absurdities. During one performance a woman in the front row said "I was the victim of a violent crime" Clearly this bit was disturbing her. Most of the club was comics and didn't hear her and immediately turned on her, like she was a heckler. I was caught like a dear in headlights. I quickly and clumsily turned the focus to myself and my own ideas unimportance as a amateur stand up at an open mic in central Indiana. The crowd turned from her and she quietly left shortly there after. The comedians were so quick to defend because so few people understand comedy like we do. Lious CK said to a heckler in the show that those five minutes might be the only part of the week comics live for and in many cases that's true. So they live in fear someone may try to take that away. In many cases the comics only power are their words. But she was hurt by my bit. I'm not sure of the circumstances of her problem but I am empathic to her reaction. So where on the gradient am I. I still do the bit. It may be my best one. But if something like this happens again, I will try to use my stage time to work through the audience reaction, try to learn something, try to be funny and communicate it. A little self indulgent but I felt the need to share. A little long and polite for a TH-cam comment...anybody who disagrees with me is a Nazi.
***** Your empathy towards your audience members who feel agitated by your "death penalty" bit is admiring. However, I think the perception of the recipient of the message is as important as much as the content of the message. The limitations of that perceptions speak more of the recipient than the message itself. In the case of a victim of child molestation, or violent crime she/he may feel their that trauma is made fun of. But that was not the message, or the intent. The message asks how absurd it is that a child molester goes to molest a child despite the legal and social implications of such an act, that they are willing to risk their freedom to commit such a crime. It is an important insight I think to see parts of the problem of child molestation than the default reaction which is to point fingers and throw convicts in long-term jail sentences. The effects of the joke itself can be argued, but no one can truly gauge all the range of reactions that all people can have. Some get offended, some don't, some don't care. That is true for all kinds of jokes, is it not? I think it really is up to the audience to decide through discourse if it is offensive, yet we have to settle that what we find offensive may not be found offensive by others in a different time. I personally find the bit interesting. His intent was not to make fun of victims, but the perpetrators by pointing out the absurdities. No one really discusses why pedophiles are attracted to children. The discussion starts and ends with the easy and comfortable default, pedophiles should be given harshest punishment be it death, solitary jail, life term, etc. We can accept and make fun of death in itself. It is even shown as comedy to children-daffy duck, rabbits, etc. It became acceptable and used in all media. Perhaps because we settled with the idea that death can happen for many different reasons, yet we don't make fun of all kinds of death, not all the time. So perhaps we are just not ready yet to have a comfortable discussion about pedophilia as a society and that is why so many of us don't like to be surprised to confront a topic we avoid by one of our most popular comedian when we expect to have a fun time.
I have little to add to what you said, and what Peterpiper aptly added. I just say this: you go, man. I support you utterly although I don't know you. Your words are true and I think that you're also true as a person, and that's not easily squandered. D.R.
I found the joke at the beginning remarkably inoffensive. Surprising and shocking, yes, but not outright offensive. It is an interesting take on a very sensitive subject that never mocks or asks to make light of the suffering of those effected, but rather the perpetrators themselves (as making light of those effected would be inhumane). But perhaps some subjects are simply taboo and absolutely off-limits 110% of the time, with no exceptions, regardless of how clever or different or worthy of thought the statement is. Or maybe I've just been that desensitized to anything no matter how horrid or disgusting it is.
I also find it anything but offensive. It actually tries to uncover the reasons and motivations behind child molesters, and it is only through understanding those that we could even hope to prevent future incidents. Neglecting that outright by taking offense is a lazy way of saying that you actually don't care about the general problem.
Awesome!!! Great way to put this. I have always felt this way. No one want to think this stuff goes on. They want to forget about it. He makes us think b
+chiloecko South Park in most regards no different from Family Guy, as both of their philosophies or comedic intent aren't entirely about exposing those in power, more so mocking people for caring about things. There. A small analysis.
H Smith I watched entire late seasons of South Park and they got so obnoxious they became unwatchable. I enjoyed the movie somewhat back in the day, but now it's eh.
Is it, though? After listening to a great number of his jokes, I would say he certainly can be offensive. The child molestation joke is exhibit A. The real issue is whether or not it's "OK" to be offensive. To that, I say fuck yes it's OK.
That's not an offensive joke, though. An offensive joke is a joke that is designed to hurt certain groups of people, which would in turn make other groups of people delighted. This joke was not designed to hurt anyone, and very few, if any, of Louis C.K's jokes are.
of·fen·sive adjective 1. causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry. It has nothing to do with designing it to be offensive. Taking offense to something is a reactionary process. Offensiveness deals with the result of the subject.
I have to say that I have found your videos EXTREMELY refreshing. Well thought out and the commentary to be on target and to say the least objective. If there is a way for you to find your way on to mainstream media as well that would be outstanding!!! Bravo!!!
+Pen and Paper It seems everyone loves to deny morality intellectually, but when something truly awful/unjust happens, people are convicted by a distinct wrongness. It's easy to come up with examples that either practical for collective well-being, or the examples themselves are so fucked up, that virtually no one will support putting them in practice (genocide, etc.). Believing in morality is easy, but it's philosophically dense terrain, and that's why most people give up and claim there's no objective or universal morality, often citing trivial examples of cultures disagreeing on various practices. But counter examples are easy. No culture would support throwing all of their new born babies into a massive blender right after birth. If you have even one example of something that would be universally morality, then universal morality exists.
+SweetRandal Morality is just the experience of pain. We all experience it different, so we all have different moralities. The extremes of pain, such as grinding up heaps of babies are no doubt universal. Just as the extremes of temperatures are.
I have terminal cancer. I went to a comedy show with a friend and a comedian sang a song along the lines of "Look at the bright side, soon you'll be dead". My friend with me thought it might have offended me or asked me if I was ok. I was laughing my ass off with it. You can't censor comedy. It only goes to intent and context. Yes, of cause, cancer sucks. Of course rape and child molestation is a fucking horrible crime that requires the most severe punishment in the law. But the comedy about it brings light to the matter. I would even go further and that by making jokes about it helps. When it is not spoken about or discussed, it's hidden. It's only now that it's in the open do we feel more comfortable to attack the conspiracy culture of child rape within the Catholic church for instance, or years ago spousal rape and abuse. Comedians raise awareness on the taboo that we wouldn't otherwise discuss. More power to them.
I was molested. Not actually kidding. At 7, when I was completely aware of it. (Or as aware of it as you can be at 7) Louis bit made me laugh so fucking hard. His Mounds Bar line killed me.
The truth is that "normal" people don't want to hear about it, that is the backlash. Only by talking and joking and sharing can we get over any trauma. Censoring the twin towers out of every movie or TV show is how Americans deal with trauma, that is to say they don't.
"Is that joke offensive"? No, it's a truth. It is probably great for pedophiles to do "their thing", as disgusting as it is. Some may feel like shit afterwards and some probably lack the ability to. But no, that joke is not offensive. It's not a joke at the expense of anyone. It's a brilliant joke. It's a really dirty joke, this is what comedy is about!
Jagh Haringenamn That is a great point. That joke was "truth". So what made it offensive to some people? Probably because he took a subject that is serious, brings up bad memories, and looked down upon and he intended for people to laugh at the statement. Also, because he presented it on the surface as an act that is enjoyable to some people when that vast majority not only disagree, but get hurt because of it. His goal seemed to make people laugh, and if we're all lucky, get people to think.
***** Louis CK said "offending people is a healthy and necessary act. When you offend someone, you are forcing them to think, you just caused a discussion." something like that, one of my favorite quotes.
Louis CK is a fucking genius. comedy is made to talk about uncomfortable topics. he isnt making fun of people who have been molested, he's poking at our society. try to think about something before you criticize it's content.
He's not making fun of people who have been molested, or making light of it. He's using comedy to let us think about something that we would find hard to think about in a serious way. What he said is true, considering the risks involved the people who do it must find it incredibly addictive. That's an extremely uncomfortable thought to have but a great comedian allowes us to think about horrible things without losing our minds. About the only thing that does offend me is self righteous slugs who get offended on other people's behalf.
You're amazing. I'm so grateful for you sharing your knowledge. Thankyou. Your topics are very interesting and I follow your channel very closely. I'm just a broke student now, but I promise that when I start earning, I'll pledge some money towards this beautiful cause of dissecting life as we know if.
Just when you think there is a line, humor will catch you off guard. If you think there is a line, you are severely mistaken. Comedy crosses "norms" all the time, and that crossing is what makes comedy possible as it is. Don't get me wrong. I'm not condoning anything. I used to be suicidal and for me, suicide is not a joke. That being said, I am merely telling you that the potential of humor/comedy lies beyond your personal stubborn beliefs. And if you don't understand that, maybe you didn't understand this video.
yeah! the punchline isn't haha the children were raped. It's more like: look at how crazy childabuse actually is when you dissect it and put it in a new perspective. The joke works because we all agree childabuse is horrific. If it normalized childabuse, it would have fallen flat.
The most important part of any communication is context. Certain factors might make individuals more sensitive to some issues, but one must still look at the way in which it is being talked about. Louise CK was not joking about pedophilia, he was using his humor as a platform to address the manner in which we label certain people as monsters, rather than addressing the fact they are, in fact, human beings and we are better suited to try to understand them as human beings, than as monsters.
I'm French so my vision of all this might not be the most precise but I love American stand-up comedy and I've always found it strange that such a subversive art form is thriving in a country so inclined to censorship in media and puritanism. It seems like the USA have this moral ambivalence; and it is a strong one. It's weird and I have trouble finding the source of it. Maybe it has to do with a kind of genral manichaeism, black or white thinking.
There should be no limit to what comedians are allowed to joke about because, at the end of the day, that is a limit on free speech. And this will become a downhill effect, starting with comedians, then we censor what the general public can say, then we censor books, etc. Free speech is free speech in its entirety, and unless you are threatening the lives or mortal safety of people by what you say, you should be allowed to say whatever you want.
Noah Roush To be fair, there's a difference between 'can' and 'should'. Everybody has free speech and can say what they want, but that goes both ways. Others can then say, "You shouldn't say that," in response, otherwise you're blocking their free speech in turn.
''you're blocking their free speech in turn.'' ? So,saying: ''You're wrong for not letting me speak''...is equally wrong / just the same as saying: ''Don't talk that way'' In other words, you're wrong for telling me it's wrong for me to say you're wrong. Sounds like cheap parlor trick.
Alek Samson I don't think you understood my position. What I meant was, _everyone_ has free speech. So, while one person can say whatever they want (maybe a KKK member on black people, to give an example), another person can say that they shouldn't say that in response. However, that doesn't mean the former person has to listen, or frankly, do anything about it, in a legal sense. Of course, they might be affected in a social sense. Unfortunately, as you see in this video, moral guardians who have nothing much better to do decided to rail on Louis C.K. because of his joke. Again, they're allowed to do that, but Louis can also ignore them entirely.
If a joke is furthering a dangerous idea like racism it's not good inciting others to be racist. But the joke in question wouldn't have furthered the idea of child molestation.
+Damien Hughes I'm not sure if racism and child molestation are the same thing. Racism is a systemic tool acquired by dominance that benefits white people creating privileges. Child Molestation benefits only the child molester.
+Jack Heathen The point is simply that ideas become beliefs which illicit behaviours. Furthering any idea that could lead to a negative behaviour is a bad thing regardless of the dynamics surrounding it.
+Damien Hughes If a comedian says something that truly furthers the idea of racism then it's not a joke, plain and simple. Comedians can still joke about racial stereotypes though without endorsing racism.
You know when you feel awkward and you joke around or be silly to try and take the tension off? That’s how I feel about edgy jokes, or jokes that cross certain lines. That’s why I love comedians, they aren’t laughing at victims, they aren’t asking people who KNOW it’s wrong to ignore rape victims, racist slander or every other bad thing being done, they aren’t even making light of it. They are trying to make people laugh about how fucked up our world is and that sometimes, getting mad is okay, crying is okay, that laughing is okay. If we can’t laugh at something so ball sack insane, we’d all go crazy and be consumed with grief. People who decide that it’s not for them THATS OKAY TOO, but when someone is in a safe space, using their freedoms of speech to help people see all the other good shit we have around the world, a talent like turning a sickening thing and getting people to laugh at it is hard, and it’s scary! But it helps when you aren’t just looking at everything in black and white. If you get triggered, stay away, but try to laugh at something.
you just earned a subscriber. Thank you for discussing this topic!! And the difficulty associated with discussing a topic that is taboo. I have always admired professions in which a person has flexibility, and almost a sense of obligation to discuss these things. A comedian is one of those professions. How could we not discuss these topics? They will not go away if ignore them. Perhaps a discussion can lead to more exchange of ideas and information, if anything else.
"The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible" - Salman Rushdie
I think comedians are able to address some really complex and true things happening in society in a way that everyone can acknowledge.The effect it has on people is sometimes it hurts to know the truth.they can also be the most honest people on television because to make someone laugh you have to make them relate to the joke.theyre selling the truth without an agenda.
First off, I love your videos. They are super interesting and allow me to think more analytically and understand further why I respect all these great forms of art. I think you should try doing a video about Chris Farley. He is my favorite comedian simply because of his devotion to the art. He, unlike most, completely put himself out there for the joy of others. The way he falls down without catching himself, like everyone else would do, is a perfect example that he goes all out when making people laugh. Just a request.. but keep up the good stuff. Love the content man!
The modern world is focused on reacting. No one these days, myself included, actually digests something first before talking about it and thats really sad. thats why i love videos like these - that remind me to slow down and think before i speak and also that i am missing out on some great experiences or appreciation for art by not giving it the courtesy to ponder it.
Those women saying it's offensive because someone might get upset... by that logic child molestation is okay if the child is unaffected. She was right, Louis is far far smarter than them.
Female comedians. And over the phone - that time, without consent. Dude, I like him, and he'll come back from this, but let's not pretend what he did wasn't fucking creepy.
Great videos! Your narration is always very well done. I would love to see some deconstructions of Robin Williams....his incredibly unique style and wealth of talents has always amazed me!
"let" them...? we have no right to STOP them... free speech as a principle beyond the 1st ammendment is vitally important for a free society. you don't like what someone says, you've every right to turn around and head the other way. you have absolutely NO right to muzzle them... no matter WHAT they're saying short of incitement to violence and other very constrained limitations to speech.
Except free speech only goes as far as the government imprisoning you. There is no such right to speech as that anyone else HAS to take what you say and deal with it.
Shatto no. The 1ST AMMENDMENT applies only to the government. But the enlightenment era notion of free speech precedes it, informs it and speaks to a value that is important at all levels of human free society. People absolutely have the right to walk away, plug their ears or argue back. But this impulse to MUZZLE and CENSOR people, particularly because you disagree with them is a dangerous, fascist, authoritarian impulse. "sticks and stones". Put on your big boy pants and deal with it, with messages you don't like.
jin choung The fact that people think that trying to arguing back or to make an area they can't go and scream their views, is trying to censor them is what the issue is. With Trump trying to ban media that speaks against him. This kind of dictatorship hypocrisy.
again, arguing back is THE RIGHT THING TO DO. "make an area they can't go and scream their views" is LITERALLY CENSORSHIP. and no one's talking about someone's personal home. but when entire platforms like twitter or facebook do it, that should be of concern to everyone. "With Trump trying to ban media that speaks against him." --- i TOTALLY AGREE. that is bullshit as well. there is plenty of bullshit on both sides with the left and their delicate sensibilities that can't tolerate the slightest dissent and their constant insistence of fucking "safe spaces" (are they fucking children?) and the right's autocratic attempt to crush dissent. THEY'RE BOTH BAD.
jin choung _is LITERALLY CENSORSHIP. and no one's talking about someone's personal home._ Except it's not. You can't follow me into a bar to harass me and scream obscenities if I enter a restaurant (or any respectable establishment) you'll get kicked out. You'd get kicked out of my home You'd get kicked out of platforms when you don't follow their ToS or rules. You'd get kicked out of rallies like Trump did to protesters. None of that is censorship when you're perfectly free to voice your opinions everywhere else. Safe spaces are for people who are harassed and bullied beyond reasonable measure, not simply "I disagree with you" you really honestly think that offends them?
Really enjoying this perspective - dipstick indicators for moral atmosphere. It gives me a feeling about what morality is that borders on a sort of thermodynamic version of moral distribution. It's about how perspectives and moods are transmitted through networks, congeal (quasi-)discrete communities and form temporally transitory attitudes about what's acceptable. In this context, laws seem to act as lowest common denominator benchmarks in the moral evolution of a culture. But if this means there's a sense in which we can never arrive at some purely objective moral boundary, our notion of right and wrong as absolutes dissolves away and moral systems become defining features in the evolution of cultural organization - maybe even developmental features in the organizing of transcendence into higher, organismic modes of Being.
I watched the SNL opening of Louis CK. Maybe the single most brilliant piece of comedy I've ever seen. And nobody....nobody could pull it off except Louis.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best pieces of comedy of all time. I would personally give that to George Carlin "Euphemisms" or CK "Of course, but maybe."
I was raped and molested as a child. It's as horrible an experience as you can imagine. Only sharing this in hopes it gives added weight to my opinion that NOTHING should be off limits in comedy. Funny is funny.
except that i can't imagine, thus i shall be outraged and offended per the social norm on your behalf because you are such a powerless victim and must be treated with kid's gloves for the remainder of your life.
I think not talking about it only makes the memory worse. What's happened has happend, but joking about it could lighten your memory of it a bit.
So often these days, people who complain about offensive things are not actually the subject of the offense. They're people who are just worrying too much about what other people think or feel, and are taking it upon themselves to complain about all the potentially offended people they can think of.
Props bro for coming out with that.
yes, so brave. just kidding. i don't patronize.
Louis CK has said himself that he makes jokes such as these to help people laugh at stuff that "isn't funny". It's all about being able to laugh at something otherwise impossible to laugh at.
Why do you think it's necessary for us to laugh at things that aren't funny? Is that helpful in some way?
That's... the point? Why ever feel bad about something? If you have the mental capacity, try to laugh at unspeakably unfunny things. It really is a road to recovery in some way.
Louis CK isn't one of my favorite comedians, and I didn't know about his attempt to joke about the subject of pedophilia before watching this video. But I think it makes sense that in a world where there is synthetic violence (say, for example, call of duty, or, Bioshock) which is enjoyable, one must accept the truth of said world, which includes that "it's better to talk about it than to not be aware that it happens." And beside that, even though there is potential harm, there is potential benefit.
You can either laugh or cry. Everyone knows how to cry, but we often need help laughing.
I agree Adrianna
every ending of nerdwriter....is....like...this..
So easy to do an impression of him
He reminds me of v sauce
He got his training from William Shatner.
I hate "The Talk" with a passion.
Before today, I hadn't even heard of it, and even I hate it.
My mother and grandmother watch that show every morning. It pretty much consists of the hosts complaining about anything and everything. Most of which they dont actually know anything about.
You should hear them talk about video games...
It's garbage.
Hammington DC Same here. Why do we need people telling us why we need to feel bad about things without letting us use our own minds to decide whether or not it is?
Excuse me, non-american here. After watching a couple of clips from The Talk, I have a couple of questions. What is the point of putting the most clueless people on earth on a talk show where they discuss "important matters"? Like, I really cannot understand. It's like watching a fish trying to bake a pie.
Is it funny? Is it ironic? Is it serious? Is everyone aware of how absolutely crap it is? Do people agree with it? If someone watches it, or knows someone who does, can you explain to me, why?
"I know someone who was molested at 3 YEARS OLD!"
" *AUDIENCE APPLAUDS* "
"THREE YEARS OLD!"
" *APPLAUSE INTENSIFIES* "
1:32
So... child molestation is grounds for applause no matter if it's comedy or serious? Ok then.
+г-н зонт They applaud for bringing up (in their eyes) a strong argument, not for the fact that someone got molested.
Nico van Os
That wasn't my point. You don't clap during a Remembrance day ceremony, even if you do hear good news.
There's no reason to clap about that in a serious setting
г-н зонт How can you compare The Talk with a Remembrance day ceremony?
I don't know what "the talk" is
I'm comparing the context that they're using...
Culture depends on it too, though. Where I'm from, people do not clap at funerals, or on solemn subjects, unless it's a joke.
г-н зонт The bit you are referring to is from a talkshow called 'The Talk'. A talkshow is not the same as a Remembrance day ceremony or a funeral. People applaud for a good argument all the time.
***** was laughing her ass off (lmao) why don't you ask her why she was laughing about a 3y old being molested?
Why the fuck did everyone clap when she said 'I knew someone who was molested at 3 years old'
LUFC Holmesy because that somehow gives her moral high ground
Because crowds are easily stirred, and whenever they intonate a phrase in a way that seems to be something "meaningful" or "axial" to whatever argument they are trying to push, the crows just reacts by clapping without thinking about what was said. Sadly this seems to be the case (to me, since I have no evidence for it) whenever the audicience is one that already agrees with you before you have even said anything.
BK I get you're angry but you don't need to copy and paste that everywhere man.
LUFC Holmesy she said child molestation should never be used as a joke and they started clapping and it grew while she continued speaking, they were supporting her statement prior to that and supporting her further because she knew someone......
Because crowds clap at the stupidest times, and that's a friendly audience clapping in support for statements that they'd never clap for if they weren't her audience.
The title of this video seems really funny now
arey bhai aap yahan ...aur kisi ne dharaa nahi ab tak. sirf 12 likes.
vaise louis ck bhi bimaar hi h. apne hi mental experiences se nikla hoga ye monologue
He is still an amazing comedian , I don't know what you are talking about?
the art supercedes the artist
😂😂
@@thenonsenseguy2364 he's
talking about the fact that he has sexually harassed some women, so to say that he is a moral detective is very ironic
I felt more offended listening to the reactions by "The Talk" hosts. I can't stand them.
Of course you can't, buttercup.
@@someguy957 wha
@@DavidGamero Please return to refraining from commenting. Thank you for your compliance!
Louis C.K. - Moral Detective, Comedian, Avid Masterbator
lol theres an episode in Louie season 2 where he defends masterbation
+ Alex K: Thats why he said it! ;)
I was molested when I was a child, and I think the CK joke was one of the best he ever made.
It is so fucking funny BECAUSE he is actually making a very good point.
The only dangerous thing is silence and taboo. Because silence and taboo makes victims ashamed of talking. Silence and taboo makes the pedophiles who never toke action unable and afraid to talk about their problem and try to fix it with professionals.
Those people on CBS are the perfect cliche of the people who made me unable to talk about my trauma to anyone for 20 years. They are treating molested persons like fragile beings unable to defend themselves in life, which is exactly what a child molester does, by the way.
I don't need your fucking compassion. What I need is more Louis CK.
VERY GOOD POINT THANK YOU!!
Good point. It is the same with his "retarded" joke. Shoving stuff under the rug is emotionally dangerous.
No topic should be off-limits for any form of discussion or discourse. Being offensive is a right of free speech, as is being offended. The unfortunate thing about this example was that, rather than using the comedy as a springboard to discuss a very important and complex issue, they took the easy way out and instead danced around the issue by asking what should or shouldn't be joked about. If we don't discuss or even acknowledge topics for fear of feeling offended or uncomfortable, how can we better our society?
Basically. I'm a "OMG EVIL" SJW but I honestly do not agree with the women sitting around the table especially the one bringing up her personal experiences and friend. It's like "I have a black friend" so I'm not racist. There's more to it that's going on.
In this example is the joke offensive? To some obviously it is. We can discuss the issue and the goal is to make sure they feel better about it -- being offended isn't a choice made by someone to feel bad or to strike out at someone, they just didn't like or it hurt them what was said. In this context, I think he's right to make this joke, and he does an amazing job of tiptoeing around the issue in a way that is brutal and messy, but keeping in mind those who have been molested or otherwise.
I think there's another issue here, one of language. I think the two sides are talking past each other. The anti PC crowd seem to think that the PC crowd want to BAN whatever they find offensive. As if OFF LIMITS means NOT ALLOWED. As I hear it, that's not at all what they're saying. "Off limits" seems rather to mean "people ought to have better taste than to talk about this". Even the woman saying "no nightclub, no place ever deserves to have that made fun of" is expressing her opinion and her utopia, not a concrete law or policy suggestion.
And while I love "offensive" humor, I think that we need "The Talk" JUST AS MUCH as we need child molesting jokes. Both are an important part of free speech. SJW wouldn't be hurting anyone, if it weren't for the people reacting to them with ad hominems.
I'm on the non-PC side, but I really hate my side. Why the hate? Why the us vs them? Isn't the bloody point that we want EVERYONE to be allowed to express their opinion? So why react with such hatred towards the people who express opinions different than us.
If someone actually ATTACKS our free speech and suggests REGULATION or LAWS, now that's a reason to reach for our metaphorical weapons. But I haven't heard the women on The Talk do that - the only person I've heard do that REPEATEDLY is now the most powerful person on the planet, and he seems to be the hero of many anti SJW-people. Paradoxically.
Johannes Wiberg Well honestly, I can't trust someone who blocks all people associated with the other side. Besides most SJWs don't actually care about mpst of what they talk about, most are just hipsters that want to be included.
Red Sparrow People always take the easy way out. There’s this thing in Physics called ‘The path of least resistance’ and every atom, quark, molecule and every single quanta of energy seems to follow this rule. That’s why people are fat and that’s why we don’t have millions of Casey Neistats or Bruce Lees etcetera etcetera. Another good example is religion(fiction). Why do you think there are so less theoretical physicists around the world but millions of theists. I’m not disregarding the existence of an omnipotent because I’m not intelligent enough to do that but the point I’m trying to make is that it’s a hell lot easier to believe in a fictional story than it is to understand Quantum mechanics. Most (not all) people do and always will continue to choose the path of least resistance because using your brain requires time, energy and a lot of effort.
Exactly. People are nit picking/ constantly sifting through the information that other people should receive. People telling others left and right, "It's wrong", "Do this", "Stop that" which I think is a load of bullshit.
Honestly, I don't care too much about comedians being 'offensive' or people complaining about jokes they find offensive. Tell whatever jokes you want, complain about whatever you want. What I care about far more is the large (and growing number) of people who can't tell the difference between irony and genuinely hateful words/behaviours, and will defend the latter with great vehemence and cite 'political correctness' when someone calls them out on their genuinely held bigoted beliefs.
I also think it is incredibly unhelpful to suggest that people who speak out against prejudice are just doing it because they like making a fuss, and massively unhelpful to suggest that such people don't know anything about it. I love Seinfeld, but I really don't think he knows more about stuff like that than the average person.
Buffoon1980 I understand what you're sayin', but I'm pretty sure Seinfeld, in that context, was speaking out against the people that see comedians, and just throw out "That's sexist, that's racist," without backing it up or really having a real reason to do so, outside of being offended by it.
Buffoon1980 it's not about you getting offended or not
No one can draw a clean line between irony and hateful words everyone can agree on. So what sounds hateful to you might be delightful irony to others.
However, if someone wrongfully interprets a joke for genuinely hateful words/ behaviour, which in the instance of Louis C K's joke happened, it wouldn't be wrong to cite political correctness.
You're right in that prejudice and spreading of hate should be called out, but it often happens that the people who do so misunderstand what the person making the joke was trying to say.
Best comment.
"We have to let comedians near the things we find uncomfortable, or perhaps even [DRAMATIC PAUSE] wrong." Hahaha. Good video, nerd. Though I will never not find that dramatic pause funny.
Snouty Pig You're so snouty, Snouty Pig. I love it. Never change and keep coming back for the pauses.
Nerdwriter1 Haha. I'm going to refer to the pauses as the Snouty Pause. :D
Yesssss.
get a room you two.
+Therover19 With Vsauce those pauses aren't dramatic they're downright apocalyptic... like the end is nigh. :P
There were no victims speaking up of how offended they were, all the people being offended from this just have no sense of humour.
That's straight up not true and you didn't even bother to look before trying to pass off that bullshit.
+Kurtis Rainbolt-Greene didn't even bother to look where? I can't prove what I said, no. But I sure as hell didn't make it up. I'm going with what the medical and psychological diagnosis and explanation is as it stands right now. What part of what I wrote do you disagree with?
so where's your evidence to the contrary? oh, we're supposed to look it up for ourselves because that's what responsible netizens do? think again lol
Looking through the comments, I found a few different molestation victims talking about how the joke made them laugh. The only "evidence" I found against your point was third-party lip service. So I can safely agree.
"I know someone who went through that at 3 years old"
*audience starts clapping*
They started clapping BEFORE she was about to say that..
Can't believe I had to watch clips of "the talk" now I feel gross.
Just in response to that clip of The Talk you play at the start:
Yeah, survivor here.
Yeah, not offended.
I have always ordered what it must be like for someone like you. Like an episode of Family Guy where they joke about the inadequate child kidnapper in the store.
I have not had anything that bad happen to me, and I have a pretty dark sense of humour. I just wonder what it's like to laugh at something like Jews being burnt alive, and then right afterwards watch a joke that could unravel your whole day. No one would blame you for being upset, but no one provides the solution.
I have been robbed multiple times, once by my best friend. Does that count because it had an affect on me. Does getting the belt from your dad count, or is that not rapey enough?
To me it's like religion in schools. It's impossible to have them all equally represented, so there should be none in schools. It's impossible to please everyone with jokes, so we shouldn't even attempt it.
It really isn't that hard. You deal, you move on. Some people have a harder time moving on then others... but I mean... what else can you do really? Like unless it leaves you with some serious mental scars like PTSD or something, you just get on with our life... because there's not much else you can do.
I won't lie, there are jokes about child abuse that do offend me... that's not one of them. Mostly because if you think about what a joke is and how they work. Like a joke that was about survivors or the powerlessness of victims.. yeah I am probably going to get offended. But that's not a joke about or directed at victims. It's a joke about the victimizer, which is a whole different category. I don't know many survivors who would be offended. I guess you could consider it a trigger for any one who suffers from PTSD or other mental scars, but they tend to do there research before they walk into a show... and they would be more traumatized them offended.
+Romeo Cote I'm a survivor. I was offended. Just because you moved on doesn't mean everyone can.
The Misandrist Misanthrope That's a very fair point.
Though, I don't think moving on and being offended are mutually exclusive things. There are lot's of things I find offensive that have no root in trauma. But I digress.
I don't think being offended is a totally unreasonable response. Regardless of how feel about it, I can respect why some one might find it offensive.
Personally for me though, and what drove my original post was, falls outrage of the women on The Talk to be what offended me. Just this notion that I need some one else to get offended for me to be very patronizing. And really that's what was going on in my post.
+Romeo Cote I do understand the intent behind Louis' joke (another commenter talked about how he was dissecting the character and how the audience fears to see that character as a human rather than a dark character), however, no matter how much you've moved on (for me, anyways), hearing about these sort of things can be triggering for a victim, like it did for me. Though I agree the people on The Talk went overboard- they could've said that it is triggering material and there should be a warning or something just in case, but the joke can still continue.
You're right. We must trust comedians to help navigate us through the abstract, murky, undefined territory of "morality", even if they lead us to places we find uncomfortable or wrong. However, this does not give comedians a free pass or impunity. Bad comedy is still bad comedy, especially, shock humour, in which talentless comedians try to hit the lowest common denominator by provoking shocked reactions by saying radically offensive or insulting statements. Louis CK is not one of these talentless comedians. Notice how he holds our hand and delicately guides us to the logical conclusion that child molesters must really love molesting children, especially if they are putting their lives in danger to do so. This is not a shocking statement. It is an inevitable conclusion to what Louis CK was saying. If we are confounded and offended by a logical conclusion, rather than an outlying statement, it reflects poorly on us as a society; either we've hit an area in which we are very ignorant, hypocritical or both. And this is very true for pedophilia and child molestation. Often when we approach the issue, our first response is to 'kill all child rapists and pedophiles'. This is great for getting rid of the immediate problem, but it doesn't get us any closer to understanding why child molesters do what they do and how they become who they are. Rather than arrogantly condemning all child molesters, we ought to sit them down and try to learn where their behaviour stems from so we can prevent this type of behaviour in the future and reduce harm to children. Is it a mental illness? Is it a sexual orientation? Is it socially constructed? Is it seen throughout anthropological history? We must learn to address and deconstruct child molestation critically and thoroughly rid our ignorance of the issue. And to give credit to Louis CK, we wouldn't even be having this discussion is it wasn't for him. The man is a genius. Those that irrationally struck back against his stand-up fail to look at the bigger picture. At least he has the confidence to make us talk about the problem. Those that were offended would rather us never talk on the issue, inadvertently allowing thousands more children to be put into harm's way.
ilovekitkats I think every comedian should have a free pass, it's up to us, the audience, to decide if we're gonna give them the attention.
I utterly agree with you. I've understood the power of comedians for a long time (I think most of us do, at a subconscious level at least), and I've been aware of their importance in history since I know of Court Jesters and Buffons. I've just recently realized, though, that comedians use humour as a kind of filter to sieve reality and make it more attainable, more easily handled. In moments of crises, for example, comedians become the voice of reason and wisdom when all other voices either remain silent or are shouting nonesense. When people enter a stand-up or a comedy film, they enter with this huge, incomprehensible, terrible reality that they can't grasp, and often one or two hours of comically revising a few aspects and phenomenons of that reality leave them relieved, relaxed, not only because of the laughing (which is a tremendous and vital help), but because the filter was applied to those aspects and phenomenons, and it has dissected them to the point where they don't seem so scary or horrible. D.R.
+ilovekitkats I 1000% agree with everything you said.
***** Yeah, most of the times that's what's expected. But as the Myth of the Cave, man... if only but one heard the Call, then all is not lost, hehehe. D.R.
+ilovekitkats The same issue happened when the episode of UK satirical comedy 'Brasseye' called 'Paedogeddon' was aired. The irony was so sweet; a show mocking and satirising how the subject of paedophilia is sensationalised in the press and met with extreme fury, mania and panic from the public to an unnecessary degree was responded to with sensationalism in the press and met with extreme fury, mania and panic from the public to an unnecessary degree. (A further bit of irony occurred when the show's creator Chris Morris saw that the article in a tabloid newspaper that condemned the 'Paedogeddon' episode as "sick" was on the same page as a large photo of singer Charlotte Church with a caption that read 'She's a big girl now' followed by a set of bullet points about how much her breasts had grown since she was a child star - despite the fact that at the time she was just 15).
That clip from 'The Talk' where the woman from 'The Big Bang Theory' really bugged me. She's in a comedy whereby subjects are occasionally joked about that are likely to offend a small demographic of people - but she's okay with it (Or rather, okay with it enough to accept a paycheck). But then it comes to a subject that she personally is uncomfortable with and therefore NOBODY should be allowed to talk about it, joke about it or listen to people who talk about it or joke about it. In short I say to her: Fuck the fuck off. Any topic can be used for humour, it's about not confusing the subject of a joke with the target of a joke.
I also read an article recently that it has been proposed to the German government that they should open up medical/psychiatric facilities to help people who are sexually attracted to children - but haven't committed a crime - and are afraid of opening up about it in the fear that they'll be utterly exiled and condemned. These clinics with apparently try to rid this desire from them. Interesting and a far more mature and useful way of dealing with the problem than just sticking fingers in your ears shouting "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! LALALALLALALA"
ı got sexually abused when i was 6. and this joke DOESNT OFFEND ME AT ALL. because society find offesive everthing about rape now nobody cant talk about it. that is why i didnt talk about it too when i was a kid. because ı thought this is something we shouldnt talk. people should talk. dont make talking about rape a TABOO.
Well, this is awkward.
Natalie hahahahahahhaha I came here to say the same damn thing
Louis isn't and has never been a child molester... so in this context, no, it isn't awkward at all.
Still awkward
So? The point is hes making jokes about sex crimes when he ends up being a pervert in another way...
Thats why its awkward and not hypocritical you dolt.
CJ C
Nice try, but no.
I'm a mental health therapist and I work with sex offenders and also people who have been molested. Louie is starting an honest dialogue that should have been started literally decades ago - what he said wasn't really funny to me personally, but it NEEDED to be said. Thank you Louie for exploring this taboo, and unpacking some of the cultural logic (and illogic) behind it. --- For some people pedophilia is basically a sexual orientation. It's definitely a very unfortunate orientation that will lead some people to cause a great deal of harm, but does necessarily lead to sexual offending (there's a difference between pedophilia and pederasty just like there's a difference between heterosexual thoughts and feelings and heterosexual acts). There definitely needs to be more treatment for people who have this unfortunately condition. Treatment *does* help for sex offenders who are not classified as "antisocial personalities" (aka, sociopaths), and despite popular opinion the vast majority of sex offenders do not meet this criteria. Best practices and research should inform policy rather than closeminded overly-emotional fucking morons like the woman who spoke on the talk show immediately following Louie's segment; people like this inadvertently perpetuate the problem because they increase stigma and prevent people from trying to get the help they KNOW they definitely need.
Well said.
murdock- In case you haven't caught it yet, I think you will enjoy a recent Radiolab episode: www.radiolab.org/story/revising-fault-line/
It's about a guy that underwent brain surgery to correct repetitive seizures and ended up with a child porn obsession that he was only partially able to control. After having been caught and doing time, he now lives a normal life with therapy and medication. It's 48 minutes long, but I find the story compelling and it made me rethink my pre-conceived notions in much the same way that your comment did.
adri m pathology is socially constructed. Which is why over time societies have changed in the way they view mental health problems. Not too long ago we used to think about homosexuality pretty much the same way we still think about pedophilia (being gay was illegal well into the nineties). What behaviour or mental state is deemed harmful very much depends on the status quo. If the status quo is: children aren't fully formed, vulnerable beings that need extra-care and extra-protection, then yes, pedophilia is a pathology. Historically speaking that wasn't always the case. (Childhood as a protective state first came up after industrialization). I'm not trying to normalize or moralize pedophilia. I'm just saying: it is a sexual orientation, it's just one that is disfunctional, because you can't live it without breaking the law. So there needs to be a protective infrastructure in dealing with it. But so far, we don't really have one other than waiting till a child has been abused and then getting rid of the abuser, which is a pretty lame process if you ask me.
Uh, well, there should be a stigma. And they should also get help.
I hear you, I really do but they need to be euthanized. I feel bad for them from the bottom of my heart and it's unfortunate they were born with a dangerous sexual orientation but there it is.
Again it's sad that they have this dangerous mutation but they have to be put to sleep. Molesting a child causes so much damage to a young innocent person it can't be accepted, tolorated or managed. I refuse to risk even one child getting molested. Therefore I believe they should be removed from society permanently.
It's very sad for them but it has to be done in my own opinion.
Amazing content man, congrats.
***** Thanks!
+Nerdwriter1 so what are your thoughts on dear fat people?
+Nerdwriter1 man you should become a director or a writer and put your brilliant mind into amazing movies.
Nerdwriter1 I agree. I can shoot the whole thing.
I just found this guys channel and have been binge watching it for a bit now. keep it up man!
I have an idiot father who beat me sometimes in the past, and I laugh with jokes about that. People is too stupid to understand humor and use that humor to let things in the past.
Bojan Babic Thank you!
i feel the same
What language is this?
(Funny, right??)
Happy to see you're doing this full time. I really enjoy these videos!
TheGamerFromMars Thanks Gamer!!
I like dark humor and satire because it makes you laugh, but gets you horrified and thinking. There is a famous article back in time during the famine in Ireland where a writer says to end the hunger to eat babies and also use there skin to make things like gloves. It's pretty fucking horrible half of the class thought it was real. I was chuckling. I admitted I found it hilarious and said its satire. So when that was found out some kid yelled, but that's not funny why joke about something like that people are starving! To which the professor turned to the student and said exactly it was to get the attention of people who were trying to turn a blind eye to one entire countries problem and have them force it with a well written and witty joke to actually think about it for once.
Time*
+Jamie Northup Gotta admit, I laughed at the idea of eating babies and using their skin to make things like gloves. lol
Jonathan Swift - MVP.
+Keelan Croke fuck yeah!!
+Jamie Northup Was it a Joke though, it wasn't framed or presented like a joke. He could have easily said, we're and I'm afraid things we are getting so hungry a man told me he contemplated eating his own child as tears swelled in his eyes as the hunger had infected him so deep his mind was in shambles, a broken soul was born today. The message would've gotten to the people just as hard if not harder. An image always hits harder than a joke. Most comedians take the dark out of a situation and frame the joke around the situation rather than make the situation itself a joke. For instance, Dave Chapelle: Chivalry is dead, is the situation, and women killed it, is the joke. With Louis C.K. the joke is molestation.
one of Nerdwriter's best videos imo-- he brings such nuance to complicated topics, and nowhere is that nuanced approach more clear than here in this vid-- cheers all
Far too often lately, "It's offensive!" has become a knee-jerk reaction for "It's trying to make me think...AND I DON'T WANT TO!"
The king of standup Mr. George Carlin One said "I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
Woah, I just discovered this channel and I must say, it's really elevating content.
Thanks man !
Madvillain nice
+The LoopDigger Madvillain nice [2]
lol are you guys sent here from /mu/ or something
nah I just found out about nerdwriter when I was looking for an analysis on Children of Men after seeing it for the first time
Armaggedon InACan ah thats cool. I think the first video I watched was this one. Loved his channel ever since though. His analyzing art videos are great and help me with writing my own essays.
Damn, this video did not age well.
I'm not so sure. I think, to use the analogy of the video, it's clear that Louis C.K. became a "corrupt" detective. Did a lot of good things, but abused his "privilege" to wade into the morality fog. And that his career as a comedian should be rescinded.
Saw this video in my recommends, came to assess people's comments on exactly this matter xD
I watched this and the other one on CK when they first came out. I came back to see what people and Nerdwriter1 think now.
His jokes have nothing to do with the acts he's made. Why connect the two. He's still entertaining and a good comedian.
Yeah it did. STILL FUNNY!!
I really enjoy your videos and every video of yours makes me think about the topic for hours. Moreover they sometimes really change my mindset or my behaviour because of the different points of view you are delivering to the viewer. There is no other channel on TH-cam like yours and I really hope that you keep making this super interesting content.
Keep going!
Comedy is a vital psychological tool we need for dealing with difficult subjects.We need to be able to laugh about something in order to feel like we have power over it - to make it not something to shrink it terror from but confront with confidence.
+Roman Jones People attempting to seem morally superior would rather take the "horrible thing happens - Only things that can be said about it are how horrible it is." road. While intelligent individuals not attempting to represent a group or adopting a psuedo-moral stance take the "thing is horrible, but we are aware of that and can still find humor in it because we aren't cunts." road.
+Nokty Best 2 comments on this vid.
One of the core functions of humor is to disarm the traumatic and painful experiences of life so that we may finally approach them, process the emotions, examine them and find some resolution so that we can move forward. The "too soon" response is a common indicator that people aren't yet ready to face the emotional weight of a topic and unfortunately I think Louis ran into a similar problem here. In my view, that just makes it all the more necessary.
Dude you are seriously my favorite youtuber. Everything you put out is amazing and makes me want to slow clap.
This is one of my new fav channels. keep up the great vids!
i have a best friend who was molested as a child, both him and i found louis ck's joke hilarious.
ελλαδαρααααα!!!!! χαχαχαχαχαχα
And the children also think this is funny!
i wouldn’t say the whole thing was hilarious(the joke wasn’t made that well) but things that are horrific and uncomfortable can often be only openly talked about or brought up through humor and hopefully we all get more insightful about those things in some way.
χάος fuck off
I don’t get what’s laugh about that?
SONG NAME >>> Ian Ewing - Noh Life
+Oskar Koch Dude thank you SO much. Asked for the song month back and got no replies. Same with a dozen other users.
thankya very much
Despite recent developments I still believe that this is one of your greatest videos. I couldn't think of any better way to explain what comedy means to me and why I think it is important to protect it's freedom. That message holds true and Louis C K's WORK still is a good example of that.
Your videos are incredible, I’m going back and watching all your videos and I’m glad to find out you decided to do this full time a one point👌
C.K's monologue was total genius and anybody who was "offended" simply didn't listen to it or didn't get the point.
Brillaint video. You manage to put into words things I can never properly explain to people. Thank you!
And btw I'll support you on patreon as soon as I get a decent regular income. Really like your stuff.
Baw Jaws No rush, but thanks!
+Baw Jaws False. 6-7 minutes is not enough time to delve deeply enough into a subject of morality in comedy. Just because he is very articulate does not mean he did the subject much justice.
I just found your channel today but dude! All of your content is so diverse and uniquely interesting, and well produced (kudos on the background music). great stuff man.
nerdwriter i really like your talent of observing people and the way you write and talk is very powerful. many more subscriptions equal justice for what you deserve man
I don't comment often so I may not fit the norm. First of all I am a Stand-up amateur and I am also a proponent of may social justice causes. I find this dichotomy fascinating and like most dichotomies false. I think we need to accept a gradient. I have a story of an example.
For instance I have a bit about the death penalty. I pretend to be someone who is proposing our system in a world where there isn't one. I take on a creepy demeanor and describe our normal system in unusual terms to expose some absurdities.
During one performance a woman in the front row said "I was the victim of a violent crime" Clearly this bit was disturbing her. Most of the club was comics and didn't hear her and immediately turned on her, like she was a heckler.
I was caught like a dear in headlights. I quickly and clumsily turned the focus to myself and my own ideas unimportance as a amateur stand up at an open mic in central Indiana. The crowd turned from her and she quietly left shortly there after.
The comedians were so quick to defend because so few people understand comedy like we do. Lious CK said to a heckler in the show that those five minutes might be the only part of the week comics live for and in many cases that's true. So they live in fear someone may try to take that away. In many cases the comics only power are their words.
But she was hurt by my bit. I'm not sure of the circumstances of her problem but I am empathic to her reaction.
So where on the gradient am I. I still do the bit. It may be my best one. But if something like this happens again, I will try to use my stage time to work through the audience reaction, try to learn something, try to be funny and communicate it.
A little self indulgent but I felt the need to share. A little long and polite for a TH-cam comment...anybody who disagrees with me is a Nazi.
Thank you.
***** Your empathy towards your audience members who feel agitated by your "death penalty" bit is admiring. However, I think the perception of the recipient of the message is as important as much as the content of the message. The limitations of that perceptions speak more of the recipient than the message itself. In the case of a victim of child molestation, or violent crime she/he may feel their that trauma is made fun of. But that was not the message, or the intent. The message asks how absurd it is that a child molester goes to molest a child despite the legal and social implications of such an act, that they are willing to risk their freedom to commit such a crime. It is an important insight I think to see parts of the problem of child molestation than the default reaction which is to point fingers and throw convicts in long-term jail sentences.
The effects of the joke itself can be argued, but no one can truly gauge all the range of reactions that all people can have. Some get offended, some don't, some don't care. That is true for all kinds of jokes, is it not? I think it really is up to the audience to decide through discourse if it is offensive, yet we have to settle that what we find offensive may not be found offensive by others in a different time.
I personally find the bit interesting. His intent was not to make fun of victims, but the perpetrators by pointing out the absurdities. No one really discusses why pedophiles are attracted to children. The discussion starts and ends with the easy and comfortable default, pedophiles should be given harshest punishment be it death, solitary jail, life term, etc. We can accept and make fun of death in itself. It is even shown as comedy to children-daffy duck, rabbits, etc. It became acceptable and used in all media. Perhaps because we settled with the idea that death can happen for many different reasons, yet we don't make fun of all kinds of death, not all the time. So perhaps we are just not ready yet to have a comfortable discussion about pedophilia as a society and that is why so many of us don't like to be surprised to confront a topic we avoid by one of our most popular comedian when we expect to have a fun time.
I have little to add to what you said, and what Peterpiper aptly added. I just say this: you go, man. I support you utterly although I don't know you. Your words are true and I think that you're also true as a person, and that's not easily squandered. D.R.
+Adam Lee Weatherford Thumbs up for the closer.
I found the joke at the beginning remarkably inoffensive. Surprising and shocking, yes, but not outright offensive. It is an interesting take on a very sensitive subject that never mocks or asks to make light of the suffering of those effected, but rather the perpetrators themselves (as making light of those effected would be inhumane). But perhaps some subjects are simply taboo and absolutely off-limits 110% of the time, with no exceptions, regardless of how clever or different or worthy of thought the statement is. Or maybe I've just been that desensitized to anything no matter how horrid or disgusting it is.
I find the concept of taboo offensive. Intolerance is not to be tolerated.
I also find it anything but offensive. It actually tries to uncover the reasons and motivations behind child molesters, and it is only through understanding those that we could even hope to prevent future incidents. Neglecting that outright by taking offense is a lazy way of saying that you actually don't care about the general problem.
Scott A Agreed. Now that's a SJW stance I could get behind.
Awesome!!! Great way to put this. I have always felt this way. No one want to think this stuff goes on. They want to forget about it. He makes us think b
Loving this channel more and more with each video. Keep it up!
Really think he should cover season 19 of south park
+chiloecko That would be cool
+chiloecko South Park in most regards no different from Family Guy, as both of their philosophies or comedic intent aren't entirely about exposing those in power, more so mocking people for caring about things. There. A small analysis.
+Jack Heathen You haven't seen many South Park episodes I take it
H Smith I watched entire late seasons of South Park and they got so obnoxious they became unwatchable. I enjoyed the movie somewhat back in the day, but now it's eh.
Jack Heathen I'd recommend season 19 which focuses on political correctness. It's not exactly subtle, but it's definitely some of their best satire.
I find it offensive to say that a comedian as genius as Louie is offensive
Is it, though? After listening to a great number of his jokes, I would say he certainly can be offensive. The child molestation joke is exhibit A. The real issue is whether or not it's "OK" to be offensive. To that, I say fuck yes it's OK.
That's not an offensive joke, though. An offensive joke is a joke that is designed to hurt certain groups of people, which would in turn make other groups of people delighted. This joke was not designed to hurt anyone, and very few, if any, of Louis C.K's jokes are.
of·fen·sive
adjective
1.
causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry.
It has nothing to do with designing it to be offensive. Taking offense to something is a reactionary process. Offensiveness deals with the result of the subject.
+MoonTaLoo No. Something "being" offensive, yes, but in the context of "sick jokes", no.
April Babies He is offensive. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with a comedian being offensive. No good comedian isn't offensive.
I have to say that I have found your videos EXTREMELY refreshing. Well thought out and the commentary to be on target and to say the least objective. If there is a way for you to find your way on to mainstream media as well that would be outstanding!!! Bravo!!!
I really like your channel. You put a lot of hard-work into each video and it shows.
i personally don't think a collective morality truly exists
+Pen and Paper You're more right than you know.
+Pen and Paper I think there is plenty of collective "morality", but the question is: "Is it really moral?"
+Pen and Paper It seems everyone loves to deny morality intellectually, but when something truly awful/unjust happens, people are convicted by a distinct wrongness. It's easy to come up with examples that either practical for collective well-being, or the examples themselves are so fucked up, that virtually no one will support putting them in practice (genocide, etc.). Believing in morality is easy, but it's philosophically dense terrain, and that's why most people give up and claim there's no objective or universal morality, often citing trivial examples of cultures disagreeing on various practices. But counter examples are easy. No culture would support throwing all of their new born babies into a massive blender right after birth. If you have even one example of something that would be universally morality, then universal morality exists.
+Pen and Paper your name is actually the solution lol just have people write down what the think is moral.there u go ^,^
+SweetRandal Morality is just the experience of pain. We all experience it different, so we all have different moralities. The extremes of pain, such as grinding up heaps of babies are no doubt universal. Just as the extremes of temperatures are.
I have terminal cancer. I went to a comedy show with a friend and a comedian sang a song along the lines of "Look at the bright side, soon you'll be dead". My friend with me thought it might have offended me or asked me if I was ok. I was laughing my ass off with it.
You can't censor comedy. It only goes to intent and context. Yes, of cause, cancer sucks. Of course rape and child molestation is a fucking horrible crime that requires the most severe punishment in the law. But the comedy about it brings light to the matter. I would even go further and that by making jokes about it helps. When it is not spoken about or discussed, it's hidden. It's only now that it's in the open do we feel more comfortable to attack the conspiracy culture of child rape within the Catholic church for instance, or years ago spousal rape and abuse.
Comedians raise awareness on the taboo that we wouldn't otherwise discuss. More power to them.
John Grayson mate you doing better now?
I was molested. Not actually kidding. At 7, when I was completely aware of it. (Or as aware of it as you can be at 7) Louis bit made me laugh so fucking hard. His Mounds Bar line killed me.
The truth is that "normal" people don't want to hear about it, that is the backlash. Only by talking and joking and sharing can we get over any trauma. Censoring the twin towers out of every movie or TV show is how Americans deal with trauma, that is to say they don't.
The irony of this right now.
It makes you think..... what if he wasn't joking....
"Is that joke offensive"?
No, it's a truth. It is probably great for pedophiles to do "their thing", as disgusting as it is. Some may feel like shit afterwards and some probably lack the ability to.
But no, that joke is not offensive. It's not a joke at the expense of anyone. It's a brilliant joke. It's a really dirty joke, this is what comedy is about!
Jagh Haringenamn That is a great point. That joke was "truth". So what made it offensive to some people? Probably because he took a subject that is serious, brings up bad memories, and looked down upon and he intended for people to laugh at the statement. Also, because he presented it on the surface as an act that is enjoyable to some people when that vast majority not only disagree, but get hurt because of it.
His goal seemed to make people laugh, and if we're all lucky, get people to think.
***** Louis CK said "offending people is a healthy and necessary act. When you offend someone, you are forcing them to think, you just caused a discussion." something like that, one of my favorite quotes.
Louis CK is a fucking genius. comedy is made to talk about uncomfortable topics. he isnt making fun of people who have been molested, he's poking at our society. try to think about something before you criticize it's content.
This channel has seriously become one of my favorites.
He's not making fun of people who have been molested, or making light of it. He's using comedy to let us think about something that we would find hard to think about in a serious way. What he said is true, considering the risks involved the people who do it must find it incredibly addictive. That's an extremely uncomfortable thought to have but a great comedian allowes us to think about horrible things without losing our minds. About the only thing that does offend me is self righteous slugs who get offended on other people's behalf.
Sounds like Michael from Vsauce .
I think I just found my new fav channel.
Great video with a great message and great examples. You have a great voice for this as well, btw
You're amazing. I'm so grateful for you sharing your knowledge. Thankyou. Your topics are very interesting and I follow your channel very closely. I'm just a broke student now, but I promise that when I start earning, I'll pledge some money towards this beautiful cause of dissecting life as we know if.
Also I think its important to draw the line between making a joke about something and making that thing into a joke.
top 5 fave youtube comments i ever read thank you!
That line varies for each person. Like he said, it’s really just an a gray area.
Just when you think there is a line, humor will catch you off guard. If you think there is a line, you are severely mistaken. Comedy crosses "norms" all the time, and that crossing is what makes comedy possible as it is.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not condoning anything. I used to be suicidal and for me, suicide is not a joke. That being said, I am merely telling you that the potential of humor/comedy lies beyond your personal stubborn beliefs.
And if you don't understand that, maybe you didn't understand this video.
yeah! the punchline isn't haha the children were raped. It's more like: look at how crazy childabuse actually is when you dissect it and put it in a new perspective. The joke works because we all agree childabuse is horrific. If it normalized childabuse, it would have fallen flat.
This has that poetic sound that seems like wisdom till you think about it
Have another read ;)
this guy... is blessed with "THE TH-cam VOICE" or "THE VIDEO VOICE". #nohomo
+James Netherian y u put no homo :/
So glad you're full time! Woo! I got you on Patreon, man. Keep up the inspiring work; love your viewpoint. :)
new favorite channel , your vids are so in depth for such a short length. fucking brilliant man , keep up the hard work!
That joke is good. I love Louis C.K. humor.
The most important part of any communication is context. Certain factors might make individuals more sensitive to some issues, but one must still look at the way in which it is being talked about. Louise CK was not joking about pedophilia, he was using his humor as a platform to address the manner in which we label certain people as monsters, rather than addressing the fact they are, in fact, human beings and we are better suited to try to understand them as human beings, than as monsters.
I saw this when it first came out. but only now do j truly get it. great essay. Louies work is worth studying and analysing for this very reason.
i can’t stop watching your videos. much love!!!
I'm French so my vision of all this might not be the most precise but I love American stand-up comedy and I've always found it strange that such a subversive art form is thriving in a country so inclined to censorship in media and puritanism. It seems like the USA have this moral ambivalence; and it is a strong one. It's weird and I have trouble finding the source of it. Maybe it has to do with a kind of genral manichaeism, black or white thinking.
Absolutely incredible content, well put together, thought provoking, efficient . Well done.
This is the video I needed to see. I've had the question addressed in this video forever. Thanks, Nerdwriter!
There should be no limit to what comedians are allowed to joke about because, at the end of the day, that is a limit on free speech. And this will become a downhill effect, starting with comedians, then we censor what the general public can say, then we censor books, etc. Free speech is free speech in its entirety, and unless you are threatening the lives or mortal safety of people by what you say, you should be allowed to say whatever you want.
Noah Roush To be fair, there's a difference between 'can' and 'should'. Everybody has free speech and can say what they want, but that goes both ways. Others can then say, "You shouldn't say that," in response, otherwise you're blocking their free speech in turn.
''you're blocking their free speech in turn.'' ?
So,saying: ''You're wrong for not letting me speak''...is equally wrong / just the same as saying: ''Don't talk that way'' In other words, you're wrong for telling me it's wrong for me to say you're wrong. Sounds like cheap parlor trick.
Alek Samson I don't think you understood my position. What I meant was, _everyone_ has free speech. So, while one person can say whatever they want (maybe a KKK member on black people, to give an example), another person can say that they shouldn't say that in response. However, that doesn't mean the former person has to listen, or frankly, do anything about it, in a legal sense. Of course, they might be affected in a social sense.
Unfortunately, as you see in this video, moral guardians who have nothing much better to do decided to rail on Louis C.K. because of his joke. Again, they're allowed to do that, but Louis can also ignore them entirely.
If a joke is furthering a dangerous idea like racism it's not good inciting others to be racist. But the joke in question wouldn't have furthered the idea of child molestation.
My sentiments exactly
+Damien Hughes I'm not sure if racism and child molestation are the same thing. Racism is a systemic tool acquired by dominance that benefits white people creating privileges. Child Molestation benefits only the child molester.
+Jack Heathen The point is simply that ideas become beliefs which illicit behaviours. Furthering any idea that could lead to a negative behaviour is a bad thing regardless of the dynamics surrounding it.
+Damien Hughes If a comedian says something that truly furthers the idea of racism then it's not a joke, plain and simple. Comedians can still joke about racial stereotypes though without endorsing racism.
H Smith More or less of what I meant, but yes.
looking back, your editing has improved so much
Great content. You gave me alot to think about in just few minutes!
You do a good job of seeing both sides of this matter. Glad to hear that you're going full time!
RootCorn Thanks for the support, RootCorn. I really tried to put forward a coherent position on this matter that both sides could support.
No problem.
Below me you'll find numerous examples of people who only got as far as the video's title.
You know when you feel awkward and you joke around or be silly to try and take the tension off? That’s how I feel about edgy jokes, or jokes that cross certain lines. That’s why I love comedians, they aren’t laughing at victims, they aren’t asking people who KNOW it’s wrong to ignore rape victims, racist slander or every other bad thing being done, they aren’t even making light of it. They are trying to make people laugh about how fucked up our world is and that sometimes, getting mad is okay, crying is okay, that laughing is okay. If we can’t laugh at something so ball sack insane, we’d all go crazy and be consumed with grief. People who decide that it’s not for them THATS OKAY TOO, but when someone is in a safe space, using their freedoms of speech to help people see all the other good shit we have around the world, a talent like turning a sickening thing and getting people to laugh at it is hard, and it’s scary! But it helps when you aren’t just looking at everything in black and white. If you get triggered, stay away, but try to laugh at something.
you just earned a subscriber. Thank you for discussing this topic!! And the difficulty associated with discussing a topic that is taboo. I have always admired professions in which a person has flexibility, and almost a sense of obligation to discuss these things. A comedian is one of those professions. How could we not discuss these topics? They will not go away if ignore them. Perhaps a discussion can lead to more exchange of ideas and information, if anything else.
"The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible" - Salman Rushdie
I'm subscribed to 71 channels. This is my favorite.
Timo Jattu Glad to be in the top spot, Timo. I'll do my best to keep that position.
I think comedians are able to address some really complex and true things happening in society in a way that everyone can acknowledge.The effect it has on people is sometimes it hurts to know the truth.they can also be the most honest people on television because to make someone laugh you have to make them relate to the joke.theyre selling the truth without an agenda.
First off, I love your videos. They are super interesting and allow me to think more analytically and understand further why I respect all these great forms of art. I think you should try doing a video about Chris Farley. He is my favorite comedian simply because of his devotion to the art. He, unlike most, completely put himself out there for the joy of others. The way he falls down without catching himself, like everyone else would do, is a perfect example that he goes all out when making people laugh. Just a request.. but keep up the good stuff. Love the content man!
The modern world is focused on reacting. No one these days, myself included, actually digests something first before talking about it and thats really sad. thats why i love videos like these - that remind me to slow down and think before i speak and also that i am missing out on some great experiences or appreciation for art by not giving it the courtesy to ponder it.
Those women saying it's offensive because someone might get upset... by that logic child molestation is okay if the child is unaffected. She was right, Louis is far far smarter than them.
@@squamish4244 thats an oopsie
Indeed.
@@squamish4244 Children?
Female comedians. And over the phone - that time, without consent.
Dude, I like him, and he'll come back from this, but let's not pretend what he did wasn't fucking creepy.
Evan, you're awesome.
If I had friends like you, my writing career might actually exist.
Have to have that support system and all.
Great videos! Your narration is always very well done. I would love to see some deconstructions of Robin Williams....his incredibly unique style and wealth of talents has always amazed me!
"let" them...? we have no right to STOP them... free speech as a principle beyond the 1st ammendment is vitally important for a free society. you don't like what someone says, you've every right to turn around and head the other way. you have absolutely NO right to muzzle them... no matter WHAT they're saying short of incitement to violence and other very constrained limitations to speech.
Except free speech only goes as far as the government imprisoning you. There is no such right to speech as that anyone else HAS to take what you say and deal with it.
Shatto no. The 1ST AMMENDMENT applies only to the government. But the enlightenment era notion of free speech precedes it, informs it and speaks to a value that is important at all levels of human free society. People absolutely have the right to walk away, plug their ears or argue back. But this impulse to MUZZLE and CENSOR people, particularly because you disagree with them is a dangerous, fascist, authoritarian impulse. "sticks and stones". Put on your big boy pants and deal with it, with messages you don't like.
jin choung The fact that people think that trying to arguing back or to make an area they can't go and scream their views, is trying to censor them is what the issue is. With Trump trying to ban media that speaks against him. This kind of dictatorship hypocrisy.
again, arguing back is THE RIGHT THING TO DO. "make an area they can't go and scream their views" is LITERALLY CENSORSHIP. and no one's talking about someone's personal home. but when entire platforms like twitter or facebook do it, that should be of concern to everyone. "With Trump trying to ban media that speaks against him." --- i TOTALLY AGREE. that is bullshit as well. there is plenty of bullshit on both sides with the left and their delicate sensibilities that can't tolerate the slightest dissent and their constant insistence of fucking "safe spaces" (are they fucking children?) and the right's autocratic attempt to crush dissent. THEY'RE BOTH BAD.
jin choung
_is LITERALLY CENSORSHIP. and no one's talking about someone's personal home._
Except it's not. You can't follow me into a bar to harass me and scream obscenities if I enter a restaurant (or any respectable establishment) you'll get kicked out.
You'd get kicked out of my home
You'd get kicked out of platforms when you don't follow their ToS or rules.
You'd get kicked out of rallies like Trump did to protesters.
None of that is censorship when you're perfectly free to voice your opinions everywhere else.
Safe spaces are for people who are harassed and bullied beyond reasonable measure, not simply "I disagree with you" you really honestly think that offends them?
A joke is kind of like a frog. You can dissect it to see how it works, but it's dead when you're done.
Really enjoying this perspective - dipstick indicators for moral atmosphere. It gives me a feeling about what morality is that borders on a sort of thermodynamic version of moral distribution. It's about how perspectives and moods are transmitted through networks, congeal (quasi-)discrete communities and form temporally transitory attitudes about what's acceptable. In this context, laws seem to act as lowest common denominator benchmarks in the moral evolution of a culture. But if this means there's a sense in which we can never arrive at some purely objective moral boundary, our notion of right and wrong as absolutes dissolves away and moral systems become defining features in the evolution of cultural organization - maybe even developmental features in the organizing of transcendence into higher, organismic modes of Being.
Awesome channel! I'm glad my addiction to Louis C.K. comedy brought me to it
What was the name of the song used in the outro sequence?
Comedy's intent is not to harm, but some inevitable harm lurks in the truth.
I watched the SNL opening of Louis CK. Maybe the single most brilliant piece of comedy I've ever seen. And nobody....nobody could pull it off except Louis.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best pieces of comedy of all time. I would personally give that to George Carlin "Euphemisms" or CK "Of course, but maybe."
His new 2017 special is SO good with this video in mind.
Yeah, and doesn't it look even better in 2021??
Anyone know the song used in the background??