Funny or Racist?

When does a stand-up routine stop being funny and just become plain racist? How does one decide when the comedian goes too far? Comedy isn’t one of those black and white areas, where it’s easy to judge if something is right or wrong, its complicated and so that’s probably why there’s a lot of debate over it.

Comedy can be a very effective tool to break down racism. It’s a great way of getting rid of cultural barriers without the awkward ‘Am I being racist?’ Political correctness can at times be a pain in the arse.

Yet there are have been obvious times when comedians have crossed THAT line. A famous example of this is Michael Richards’s stand-up act in 2006. He shouted racial abuse and epithets at the audience that had nothing to do with his act. 

Here’s the video.

 

It was an incident that shocked many because he was pretty famous and up until the quite respected. 

However not every race-centred joke turns into a massive debate. Loads of comedians see stand-up as a way to open doors and allow dialogue to flow about race. One example of this is Russell Peters, he is an excellent comedian who has the ability to address serious topics involving race but in a hilarious way. 

Here’s a video of him doing some stand-up. Enjoy :)