In Europe, Good Wisecracks Make Good Neighbors

How the Seemingly Xenophobic Jokes Europeans Tell About Each Other Bring Them Together

To understand Europe’s humor is to understand its history; satire and politics have long gone hand in hand. Whether in drawings, ballads, or prose, humor has long provided a counterbalance and provocation to the political consensus of the Old Continent. Etiquette—that complex network of courtly conventions that we might today call political correctness—may have played a significant role in regulating people’s behaviors and social interactions. But humor has always been the people’s weapon of choice to challenge and criticize these norms when they become too oppressive. As such, comedy has …

Why It’s OK to Laugh About ISIS

Don’t Blame Muslims for Joking About Terrorists

I used to tell jokes about my lady moustache.

I thought it was important to let everyone know about my struggle to rip follicles from the root of my face, …

Political Correctness Isn’t Killing Comedy, It’s Making It Better

Diversity Among Comedians and Audiences Makes Room for More Laughs

Comedians have always had one simple guiding rule: be funny. That is, some critics say, until now.

Recent conversations dominating the comedy world in the past few years have a lot …

Keep the Offensive Comedy Coming

Why I Fell in Love With Joking About Taboo Topics

I have loved the art of stand-up comedy for as long as I can remember. I loved everything about it. The boldness. The nerve. The clever play on words. The …

With Rushmore, the Charm Is in the Details

The Quirky Style of Wes Anderson’s Breakout Film Still Draws a Fashionable Crowd

Upon its release in 1998, the indie comedy Rushmore cemented both director Wes Anderson’s reputation and co-star Bill Murray’s renaissance as patron saint of droll, sad-eyed, middle-aged men in crisis. …

When Bigoted Humor Isn’t Just a Joke

White Comedians Tiptoeing Around Racial Taboos Are Adding Insult to Injury

Over the last decade, I’ve studied the changing nature of race-talk among comedians, from the civil rights era to the present. Specifically, I’ve been interested in examining the use of …