The last time I saw a comedian, it was some hack on a "Last Comic Standing" rerun, and he was discussing, in no particularly original terms... Women. How very original. Now, the last time I saw a comedian and actually laughed, it was an young dude talking about his own personal take on aging and dying ninjas. That's not only something you don't see that often, but it's an odd take on a normally taboo topic. (Read: Death, not ninjas.) This is the reason comedy is going down the drain. The brand of comedian that used to rule the day is dead. Bill Cosby and David Letterman have taken themselves out of the picture and been replaced by hacks like Dat Phan (If you don't remember Dat Phan, you're one lucky sunuvabiznatch) and Ralphie May. It seems the only thing Generation X finds funny is an Asian making jokes about the fact that he is, in fact, an asian. (A shocking fact to all those who may be both blind and unable to tell dialects.) And yet the laughs keep coming. There we have the problem. The laughs continue, no matter how bad the material is. An obvious or racialy dependant joke is a lot less funny than an original, unexpected joke in most situations. Take the following jokes.
1. What do you call a bunch of Mexicans running down a hill? Answer; Jail break!
2. Life is like Constipation. In the end, nobody gives a crap.
Which joke was funnier? You've most likely already heard the first one, as it's both unoriginal AND it's racial. Any high schooler could probably rattle off 20 more jokes of that sort when asked, and yet they get less funny every time. The 2nd one, however (Which was actually written by me) would most likely surprise somebody, which normally produces more of a laugh. A crappy overused peice of garbage normally gets a chuckle out of people, simply for the novelty effect of it. Of course, humor is all in the eye of the beholder, and anyone who doesn't like puns would say that the 1st joke was funnier. Excuse me for the example. www.ytmnd.com is the extreme example of things getting less funny everytime. When's the last time you saw a funny Brian Peppers site?
Of course, it could always be that I'm old fashioned. Maybe I should start laughing at old blonde jokes now too, just so I can fit the mold. Damn, my life's gonna suck then.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
I cannot agree with you. I am far too easily amused. I was playing Zelda:Ocarina of Time and I was way up on a mountain and everything is all rocky, and out of nowhere I hear this cow moo. It was so random, I laughed for longer than I should have. In case you are wondering, the cow ended up being in a grotto. I also listen to the Blue Collar Comedey channel on Sirius and I get a real kick out of that.
Ah, but you see? The cow mooing was funny because you weren't used to hearing a cow moo in random spots before. If you had already heard a cow mooing for the last 6 hours, and then heard that, it wouldn't have been as funny, would it've?
And I like Blue Collar. They're actually somewhat original in subjext matter. (Bill Engvall actually makes older topics seem new again with innovation.)
- UZ, The Master of Everything
I actually thought the first one was funnier--they were both funny-but the first one was funnier (and I hadn't heard that one before).
However, I do agree--things are getting old..we need a new spin.
On the one hand, I very much miss Cosby and Letterman. Very much so. It gives me a sharp pain next to my heart when I know Cosby won't be a part of my future. (I'm not being sarcastic, I'm being abstractly lyrical. I really do miss them) I would have to say, though, that the random moo in Zelda would also make me laugh. Hard. (I love to laugh, what can I say)
HOWEVER - I have also noted how most things are racial nowadays, and it is not only OLD it's OLD! I can see the part it plays amongst cultures/ethnic groups, because making fun of your stereotype by comparing yourself to other stereotypes can take the edge off of how bitter life can be.
But it's getting out of hand now, and people are beginning to...numb themselves to it, I guess you could say.
I'm sure everyone will have something to say about this, because it looks like I'm condoning stereotypes and racial bad stuff. I'm not. I'm just saying that a lot of common people use it to make life funny instead of miserably sad.