Post: #1

Chris Rock is promoting a new movie right now, but he remains a stand-up comedian. In an interview that mostly discussed political topics, he talked about the threat of censorship that comedians face.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-roc...ation.html

(Rock is in blue)

Quote:You recently hosted Saturday Night Live, and in the monologue, where you were talking about the opening of One World Trade, my wife and I both felt just like you: No way are we going into that building. But you look online the next morning, and some people were offended and accused you of disparaging the 9/11 victims. The political correctness that was thought to be dead is now—

Oh, it’s back stronger than ever. I don’t pay that much attention to it. I mean, you don’t want to piss off the people that are paying you, obviously, but otherwise I’ve just been really good at ignoring it. Honestly, it’s not that people were offended by what I said. They get offended by how much fun I appear to be having while saying it. You could literally take everything I said on Saturday night and say it on Meet the Press, and it would be a general debate, and it would go away. But half of it’s because they think they can hurt comedians.

That they can hurt your career?

Yeah. They think you’re more accessible than Tom Brokaw saying the exact same thing.

What do you make of the attempt to bar Bill Maher from speaking at Berkeley for his riff on Muslims?

Well, I love Bill, but I stopped playing colleges, and the reason is because they’re way too conservative.

In their political views?

Not in their political views — not like they’re voting Republican — but in their social views and their willingness not to offend anybody. Kids raised on a culture of “We’re not going to keep score in the game because we don’t want anybody to lose.” Or just ignoring race to a fault. You can’t say “the black kid over there.” No, it’s “the guy with the red shoes.” You can’t even be offensive on your way to being inoffensive.

When did you start to notice this?

About eight years ago. Probably a couple of tours ago. It was just like, This is not as much fun as it used to be. I remember talking to George Carlin before he died and him saying the exact same thing.

A few days ago I was talking with Patton Oswalt, and he was exercised about the new reality that any comedian who is trying out material that’s a little out there can be fucked by someone who blasts it on Twitter or a social network.

I know Dave Chappelle bans everybody’s phone when he plays a club. I haven’t gone that far, but I may have to, to get an act together for a tour.

Does it force you into some sort of self-censorship?

It does. I swear I just had a conversation with the people at the Comedy Cellar about how we can make cell phones into cigarettes. If you would have told me years ago that they were going to get rid of smoking in comedy clubs, I would have thought you were crazy.

It is scary, because the thing about comedians is that you’re the only ones who practice in front of a crowd. Prince doesn’t run a demo on the radio. But in stand-up, the demo gets out. There are a few guys good enough to write a perfect act and get onstage, but everybody else workshops it and workshops it, and it can get real messy. It can get downright offensive. Before everyone had a recording device and was wired like fucking Sammy the Bull, you’d say something that went too far, and you’d go, “Oh, I went too far,” and you would just brush it off. But if you think you don’t have room to make mistakes, it’s going to lead to safer, gooier stand-up. You can’t think the thoughts you want to think if you think you’re being watched.

I assume you worked on the SNL material in the confines of the studio and that it never went before an audience?

Comedy Cellar all week. If I messed up a word here and there, which I did, it could really be get-him-out-of-here offensive. But you just watch to make sure nobody tapes it. You watch and you watch hard. And you make sure the doorman’s watching. What Patton’s trying to say is, like, comedians need a place where we can work on that stuff. And by the way: An audience that’s not laughing is the biggest indictment that something’s too far. No comedian’s ever done a joke that bombs all the time and kept doing it. Nobody in the history of stand-up. Not one guy.

Post: #2

I love the guy, but he totally missed out on this.

Too conservative?

I think he mixed up racial prejudice/bigotry, which is still in good shape, with conservatism, which was left behind on the road more than 50 years ago.

Later on this interview he talks about anti-semitism in Hollywood.

WTF?; with a ton of jewish directors and films about those horrendous nazis and their - all of them, not just the leaders - total lack of human soul?

I hope we have not lost a great comedian to the pseudointelectual bandwagon.

Post: #3

(12-02-2014 09:05 AM)DiogoFC Wrote:  Later on this interview he talks about anti-semitism in Hollywood.

WTF?; with a ton of jewish directors and films about those horrendous nazis and their - all of them, not just the leaders - total lack of human soul?

I hope we have not lost a great comedian to the pseudointelectual bandwagon.

Rock's quote:

[Comedy is the] only thing that smacks Hollywood out of its inherent racism, sexism, anti-­Semitism. It makes people hire people that they would never hire otherwise. Do they really want to do a show with Roseanne Barr? No, they want a thin blonde girl.

His point was that comedy is one of the rare fields that cuts through all the bullshit. You're either funny, or you're not. If you can make people laugh, you can make other people rich. Even if they hate you, they'll still hire you.

Post: #4

(12-02-2014 09:05 AM)DiogoFC Wrote:  I love the guy, but he totally missed out on this.

Too conservative?

I think he mixed up racial prejudice/bigotry, which is still in good shape, with conservatism, which was left behind on the road more than 50 years ago.

I hope we have not lost a great comedian to the pseudointelectual bandwagon.

Its hard to find the right word. He actually directly says he doesn't mean political. But there is something making university kids retarded today.

Here in China I run into a lot of young, recently graduated shitheads doing their "year in China" or just looking for a paying job. Some of the kids, if you say, "I fucking hat that book/movie/song" they will flip out because apparently now its not right to dislike things, other people might like them and by disliking you hurt those peoples' self esteem.

I've instituted one strike and the idiots are out. I run out of people to hang out occasionaly and have to actively hunt for non-brainwashed idiots.

Post: #5

Quote:Not in their political views — not like they’re voting Republican — but in their social views and their willingness not to offend anybody. Kids raised on a culture of “We’re not going to keep score in the game because we don’t want anybody to lose.” Or just ignoring race to a fault. You can’t say “the black kid over there.” No, it’s “the guy with the red shoes.” You can’t even be offensive on your way to being inoffensive.

He's certainly on the money with this.

Post: #6

(12-02-2014 09:22 AM)Lucky Wrote:  [Comedy is the] only thing that smacks Hollywood out of its inherent racism, sexism, anti-­Semitism. It makes people hire people that they would never hire otherwise. Do they really want to do a show with Roseanne Barr? No, they want a thin blonde girl.

His point was that comedy is one of the rare fields that cuts through all the bullshit. You're either funny, or you're not. If you can make people laugh, you can make other people rich. Even if they hate you, they'll still hire you.

I have to agree with the prior poster.

Almost every head of every major studio is a jew. Hollywood is filled with Jewish actors and actresses. On top of that we get a glut of jewish revenge porn movies where we get to see Nazi's killed over and over.

How is there anti-semitism in Hollywood? It's about the most absurd statement one could make.