http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv_ac-op8IA
Comedian Michael Richards (Kramer) goes on a racist rant. When it is it to much, when someone crosses the line, while telling a joke. It is okay for someone in your race to say a racial joke when it is you own ethnicity? What if it is someone from another ethnicity unlike your own?
This is a rare example of a comedian's attempt at being funny through racial comments backfiring. There are a ton of comedians whose main focus on stage is race and race relations, and very rarely do you see an audience react the way they did to Michael Richards' rant. The big difference I see here is that Richards is being more hurtful in the comments he is making, where we usually see/hear more playful types of monologues. I'm not sure if he was trying to poke fun at some disrespectful audience members and just crossed the line, but either way, the things he said were not funny and definitely came off as more racist.
So this poses a good question regarding stand-up comedy: What is it about comedians that make their racial comments acceptable relative to similar comments made in other contexts? Is it that the comments are communicated in a more playful manner? Because the comments are not directed at specific individuals, does it make them more acceptable than if certain people of a different race were being called out (similar to Michael Richards situation)?
I remember when this came out a few years ago. A lot of people were appalled about the highly racial comments he made towards a few members in the audience. I remember seeing a news segment with a couple comedians regarding this issue. I believe Sinbad and Paul Moondy were being interviewed. They said that they were friends of Michael Richards and they came to the comedy club to support him that night. The went on to say that he indeed went over the edge with such horrible comments and that they were unacceptable and shocked to hear him talk like that. There were also multiple comedians that spoke out against the issue such as George Wallace and Jerry Seinfield. The thing that made me upset is that he went on David Letterman to apologize about what he said and people were laughing during his apology. I couldn't figure out why he chose that venue to make a serious apology. He should have went on a network that would take such a thing more seriously.
To go off of Ryan's comment, that is an enormous issue that multiple comedians face today. There is a fine line to what is socially acceptable and was is inappropriate. I think that it is wrong for comedians to make racial comments to anybody in the audience being that of any race. People tend to think its funny when various comedians may crack on peoples outfits, appearances, or something of that nature. I believe that is acceptable to a certain extent. I have a cousin who is a professional comedian and told me that they do this sort of thing when they forget jokes or lead into other ones. Comedians also take the approach of incorporating different racial issues this country is dealing with into their stand up in which I think is rather humorous because its not being directed towards someone as being blatant or disrespectful. Even though racism is a serious issue the delivery of the issues make such comments humorous. One thing that people have to understand in attending a comedy show is that JOKES IS JOKES. Most comedians aren't out to make racial statements. They're mainly trying to give people their moneys worth by making them laugh. Be that as it may, I think comedians should think about these things when there putting together a comedy routine so that they would be more socially acceptable.