Comedians are always pushing the envelope when delivering what they think is hilarious on paper.
Certain forms of comedy like roasts, dark humor, and one-liners for the sake of having shock value are all risky, but if the jokes are clever to start and delivered smartly, comedians can really knock it out of the park.
Or they could really have a negative impact on audiences.
Curious to find out about the boundaries within the world of standup, Redditor thebosomofthePacific asked:
"What should be off-limits in comedy?"
Pranks are a popular comedy tactic, but the result isn't always a laughing matter.
Unwilling Participants
"Pranks on people who don't want to be involved, especially ones that physically or psychologically hurt people."
"Agreed, all those 'prank' channels where they say and do horrible things to their children and then go 'it's just a prank, you little baby!' while their kid is sobbing… that sh*t makes me sick."
Pranksters
"Physically involving people who didn't want to be involved (e.g. YouTube / TikTok pranksters)"
"ANYTHING should be allowed on pure standup comedy though."
The Golden Rule
"I had a practical joke book when I was a kid and on the first page and the back it had in big letters: 'The golden rule of pranks: A prank is supposed to make people happy and laugh' If you pull a prank on someone and they don't laugh or find it funny, no matter what: YOUR PRANK WASNT FUNNY! STOP, APOLOGISE IMMEDIATELY, EXPLAIN YOURSELF AND APOLOGISE MORE. If you don't do this, you're not a prankster you're just an a**hole!""
"At the end of every joke it had 'Remember the Golden Rule' It kinda stuck with me 20 years later."
– Cprich22
Dark humor is perfectly acceptable, but even those can have hard limits.
Rule Of Thumb
"Nothing should be off limits, but Chris Rock gave a good rule of thumb on Talking Funny that you should joke about what people DO, not what they ARE."
Frankie Boyle
"Frankie Boyle is possibly my least favourite comedian because, while some of his lines are funny (albeit dark and uncomfrotable) he usually goes for the darkest and most controversial thing he can say in a given scenario even if it is not really relevant or funny. His dark jokes are fine but they're ruined for me by the fact he clearly tries to make everything as dark and controversial as he can, and sometimes they end up being funny, rather than being as funny as possible and sometimes they're dark and controversial."
A Study In Contrasts
"Listen, dark jokes are fine. Nothing is off limits. But there's a difference between being funny and just saying disgusting sh*t."
"Bias Comedy"
"Shock comedy, and what I'll call 'bias comedy.'"
"If the punchline itself is just the fact that you said a racial slur, or made fun of somebody with cerebral palsy, that's pretty lame."
"Also, if the only reason anyone is laughing is just because you made a political statement and they agree with you, that's pretty lame as well."
Reading the room was mentioned as a key factor to successfully landing a joke.
Gauge The Audience
"Comedy is subjective, there should be no limits. However it is still a good idea to keep in mind who the audience is."
The Right Structure
"depends on the structure of the Joke."
"you can laugh: about it , or with it , or at it."
"if you laugh at someone or something on the other hand , you reeeaally gotta know your audience."
Expectations
"I think it's a mutual trust thing, both the comedian should know the audience and the audience should know the comedian. I will not sympathize with someone who is offended at jokes Bill Burr makes and then simultaneously goes to a Bill Burr performance a few weeks later."
Racist jokes are tricky. I understand some of them are rooted in truth, but if delivered poorly, they can be downright offensive.
Being Asian, I'm indifferent to a comedian's dig at a minority group if it's based on a tired stereotype like, "Asians make terrible drivers"—which is absolutely not true.
To deliver hackneyed jokes like that is a mark of laziness in my opinion.
But even more unforgivable is when racial epithets are used. I cringe whenever a comic of any ethnicity uses a racist slur targeting themselves as if to demonstrate they have permission to denigrate their own community.
And it's not about being "too sensitive." The opposition stems from the need to prevent microaggressions from potentially evolving into bigger forms of hatred many ethnic groups constantly face in their everyday lives.
But that's just my take.
It's called cringe, and strangers online had plenty to say about the all-too-familiar phenomenon when Redditor brownGoddess01 asked:
"What is something you find REALLY cringe?"
There is a time and place for things. That doesn't mean the unspoken rule is broken.
Indecent Proposal
"A disastrous engagement during someone else's wedding."
– piglalopa
"El Diablo"
"This happened at my cousins wedding. My other cousin was proposed to by her bf during the reception. The cousin getting married eventually got a divorce and the cousin who was proposed to never got married. My grandma went to her grave calling the guy who did the proposal 'El Diablo.'”
–iamtommynoble
Inappropriate Declaration Of Love
"I used to work wedding receptions. One time during the speeches I witnessed the best friend of the bride profess his love to her, in front of the groom and everybody. It was one of the most awkward/cringiest moments I’ve ever witnessed."
– aande116
There are some things we do that we can't take back.
How Far We've Come
"my past self."
– atermoiment
"That means you’ve grown. Respect."
– joeybagofdonuts80
The Moment We'd Like To Forget
"My mind randomly replaying an embarrassing moment I've done that I want to forget."
– mokimika
Audio Playback
"Listening my recorded voice."
– No-Carrot8948
Some people love living their lives on camera. Some participants don't have a say in the matter. And others just don't wanna see it.
All The World Is A Stage
"Family bloggers. Constantly having your life recorded as a child can really f'k you up. Especially since a lot of the time the parents are just using their children for content."
– guitarcum
Overzealous Parents
"I will extend this to normal people who post every second of their child’s lives, they often hide under ‘it’s so my family can see it’ but it’s not really, is it? Or else you’d have an account just for family not your 900 additional ‘friends’"
– Potatopugz
Crying You A River
"Recording yourself crying on social media."
– satinaboupoupou
Selfie Time
"when individuals share sobbing selfies. No joke, when my friend's sister and her children put their dog to die, she tweeted selfies of them both crying. and the deceased dog."
"Like, is it a private moment of mourning and not a chance for a selfie?"
– Perfect-Respe
Click Bait
"All these 'prank' videos getting millions of views."
"Edit: To be specific, I’m referring to 'prank' videos that are clearly staged."
– Beard341
Unsolicited Life Coach
"People whose lives are an absolute self-induced disaster and post selfies with motivational quotes telling other people how to think and live."
– i_want_that_boat
Being in the entertainment industry and knowing how humbling it is when there are more rejections than there are bookings, we tend to be our own worst critics.
So there's nothing more cringey than revisiting an old recording of myself performing at a high school talent show when my interest in theater was fresh and exciting and I already thought I was a pro.
Unfortunately for teenage me, I was blissfully unaware I had ways to go before honing my craft.
Let's just say that all those old VHS recordings of me performing an imitation of Michael Crawford as the Phantom of the Opera need to be burned.
Redditor throwaway2356765 wanted to know your best excuses in the worst moments of intimacy.
"How do you apologize to your girlfriend after accidentally calling her by your ex’s name during sex?"
Sex makes our minds crazy. I say all sorts of nonsense.
Extremes
Run Away Nuclear Bomb GIF by IdentityGiphy"Burn the house down. Fake your death. Move to Peru. There's no recovery."
Yaboijustlikesgoats
Consequences...
"You're gonna have to run out the clock on that one. Just say you're sorry and take the consequences."
AngryBuddha01
"Yup. Persistence is key. Apologize a thousand times until she forgives you. Cook her favorite meals a thousand times until she forgives you. Massage her back a thousand times until she forgives you."
PoissonsRevenge
Trust
"'I'm so sorry [Ex's Name].' Trust me it'll work."
malmode
"Unironically maybe if you can convince her you have early onset dementia."
throwwwawayy191999
NO!
"Call out a guy's name next time and really throw her for a loop."
SelectAd1942
"Call out your own name."
MesWantooth
"Or her father's name."
DZLars
Press Conference Kermit GIFSex makes us all crazy.
Sorry
Sad Cry GIF by TheFactory.videoGiphy"Oh man, trust me as someone who calls everyone by another person's name... there is no amount of apologies to make up for that in this case. Just hope she cares enough to forgive - she won't forget though and may bring it up many times."
minjitsu1
Woof
"Not sure, but if it helps to know, I accidentally called my wife our dog’s name during an argument."
"Update: It totally killed the tension, and we laughed about it. I am safe."
Terrible-Quote-3561
"I just had a baby and now no one’s name is sacred in my house. Every cat’s, dog’s, or human’s name is Interchangeable with the others."
tsunami141
Chaos
"Tell her you called her name while having sex with your ex and you're just trying to even everything out."
SuperSpeersBros
"Chaotic evil."
Evo_Shiv
"Perfectly balanced, as all things should be."
Serious-Bug4748
Be Sensible
"Just say you're sorry and you didn't mean it, but don't expect that she will get over it easily."'
cinderelliot
"This seems like the most sensible answer. My answer was basically grovelling, grovel and grovel some more and hope she can forgive you but don't expect that to happen right away but definitely expect to hear it in every argument for a few years to come as well."
bendme84
#1 Answer
Louis Litt Genius GIF by SuitsGiphy"The only way to salvage this is at the time by adding ' ...was never this good!'"
EdMarloFan
Be better y'all. It's an intimate moment and your partner deserves the basest level of respect that come with knowing their name.
Do you have other ideas to share in the unfortunate event of this happening? Let us know in the comments below.