Make Comedy Great Again

(L-R) Michael Richards, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jason Alexander from the Seinfeld sitcom in Pasadena, Calif., on Sept. 19, 1993. Scott Flynn/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary

Jerry Seinfeld has ventured into the comedic battlegrounds and hoisted his flag of concern. According to the American stand-up comedian, the left is sabotaging the sanctity of comedy.

But is it really the left?

The battle lines are no longer drawn between left and right, or even freedom versus totalitarian grip, it’s a tussle between the sane and the downright bonkers.

One glance at the ludicrous lockdown regulations, men who’ve swapped their Y chromosome for an X competing in women’s sports, and risqué reads for tots, and you’ve got to wonder—since when did madness become the norm?

Elon Musk Hit the Nail on the Head

Elon Musk has hit the nail when he wrote on X that it’s time to “make comedy legal again.”

One of the rules of comedy is that it must punch “up.”

Jokes should be directed at the powerful and perpetrators of oppression, and not the victims. But are the victims always victims? And can we change our boxing tactics?

One person who punches any way he can, and gets a lot of laughs, is English comedian Ricky Gervais.

He dances merrily on the tightrope, poking fun at those below him without so much as a scratch, while many a comedian finds themselves hurled into the abyss of cancellation for daring such feats.

Actor/Comedian Ricky Gervais (C) is interviewed for SiriusXM's Town Hall Series with hosts Jim Norton and Sam Robertson in New York City on Jan. 26, 2017. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Protest Against Seinfeld at Duke University

Seinfeld was hardly hurled into the abyss recently, but he was at the centre of controversy when a dozen or so students walked out of Duke University’s commencement ceremony protesting his guest speaking role because Seinfeld, a Jew, has shown support for the State of Israel.

Surprise. Surprise.

This leads one to ponder: Why, indeed, has the world of comedy so often found its champions among the Jews?

Seinfeld, a celebrated Jewish comedian, stands resilient against the tide of controversy, exemplifying a broader historical narrative where humour has not just been a craft, but a coping mechanism.

In a history rich with tumult, from kingdoms overthrown to the haunting echoes of pogroms and the unspeakable horror of the Holocaust—the ever-resilient thread of humour has not just survived but thrived, particularly amongst the Jews.

It’s a quirky historical footnote that amidst such perennial persecution, these folks turned out to be some of the premier purveyors of punchlines from vaudeville to the digital age.

American Laughter Has Been Dominated by Jewish Jesters

The annals of American laughter were virtually dominated by Jewish jesters—legends like the Marx Brothers, Mel Brooks, and Jerry Seinfeld himself have carved out a comedic canon that seems to punch above its weight, considering Jews represented a mere sliver of the population.

American comedian Groucho Marx (1890–1977) with various clocks and a watch, circa 1955. Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images

This comedic overrepresentation is a hearty embrace of humour as a core component of Jewish identity, more pivotal than even the most sacred of religious practices, according to some polls.

And it’s not merely an American phenomenon; from the frosty reaches of the former Soviet Union to the sunlit streets of Tel Aviv, Jewish humourists have etched their mark.

This penchant for comedy, seemingly woven into their cultural DNA, has been both shield and sword, allowing them to laugh in the face of adversity and, by doing so, to stand outside it, a tad more resilient, a bit more sane.

It’s a testament to the power of a well-timed joke to not just lighten a moment but to carry a people through the darkest of times, making humour not just an act of rebellion but of survival.

Comedy Is Disappearing From Our TVs

In this climate of comedy’s curtailment, Seinfeld, speaking to David Remnick on “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” lamented the iron grip of the “extreme left and P.C. crap” which, combined with a general dread of ruffling feathers, has effectively snuffed out the sparks of televised humour.

Jerry Seinfeld attends SiriusXM's 'Unfrosted' Town Hall at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 30, 2024. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Seinfeld said that the networks have seemingly declared, “We’re not going to do comedies anymore.”

Gone are the days when one could flick through channels to find the likes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or “All in the Family.”

“Where is it?” Seinfeld asks, echoing the bafflement of audiences who remember laughing openly, without reserve.

It’s not just in the United States that comedy is disappearing.

In Australia in the eighties, we had The Comedy Company, The Paul Hogan Show, the D Generation, and Norman Gunston to name a few.

We progressed on to Kath and Kim, Fast Forward, Carl Barron, and other great stand ups on The Footy Show, The Chaser, Ja’mie, and many more.

Just Because You’re Offended, It Doesn’t Mean You’re Right

Yet as Ricky Gervais has said:

“There’s nothing you can say that someone somewhere won’t find offensive. Just because you’re offended, it doesn’t mean you’re right. And it has gotten to this point where if one person complains, they expect the world to stop.

“In art, the only valid form of censorship is your right not to listen. You can turn your own television off, but it’s wrong for people to try to turn other people’s televisions off.

“It has nothing to do with you. You don’t have to come to my show, you don’t have to listen to me, you don’t have to agree with me, but I am going to say what I like.”

Yet while Gervais and Seinfeld made names for themselves pre cancel culture, it’s now much harder for the younger comedians coming through.

While Seinfeld says that stand-up stands as the last bastion of unpoliced comedy, is it true? I’m not sure how popular Jimmy Dore-types would be down at the woke Newtown pubs or perhaps in the capital of woke, California.

Even the BBC has said that comedy is officially endangered. According to the vigilant watch of UK’s Ofcom, original comedy on the BBC has plummeted by a staggering 40 percent over the last decade.

In this bizarre new world order, where the court jesters are judged more harshly than their jests, one might well wonder—while the ancient tribe of Judah again faces persecution in certain benighted quarters—if the very spirit of comedy can ever be revived, or if it is destined to become a relic, chuckled over in hushed tones by those few who still remember what it was to laugh freely, without fear of the woke upraised finger waggling in admonishment.