Comedy has long been a genre that breaks social norms through means like crudeness and silliness. Comedians say and do things that are not accepted in polite company. Comedy also has a long tradition attacking the powerful, going back centuries to the subversive court jester and the satire found in commedia dell’arte.
In comedy we have an expression: punching up. When you make fun of someone or a group of people, your target should be someone of high status. It’s opposed to punching down, which is targeting someone or a group of people who are weak or marginalized. A lot of comedians today have pushed back when they’ve been criticized for punching down, saying that wokeness and political correctness are stifling free speech. They make jokes that they say are pushing boundaries and pushing against the mobs.
There is a legitimate argument for comedians to have unlimited ability to speak freely, to talk about any topic without restraint. Who has the right be an arbiter of what are acceptable topics for comedy? If we limit the speech of comedians, where does it end? If we say one topic is off limits, we can use that same reason to justify suppressing any other topic because someone finds it offensive.
The problem with this argument is that it’s being used when a comedian is criticized publicly for something they said, not that the government is preventing them from saying anything or punishing them. There is an expression and legal concept of “your rights end where mine begins.” In other words, you can say whatever you want, and I can react to it however I want. You can say something offensive or mean, and I can be offended. Your right to free speech means others have that same right to criticize you. Comedians chose to have a platform, and it’s our choice who we target. Are comedians trying to get a rise out of a joke to seem edgy or cool, or are they truly using their platform to create art?
This is where punching up is a principle to follow in comedy. Make a choice about who you want to target. Do you want to target the powerful, the wealthy, the groups of people who have enjoyed greater rights and privileges than others, or do you want to pick on the groups of people who have not? It comes down to being someone who stands up for others or being someone who is a bully.
If you come from a group of people who have been marginalized, there is an ability to use self-deprecation that comes from your lived experience. People from the outside don’t have that experience. I give you more leeway for pushing the boundaries of acceptable speech because you’re pointing out the ways you and people like you have shared experiences.
I practice comedy as an outlet to express what is wrong with our society, how we behave towards one another and how people abuse power. And if I were using it to punch down rather than punch up, I’m not much more than a bully.
