Can We Laugh at That? Comedy in a Conflicted Age

Berlinerblau (As Professors Lay Dying), a professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown University, delivers a thought-provoking survey of contemporary comedians who have sparked controversy. The prevalence of these comedic disputes demonstrates that the general consensus about free speech—the belief that political, intellectual, and artistic expression should not be suppressed—is being challenged, Berlinerblau argues. In a section on American comedians, he contends that Dave Chappelle’s jokes have “punched down” at the LGBTQ+ community. The more LGBTQ+ people pushed back, the more time Chappelle devoted in his sets to mocking them, according to the author, who writes that “to consume Chappelle’s art is to be consumed by the controversies triggered by Chappelle’s art!” In India, consensus around free speech is “crumbling” and “jokes are literally being policed,” Berlinerblau explains. For example, the comedian Vir Das, who has made jokes about the Hindu nationalist government, has been frequently threatened with charges of sedition. In Zimbabwe, comedian Samantha Kureya was kidnapped and tortured by a group widely believed to be associated with the government, after she participated in a sketch insinuating Zimbabwean law enforcement was corrupt and abusive. Through detailed case studies, Berlinerblau effectively reveals how “humorists are increasingly confronted by those who wish to shut them up and shut them down.” This amounts to a thorough report on the shifting landscape of modern comedy. (Mar.)