[lbo-talk] About the joke "The Aristocrats"

[Carl Remick]

>From: John Adams <jadams01 at sprynet.com>
>
>We were talking about it the other night, and since there are quite a few 
>people on here who saw the movie, know the joke, and/or think about 
>cultural studies, here's a question (or maybe a whole bunch of 'em):
>
>Is the joke inherently about "the aristocrats"? Is it about what the 
>privileged do and get away with doing? Would some other group--say, "the 
>amish", or better yet, "the shakers"--still be funny? Would it still be the 
>same joke?

The only thing funny about "The Aristocrats" is that it is supposed to be 
funny.  I'm on thin ice here, never having seen the movie.  But then, I've 
never actually seen the war on Iraq, and that doesn't stop me from having an 
opinion (negative) about that either.  By all accounts "The Aristocrats" is 
technically impressive in terms of comedic craft.  But the iron law of 
comedy is well-known:  If You Buy the Premise, You'll Buy the Bit.  I don't 
buy this movie's premise.  I can get plenty of mindless vulgarity for free 
in contemporary US culture, so paying ten bucks to experience an extended 
meditation on scatalogical humor -- the supposedly top comedians of the day 
working endless riffs on one dumb joke -- doesn't strike me as amusing and 
good value.

Carl