As society changes, so too do the jokes that are told within it. Many people have spoken out against what’s now considered to be offensive humor. And some comedians have watered their jokes down a little bit or a lot.
But, Rowan Atkinson has said that comedians should be allowed to make jokes about “absolutely anything.”
Atkinson, sixty-seven, well known for his role as Mr. Bean and Johnny English, has spoken out against ‘cancel culture’, saying that humor has to be aimed at somebody.
Talking to The Irish Times, Atkinson offloaded on what he thinks comedy should and shouldn’t be.
As Atkinson took a ride down memory lane, talking about his time expressing himself without words as Mr. Bean, he also spoke about the shift he’s seen in comedy.
“It does seem to me that the job of comedy is to offend or have the potential to offend, and it cannot be drained of that potential. Every joke has a victim. That’s the definition of a joke. Someone or something or an idea is made to look ridiculous,” Atkinson said, as per the news outlet.
And when asked whether or not it is ok to joke about those with less power, Atkinson said that not every “smug” person is in “parliament.”
“I think you’ve got to be very, very careful about saying what you’re allowed to make jokes about,” he began.
“You’ve always got to kick up? Really? What if there’s someone extremely smug, arrogant, aggressive, and self-satisfied, who happens to be below in society? They’re not all in the houses of parliament or in monarchies.
“There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything,” he continued.
And although Atkinson feels that you should be able to tell any joke, he said that “not all jokes are for everyone.”
Atkinson also said that social media is very “young” and so people are adjusting to that, too.
“In terms of the history of man, it’s been around for a very, very short time and we’re still adjusting,” he said.
What do you think? Do you think you should be able to joke about anything?