Listen to the SHECKYmagazine Podcast!
- A YEAR LOCKED DOWNMr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss, truth, common sense and trust have all succumbed to a totally different virus! Will history, art and "Breakfast At Tiffany's" be the next victims? Is that a light at the end of the tunnel, or is it the headlight of the Woke Express? Give us a listen and find out!
- Comedians Are Energy ConductorsIn Episode 18 of the SHECKYmagazine PODCAST, Brian and Traci vent about the 198-day (and counting) lockdown, flying, Sophie Tucker, ancient alien astronauts and ENERGY-- why we lack energy, why we need energy and how comedians are super-conductors. Tune in now-- but STAY AWAY from the CANS!
- Is It Over?Brian McKim & Traci Skene, podcasting from locked down Las Vegas, NV, consider whether standup comedy-- LIVE, the way it oughta be-- will ever come back from the Great 2020 Fear Porn Lockdown Pandemic Panic! Is life over? Is the career history? The future, as always, is uncertain. Listen in as we speak for the […]
The Authors
Shecky! Alumni!
Dan Rosenberg
…& Lester
Tim Cavanagh
Paul F. Tompkins
Mitch Hedberg
Mack Dryden
Jamie Alcroft
John Curtin
Joey Yanetty
Pete Fogel
Kip Addotta
Bob Zany
Wayne Cotter
Richard Lewis
Andy Kindler
Jimmy Myers
D J Hazard
Nehl Bobal
Sheila Kay
John Bizarre
Doug Benson
Jim Shubert
James Gregory
Gabe Abelson
Paul Gilmartin
Hal Sparks
Bob Harris
Paul Bond
Grover Silcox
Basile
Bobby Collins
John Wing
Brian Whalen
Rich Williams
Steve O.
Jeff Shaw
Ryan Wilner
Brad Slaight
Harland Williams
Joe Rogan
Triumph
David Feldman
Steve McGrew
Dan Barton
Rob Becker
Matt Weinhold
Bobby Gaylor
Steve Silberberg
Jeffrey Ross
Dave Little
Vince Vieceli
Marc Jaffe
Dick Cavett
Buddy Fitzpatrick
Stephen Kruiser
Suzy Soro
Jeff Allen
Doug Stanhope
Kid Dave Miller
Brian Kiley
Gary MuleDeer
Jim David
Judy Carter
Drew Hastings
Andrew Gropman
Rabbi Bob Alper
Dan French
Robert Hagearty
Chuck Savage
David John McCarthey
Mrs. John Hughes
Jason Stuart
Rick Overton
Steve Eblin
Jack Mayberry
Tom Parks
Charles Viracola
Rusty Warren
Robert Dubac
Jeff Marder
Joe Dunckel
Evan Davis
Veronica Mosey
Troy Conrad
Matt Davis
Mat Becker
Lewis Black
Dan Carlson
Jan McInnis
Joe Dixon
Larry Getlen
J.D. Sidley
Jeff Klinger
Tony Camin
Bill Engvall
Pat Mac
Anwar Richardson
Mary Ann Nichols
Rita Rudner
Larry “Bubbles” Brown
Jim Morris
Brett Butler
Kathleen Madigan
Todd Barry
Roger Ritenhouse
Marc Maron
Doug Hecox
Tommy James
Emo Philips
Lord Carrett
Jim Gaffigan
Eddie Gossling
Tom Rhodes
Etta May
Ron Zimmerman
Ross Bennett
Franklyn Ajaye
Chris Zito
Argus Hamilton
Costaki Economopoulos
Laurie Kilmartin
Jimmy Pardo
Leslie Thomason
Bill Bunker
Vinny Badabing
Henry Cho
Jonathan Katz
Dave Pavone
Larry-Bob Roberts
Brian Hennigan
Kenneth Nichols
Rich Vos
Dave Mordal
__________________
Traci Skene & Brian McKim
SHECKYmagazine
Editors, Publishers
© Copyright 1999-2022 SHECKYmagazine Published by Independent Together
Get a sense of humor, say students
The churn among college students is furious. One cohort will be all squeamish about the rights of this group or that. The next will be hedonistic and brutish and boorish and do their generation’s version of swallowing goldfish.
We’ve always found college crowds to be dainty things, ready at the drop of a hat to be offended and all too ready to show their disappointment. Perhaps we performed at the wrong colleges at the wrong time.
Perhaps the current crop is different. Perhaps not.
An article in the Columbia College school newspaper about a performance five miles down the road by “YouTube sensation Bo Burnham” describes a clash on the campus of Westminster College.
Burnham is an equal-opportunity offender. Jokes about abortion clinics are told back-to-back with jokes about civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. For the religious crowd, he packed in jokes about pleasuring himself while reading the Bible.
He, of course, is playing characters throughout his performance, but for some the irony is thin. About 15 protesters, including members of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Black Students Association, International Club and the Cultural Diversity Organization held signs and rallied outside Champ Auditorium, where the concert took place.
“It’s just a plethora of derogatory and tasteless comments that I don’t find funny,” said Derick Dailey, a sophomore from Little Rock, Ark. “It’s not comedy, it’s not satire, it’s just insulting, and it’s not what Westminster College stands for.”
Dear, sweet, ignorant Derick: It is comedy. It is satire. It is insulting! And it is what Westminster College stands for! Or… at least it should be.
What ever happened to college students? They couldn’t wait to get to campus and stick a thumb in the eye of the uptight oldsters, the stuffy administrators, The Man! They were eager for almost every opportunity to offend, to shock, to break every rule. You’re not a high school kid any more. You’re not yet an adult, with all the attendant responsibilities and hassles. You’re in that in-between phase where you have plenty of obligations (attending class, getting grades, finding some sort of social life) but you’re calling the shots… and it ain’t gonna last but four years.
Drink! Screw! Puke on Main St.! Yell shit at passing seniors! Write horrifying satire and produce outrageous playlets that provoke a reaction in the tightass administrators and townies! We suppose there’s always been a contingent of students that moped around campus and tried their darndest to guilt everyone else into freeing Soviet Jewry or boycotting lettuce, but when did they come to dominate the college scene? When did they grow into Giant Wet Blanket status?
The quotes from the students who attended (and laughed and groaned and enjoyed) the performance of Burnham is refreshing– “Chill out, take it easy. It’s just words. It’s not like he’s actually burning crosses in yards.”
The drivel from the administrators is the usual, extended-pinky, politically correct nonsense designed to placate, to assuage, to smooth over–
“This is leading us to a good campus conversation,” said John Comerford, dean of students. “Our students have already scheduled for next Thursday a ‘Lunch and Learn’ to talk about this. Who should be welcome on this campus, and who should decide that?… We’re going to have these important, productive conversations, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Any guesses as to which side brings the megaphone?
Students are always told that they’re there to question the conventional wisdom, to seek truth, to challenge long-held assumptions. But why is it that, in the lively arts, they’re only allowed to be challenged by a Eugene Ionesco but not a Bo Burnham? What good does it do to attend a MEGO performance of The Madwoman of Chaillot, if they can’t also see 45 minutes of Steve Trevino? Is it that Giraudoux and Ionesco offend the proper people in the right way and that Trevino and Burnham do not?
(Many thanks to FOS Aaron Ward for sending along the link!)
6 Responses
Reply to: Get a sense of humor, say students
On Amazon.com! Only $1.99!
Traci Skene Kindle Single hilariously skewers traditional social and sexual mores as well as modern feminism. "This book is a prime example of quality over quantity."
"This book made me laugh out loud! ”
Our Book!
To be devil’s advocate here…The one part of the article that really jumps out at me is “The performance was paid for out of a $200,000 annual pot of money controlled by the Student Government Association to book music and entertainment.”I haven’t seen this kid’s work, but how many 18 year olds have you seen who can effectively use that language and cover those topics? Chances are he doesn’t have the chops yet, and the students aren’t particularly keen on their student fees going towards him.I don’t know many current college students, but I graduated 10 years ago and even then the Animal House days were long gone. College and booze are too expensive, except for that special breed of rich entitled douchebag whose girlfriend ends up on Nancy Grace after Spring Break.
We haven’t seen the kid’s work, either. But that hardly matters. He’s gotten 20 million hits on YouTube (in fact, he’s described as a “YouTube sensation”), and the students who book the talent for the college were apparently familiar enough with his work (and confident that his talent was ample and his act was a good fit for their audience) to fork over the fee.And, from the account in the school newspaper, a good number of the 300 students who attended dug the show– and they outnumbered the protestors by 20 to 1.Chops? Effective use of language? Student fees? The scolds on the steps of Champ Auditorium held signs that contained words like “injustice,” “acceptance,” “respect” and “gay bashing.” No one held a sign that had anything to do with fiscal responsibility or the relative experience of the performer.It was political, plain and simple.As for college and booze being too expensive– enrollments are at an all-time high and binge drinking is supposedly more of a problem than it’s ever been (if you believed that it was ever a “problem” in the first place)!
hey this is bo burnham.i really appreciate the article that you’ve written.i know that i am only 18, but if you take a look at my material, i think you will find that i have carefully crafted it to be balanced satire (balanced in that it is well-intentioned but not so blatantly so that it loses its edge). i respected the protesters voicing their opinions. one of the great ironies of the night was being called a “gay basher” when most of my comedy stems from being a theatre kid — and being ridiculed with homophobic slurs because of that.i hope i don’t sound all PC right now.but don’t dismiss my age. trust me. age means nothing.
If a college booked Steve Jobs to speak, those who don’t like Apple would just stay in their dorm rooms. If that college booked Ann Coulter to speak, I’d expect people to protest the fact that their money is going into the pocket of someone who many perceive to be hateful/racist/homophobic/etc.Nobody ever would protest the fiscal responsibility, because that money is already taken. It’s part of required student fees. D.C. is taxed without representation, but what they’re fighting for is the representation, not asking for their tax money back. I think that’s a similar mindset to what’s at work here. If you’re a gay student at this college, and your money is being used to pay someone who (hypothetically) mocks faggots in his act, you’re not going to be happy about it.Regardless of who is right in this particular situation, I think having a social conscious and a desire to hold decision-makers accountable is nothing but a positive. Each generation complains about the ones that follow, but I’d rather have kids like this in charge of my future home equity loan than the stereotypical puking frat boys.
I would agree in that nobody can deny that there’s content in Bo’s collection that some may find offensive. However, when you see him live or even watch him through his YouTube videos, he’s SO clearly over the top that makes it absolutely hysterical but obvious that he’s joking. There’s some comedy out there which may involve racial slurs or some form of offensive jokes, when I only find it offensive when you walk away unsure of what the comedian’s intentions were. I think the difference with Bo is that he’s only aiming for a laugh satirizing all these blatant stereotypes, rather than just to aim for the cheap laugh, which isn’t always okay. As to experience vs pay, Bo’s going far, so any school that can get him now should and I think there are some people my age who know that. He came to my school back in November, and he played to a packed room of ~300 as well. He has a Comedy Central special coming out, as well as he’s writing/working on a new Judd Apatow movie. At the risk of sounding like a fangirl if I haven’t already, anyone who’s familiar with Bo’s video’s and have seen him live know’s he’s going far. It’s very obvious, and I look forward to see what he makes of himself, because a protest like this won’t be the last we’ve heard of him. Protests like this only mean he’s doing something right in his career.
Sharilyn: i’m very familiar with Bo’s work. and he does have the chops. he isn’t some mindless teen-ager. Like most protesters, these people refuse to take more than a superficial glance onto the subject they’re protesting. If they did, they’d be saddened to realize there really isn’t much to protest. Also, controversy is good publicity. The more you protest, the bigger Burnham will become.