There was an interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald about shock comedy around Sydney. It turns out that Jim Jefferies got himself in a bit of bovver at the Comedy Store when he picked on the audience and instead of rallying the room ended up killing it a bit.
‘‘Some comedy draws on societal taboos as a way to generate laughter and indeed, this is part of the appeal. Laughing at something that is inappropriate. This is why comedians often walk a very fine line”
I find the whole piece interesting. I am currently playing in the open mic space and it is educational to see how many people are going for the shock value of comedy. It reminds me of that line from “The Incredibles” – “When every body is special, no-one is!”