The Problem with Dark Humour in Stand-Up Comedy

The Barbie joke and the Taylor Swift joke fabricated by Jo Koy have left me feeling outraged. Usually, I'm a very tolerant person, so I think there is a deeper issue than there what might seem.

The jokes

It started with observing the reactions to Taylor not reacting and something has been bubbling in my stomach since then. Why are we forced to laugh at jokes that simply aren't funny? Why aren't they funny?

If you have also been living under a rock like me, during the Golden Globes of 2024, the host Jo Koy has decided to jump on the red pill belief that Barbie was a stupid woke film, and apparently the only thing he took away from the movie was "big plastic b**bs" and not how the patriarchy is bad for BOTH sexes.

And it's tiring talking about the patriarchy and being so woke all the time, but modern red and black pill beliefs that sexism is a joke are so dangerous. I don't know why this has become a trend, but it is so incredibly stupid to think that half the population doesn't have to be taken seriously.

I hate to bash a comedian just trying to do his job, but this has happened in multiple instances, such as Matt Rife and his female-directed jokes. The director of the film, Greta Gerwig believes the joke is "not wrong" because it's true that Barbie is superficial, that's the whole point of having a doll – but it has me wondering why that is the punchline.

Does it not occur to anyone that having to use sexism as a joke is the problem in itself?! Just like how racist jokes made by other comedians and Family Guy or whatever are just not funny, because they lack originality. I understand it's difficult being a stand-up comedian, but doesn't everyone in a creative field need to hear constructive criticism? People are more than happy to give Taylor the bad kind of criticism, why not to someone who offends others for laughs? Isn't this an example of the patriarchy in play? The irony is so loud…

Now, I don't know if all the hatred directed towards Taylor is a Taylor-problem or a women-problem. Taylor has a reputation that unfortunately brings her a lot of hate, and I wonder if this might be an example of it – would it have been the same if another female star did the same towards a joke at her expense? Nonetheless, she defends the rest of us women in confessing her now-famous words, "men are allowed to react, women can only overreact." Obviously it's a burning matter when a celebrity thinks of others when they themselves are being attacked.

I believe a lot of anti-feminists have got the wrong end of the stick with modern feminism: us women just want to be seen as friends rather than either sex objects or a joke. We are sick and tired of our self-esteem being diminished.

I want to make it clear that I'm not hating the comedians, I'm hating the trend… but it's definitely possible for us to learn from our mistakes.

Is the modern red/black pill movement driving all this?

We could take it even further and question why the red pill movement exists. It may be because these guys have been hurt by women but can't seek out help because the patriarchy says, "you're men, man up and deal with it!" It's ridiculous and sad. YouTuber Noah Samsen gives in-depth analyses of this phenomenon. You get bad eggs in all groups, even women, who are the pioneers of feminism – this just takes a little recognition.

I don't think these jokes are inherently red pill, but I do think there is a correlation between these jokes and the toxic trend. I'd rather be safe than sorry and not have the movement enter our daily lives.