Staff Editorial

Editorial Cartoon

Xavier Trevino

My listless life of inadequacy has given rise to an overactive imagination and an even more obtuse sense of humor. I find myself talking about things that other people just don't get. I think I am funny as hell, but there are some nay-sayers among us that find my humor as dry as corn tortillas. "Bah," I say to them.

Who among you does not find the prospect of a knife-wielding monkey named Furious George funny? Or anything dealing with monkeys for that matter. Maybe Charlton Heston, who would likely scream out, "Damn dirty apes!" A pox on you, Heston, and your hatred for our fur-coated cousins.

The truth of the matter is that we all have our unique sense of humor that is as distinct as our own finger prints. No matter your race, creed or color, the miracle that is laughter plays a large role within our lives. Whether it be a complex political satire with obscure references to politicians you've never heard of, or the ever-hilarious ball-in-groin gag.

Then there is the question of boundaries in humor. Where does one draw the line on what is funny?

With the recent humor that has been placed on the great god Television, or upon the silver screen that is larger and louder than ever before, humor is once again becoming redefined for a new century.

Whether such humor deals with the secretions of There's Something About Mary and American Pie or the poop jokes in Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, we as a society are laughing at things that, in recent years, we would have ostracized and not even considered for screen time.

Mini-Me is one of the funniest characters in movie history, but his character belittles those born with dwarfism. In the movie he is portrayed as little more than a pet. "Be careful ... he's a biter." It's wrong to make fun of someone because they are born different, but apparently it is funny to laugh at someone else who is making fun of them. So who's to blame? The actors for portraying such characters? Or us for laughing at it?

Comedy is breaking down the taboos that came to rise in the late '80s and early '90s. Political correctness limited our bounds of humor. And like any child who is denied something, we crave it even more. Bawdy and crude humor has been around for a while, but until recently, it has gone untapped. And like some sort of humor renaissance, tasteless jokes are back in style. The funny thing is, we are lapping it up.

The bible even took a recent slap with the Kevin Smith film Dogma. The movie was filled with sharp and witty dialogue that seemed to pull no punches in dealing with one of the most untouchable humor subjects ... God. The movie opened to good reviews and some slander. The original production company, Miramax, a subsidiary of Disney, wouldn't even release the movie, so it was sold to the indie-film guru, Lion's Gate films.

So are we wrong for laughing? Or are we just buying what's on the rack because it's in style and that's all the store is carrying? 

Our humor, while complex, often reverts back to what we know best -- slapstick and gross-out humor -- even though my friend lights a fart and catches himself on fire ... yeah, it is bad that he suffered 3rd degree burns. But the sound of his girl-like screams echoing through the hall and his rolling around on the floor makes me laugh so hard I nearly pee my pants."

You can have your dwarf jokes and down-syndrome jokes. I may laugh, and I know it's wrong. But so do we all. And the box office is laughing all the way to the bank.

Give me knife-wielding apes in dresses that know kung-fu and throw their turds at each other. Now that's comedy.