Ribaldry
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Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on
The ritual taboo-breaking that is a usual counterpart of ribaldry underlies its controversial nature and explains why ribaldry is sometimes a subject of censorship. Ribaldry, whose usual aim is not "merely" to be sexually stimulating, often does address larger concerns than mere sexual appetite. However, being presented in the form of comedy, these larger concerns may be overlooked by censors.
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at the foibles and weaknesses that manifest themselves in human sexuality, rather than to present sexual stimulation either overtly or artistically. Also, ribaldry may use sex as a metaphor to illustrate some non-sexual concern, in which case ribaldry borders satire.
Ribaldry differs from black comedy in that the latter deals with topics which would normally be considered painful or frightening, whereas ribaldry deals with topics that would only be considered offensive.
Examples
Ribaldry is present to some degree in every culture and has likely been around for all of human history. Works like
Another example of ribaldry is "
Bawdy song
A bawdy song is a humorous song that emphasises sexual themes and is often rich with
Blue comedy
Blue comedy is comedy that is
"Working blue" refers to the act of using swear words and discussing things that people would not discuss in "polite society". A "blue comedian" or "blue comic" is a comedian who usually performs risqué routines layered with curse words.
There is a common belief that comedian
Private events at show business clubs such as the Masquers often showed this blue side of otherwise clean-cut comedians; a recording survives of one Masquers roast from the 1950s with Jack Benny, George Jessel, George Burns, and Art Linkletter all using highly risqué material and obscenities. Many comedians who are normally family-friendly might choose to work blue when off-camera or in an adult-oriented environment; Bob Saget exemplified this dichotomy. Bill Cosby's 1969 record album 8:15 12:15 records both his family-friendly evening standup comedy show, and his blue midnight show, which included a joke about impregnating his wife "right through the old midnight trampoline" (her diaphragm) and other sexual references.[3]
Some comedians build their careers on blue comedy. Among the best known of these are
On talk radio in the United States and elsewhere, blue comedy is a staple of the shock jock's repertoire. The use of blue comedy over American radio airwaves is severely restricted due to decency regulations; the Federal Communications Commission can levy fines against radio stations that air obscene content.
Blue literature
As a part of English literature, blue literature dates back to at least Middle English, while bawdy humor is a central element in works of such writers as Shakespeare and Chaucer. Examples of blue literature are also present in various cultures, among different social classes, and genders.[5] Until the 1940s, writers of English-language blue literature were almost exclusively men; since then it has become possible for women to build a commercial career on blue literature.[5]: 170 While no extensive cross-cultural study has been made in an attempt to prove the universality of blue literature, oral tradition around the world suggests that this may be the case.[5]: 169
See also
- Black comedy
- Clean comedy
- Dirty blues
- Drinking song
- Grotesque body
- Limerick (verse)
- Off-color humor
- Ruth Wallis
- "The Ball of Kirriemuir"
- Toilet humor
References
- ^ "Why is it called blue comedy anyways?". Under The Moonlight. 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ^ Sandberg, L. & Weissman, D. (1976) The Folk Music Sourcebook. New York: Knopf; p. 134
- ^ Carruthers, Sean (2011). "Bill Cosby: 8:15 12:15 - Bill Cosby | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ MMPC (2016-03-04), Bill Burr - Christopher Cross / Go See Dave Attell, archived from the original on 2021-11-17, retrieved 2018-04-23
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8122-1972-2.
Further reading
- Cray, Ed. (1992) The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs, ISBN 9780252017810
- ISBN 978-1557282316
- Legman, Gershon, ed. (1992) Blow the Candle Out (bawdy songs and lore collected by Vance Randolph), University of Arkansas Press, ISBN 978-1557282378
- Robert Burns (1982) The Merry Muses of Caledonia; edited by James Barke & ISBN 0-904265-71-4
External links
- The dictionary definition of ribaldry at Wiktionary