Don't mess with Texas. Certainly don't mess with an airport in Texas. Small time comedian Chuck Nice recently discovered that no one has a sense of humor when it comes to flying. While waiting for a delayed flight at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, Nice decided it was time to lighten the mood. Affecting a Shakespearean dialect, he shouted, “Outrageous! Outrageous I tell you! Brethren. This is our moment, shall we be treated like cattle herded about the country? Let us rise up together! What say you?”
No one laughed at this mock rant, however, and the police showed up. Nice attempted to appease the officers, saying that he was a comic, just trying to make a joke for those stuck waiting in the terminal. A flight attendant then said, “No, he's not a comic. He's a moron and an idiot.” Nice was escorted away from the boarding area and given a severe talking to by the officials. He was allowed to board a later flight, which he did without saying a word.
The fact that no one managed a laugh at Nice's shenanigans is interesting, though not entirely surprising. The 9/11 disaster and other events in the world as of late have made most people on edge about public places in general. The idea that someone would make a joke about disrupting a very controlled, security-conscious situation is unthinkable to most. That is, the idea is unthinkable until it is on TV. Then, it's funny.
Maybe the need to reprimand comedians off the screen stems from the fact that we get the majority of our news from the very same comedians on the TV screen. We can't handle the news in a straightforward manner anymore. We have to take it with a head swivel, a funny face, and a wheelbarrow full of cynicism. The American people don't want to see towers being demolished and planes crashing into our monuments (unless these acts are within the latest Jackie Chan buddy-cop movie). We want to be told about bad news, and we want to be told in the gentlest way possible. This usually means that the delivery must be the sort that will make us laugh. And it must be distanced from our personal lives.
Late-night news shows used to cost more money than they made. The heads of these shows revamped their image in the 1970's, boosting ratings by adding attractive anchors in every department. The ratings soon turned stagnant, though, only fluctuating with the gain or loss of particular personalities. This all changed in 1996, with the introduction of Comedy Central's late-night news show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Stewart, a successful and well-informed comedian, reports the news full of sarcasm, usually sporting a deadpan expression or a goofy grin. The show garnered an ever-growing fan base.
Autumn of 2005 brought the most popular satirical news show to date. The Colbert Report features Stephen Colbert, an ex-Daily Show correspondent, taking laughably extreme right wing views of political stories. The Colbert Report airs on Comedy Central just after The Daily Show, allowing Colbert to send up statements made only moments earlier by Stewart, ratcheting up the irony and the laughs. In fact, between 2005 and 2006, in the midst of many serious issues, the ratings of both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report doubled, according to Nielsen Research.
The comedy industry is a multi-million dollar business. Steve Martin is just as popular as Robert De Niro (which De Niro must have noticed, since he's taken to accepting comedic “Meet the Parents”-type roles). We, as a people, will laugh at anything, so long as the laughter is from a distance. If the man informing you of the world around you is making you laugh on a screen or a stage, it's a good time. If the man attempting to do these things is three feet away, it makes for a slightly uncomfortable situation these days.
As far as subject matter goes, controversial comedians have always been the biggest celebrities. From Lenny Bruce to Sarah Silverman, America seems to love to be taken aback by seemingly inappropriate views on any and every subject. It's okay for George Carlin to talk about the “Seven Dirty Words” on TV. It's a completely different situation to make an airplane joke in an airport. Maybe Chuck Nice should take note.
