Political correctness is pushing Garrett Clark, who opened for the Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Night at The Observatory on Jan. 13, to write safer jokes.
Political correctness has had a major effect on the way entertainment, especially comedy, is produced said Clark in an interview before the show.
Stand-up comedians, namely Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, have spoken out against the movement saying that they now refuse to perform at colleges.
But even comedians who aren’t traditional household names have seen consequences.
“(Political Correctness does) tend to be at colleges. It’s a very interesting thing,” said Clark. “It’s hard for me to say it’s a wave of things going on right now because I’m still relatively young and I only started working colleges a few years ago so I’ve never really known too much else other than this big wave that’s going on right now.”
Whether it be hecklers, stage rushers or even their own conscience, political correctness is ever present in comedians’ lives.
“It’s almost like they don’t even listen to anything else you have to say. Whereas you just start talking about it as a straight white guy and they feel like they need to be defensive and suddenly you’re this homophobic racist,” said Clark.
Poor reception to jokes has forced Clark to rethink, rework and sometimes entirely change sets in order to appease the audience.
“As much as I don’t want to be, I am noticing that I am writing safer stuff,” said Clark.
However, John Hastings, the headliner for Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Night at The Observatory, had a very different view.
“I don’t think political correctness has affected comedy at all. If anything, it’s made people work harder,” said Hastings. “You’ve got to write better or just not talk about those subjects in the same way. I don’t think it’s the big demon that everyone talks about.”
While Clark believes that political correctness has had a negative effect on comedians, Hastings believes that only good can come out of it.
“Whatever you say, especially if it’s offensive, it has to be the funniest take on that ever and then it defuses the problem. What a lot of people do is they confuse offensive bullshit with comedy,” said Hastings.
However, they both saw eye to eye on what comedians’ reactions should be.
“Don’t get into it unless you know it’s funny,” said Clark. “Don’t talk about it for the sake of being edgy. Have something to say about it or have a good joke about it or don’t say it.” “There’s lots of other stuff to write about.”