Comedy can only reach its full potential when you're allowed to joke about any subject, no matter how offensive - Change my View

The opinion that I agreed with was - Comedy can only reach its full potential when you’re allowed to joke about any subject, no matter how offensive. I agreed that finding humor in topics like rape, terrorism, racism etc. would allow a form of relief from the stress and negativity that comes from these topics. Also, I felt that the audience should participate in the act of comedy with an open mind and try to acknowledge the humor presented, since something that might be offensive to one might be humorous to others, and vice versa.  

My opinion was shifted considerably by the argument that a comedian's job is to make people laugh. A comedian may definitely joke about any subject but if no one finds his jokes funny because they are offended by them then he is failing at his job miserably. Stand up is a field with instant feedback. It allows the audience to respond instantly to the material. Thus, comedy reaches its full potential when a comedian delivers his material in accordance with the type of audience he is dealing with.

My opinion was also shifted by the argument that people tend to be heavily influenced by comedians and tend to adopt the views of the comedians into their worldview. There are studies that have shown that when people make jokes about subjects like rape, they influence others to have a decreased desire to punish rapists and decreased view of rape as a problem. Thus, if offensive comedy causes people to feel better about such subjects then its net effect is rather detrimental. In that case, I realize that comedians should not joke about anything offensive to their audience, no matter how hilarious it might be. Comedy is a form of entertainment, and should not be designated the power of having unwanted enduring effects on the lives of the audience.

I was forced to reevaluate my viewpoint by the argument that comedians do have a social responsibility towards the audience they are dealing with, and should try to avoid the usage of dark humor which they feel would bring out the full potential in their act. They may be highly mistaken. Comedy may reach its full potential through wit, imagination, slice of life observation, free form improvisation, satire etc.  A remark that makes people more unhappy than they were before they heard it, is not comedy. That would just affect the mood of the audience in a way undesired by both the presenter and the audience itself.

To conclude I would like to mention that “people should just have a good humor about their bad situation” is a very easy thing to say when you have never experienced it.