Being A Critic Of Denis Leary Essay, Research Paper

Being a critic of a comedian such as, Denis Leary is an easy concept for one to conceive. These critics are people that believe he crosses the line into outrageousness. This causes him to be seen in two different perspectives. One is that people see his outrageousness and view his comedy as not funny, but out of hand. The other perspective is that people view him as not crossing the line but being himself. They believe that this is the selective trait that sets him apart from all other comedians. In their minds, this is what makes people laugh.

I believe that many people have a valid argument when they say that Denis crosses the line with his comedy in his routine. Their opinion has some validation because of the things that he does on stage. During his act, Denis smokes a numerous amount of cigarettes and he is probably being criticized by non-smokers. By doing this, he is putting himself in a position where he can be criticized by viewers (non-smokers). This may cause these critics to dislike him and in turn his comedy. Another Denis does during his routine that may cause anger from these type of critics (non-smokers) is that he tells the audience how much he likes to smoke and that he will continue to smoke until he dies. He also expresses the fact that he does not care what people think of him when he smokes.

Others may be critics of Denis’ use of vulgar language. These critics are people who believe that by him using profanity in his routine, he is not being funny at all. He uses profanity throughout his routine and raises his voice when he uses it. This raising of his voice tends to be criticized by people who dislike the use of profanity at any time in his routine or life in general. In the beginning of his act he starts out by singing a song titled “A$$HOLE”. This creates critics of his comedy right away. Many people who have been taught to have family values see this as wrong and see no comedy in the way he uses the profanity to make a song. During the song, Denis crosses the line to outrageousness by using lines that may seem inappropriate by some viewers. Some of the lines that seem inappropriate are when he says, “I like football and porno and books about war, I drive really slow in the ultrafast lane while people behind me are going insane, I’m an a$$hole I’m an a$$hole, I use public toilets and I piss on the seat, Sometimes I park in handicapped spaces while handicapped people make handicapped faces.” I can see why some people may think that he crosses the line and that he isn’t being funny. If I were a person who felt pornography was a bad thing in society I wouldn’t want him expressing how he likes it so much. Also, when he speaks about the handicapped he is criticized by many. Speaking and making fun of other peoples’ misfortunes is wrong and this is not funny at all.

The thing about Denis Leary is that he doesn’t care if people criticize him because he is who he is and that’s the way it is. I feel like him being as outrageous as he is, makes him all the more funnier. Being able to express yourself without concern of what people may think deserves some credit. To credit him is to laugh at his comedy and that is what I do. I do feel that he does cross the line at some points when he talks about the handicapped. There was no reason for him to make fun of them. I don’t feel that him crossing the line in one part of his routine takes away from him being the amusing comedian that he is. I don’t know that it isn’t a valid assertion that he does cross the line and makes him not funny because some people can view it this way. This is their opinion and not mine.

Outrage stifles comedy in the ways that I have wrote about, but only in some people’s eyes. There are some people who believe that his outrageousness stifles the comedic portion of his routine and messes it up. Others think that he isn’t too outrageous and that his routine is really hilarious. Outrage can stifle comedy in many other ways that I have not already written. Some of them are when a comedian becomes too outrageous during his routines and starts to talk about a person’s race or sex. This can bring about many critics. If a comedian starts joking about a certain race, many people will be offended. If he starts to talk about women in a bad way, women will criticize him. Another way to stifle comedy with outrage is to side with a certain political issue. If you side with a certain political group (i.e. Democrats or Republicans) you will draw many critics. Also, you can stifle comedy by showing this outrageousness to children. There must be a certain age in which this outrageousness can be viewed. We can’t have the children of America watching Denis Leary talk about how cigarettes are great and singing a song titled “A$$HOLE”.

In my opinion of what I have seen in Denis Leary’s “No Cure for Cancer” there is validity in the assertion that he crosses the line into outrageousness and his comedy is stifled. I still do not believe that it makes him funny, but I can see how critics may believe that he does. With his profanity, smoking and how he expresses himself by yelling, he is really amusing to watch. Denis is able to make many people laugh and like any other comedian; there is always a critic of their comedy. They are critics of all comedians and not just Denis. Although, Denis may have more critics than others, he gets them because of his outrageousness. This is not a negative towards Denis, it is the way he is and there isn’t anything or anyone who is going to change it.

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