04.05.10

How Far Is TOO Far?

Posted in Comedy Around The World, Humor~In The News at 4:00 am by Dr. Trina Hess

This week’s Comedy Around the World goes to Germany for their Carneval festival. I just read about a controversy involving this festive and joke-filled holiday. “Parody and mockery are part of its tradition,” said Matthias von der Bank, a historian from Cologne’s Carnival Museum, “but it wasn’t satire like we have today. In the Middle Ages, carnival was a festival of reverse worlds and a playful expression of this,” von der Bank said. “So Christian symbols, for example, were turned upside down.”

The recent controversy stems from jokes that were made about certain religious leaders in the German culture.

Some people defended the humor, saying that is the purpose of the Carneval–to allow freedom of expression, and a chance to air one’s truth. One person said, “People have to be able to handle satire. This satire can and should also be directed against the church or political topics. In the case of cabaret or satire, people have to be able to take it. It is part of our culture.”

Others, though, said that the jokes went too far. That religious leaders and ideals, especially, were immune to any sort of humor-mongering. “Our philosophy is that Carnival should be fun and friendly,” said Sigrid Krebs, spokeswoman for the city’s carnival committee.

What do YOU say? How far IS too far? How do we honor our humorous nature while still residing in a sometimes non-humorous world?
Share your opinions here on the blog or on my Facebook Fan Page http://tinyurl.com/trinacomedy
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