Boyle: A defense

Frankie Boyle. There's a controversial way to start a blog post. I've mentioned Mr. Boyle before in my Julie Burchill column back in 2010 (which btw, hasn't aged well. Although I do admit to chuckling again at the thought of a care bear dying every time she tries to be witty). My general point at that time was that I found it impossible to be offended by Frankie for the simple reason that I don't believe for a second that he believes in 95% of the horrific things he says. They are jokes. He's a comedian. Comedians tell jokes. Why the offense? There are some times when he makes a political or social point where I do think he believes in what he's saying but these don't tend to be overly offensive. But when he starts garbling in a scary voice regarding "Michael Jackson's Children Hospital" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM8EVIbNxk4 ), you know that this part of the show is not to be taken seriously.

Frankie Boyle, despite not being your traditional comic, has a shtick. This shtick is simple but effective. He says incredibly offensive things and then people laugh. People laugh because hearing something offensive is funny. It's funny because its taboo. You won't agree with what's being said but you'll laugh because someone is actually saying it. It's not the actual content of the joke that you are laughing at but rather the awkwardness the jokes creates. It really is an excellent act all things considered because there is a disconnect between Frankie and the material. People who get this understand what Frankie is doing and enjoy his comedy for what it is. However, there are many who don't like Frankie's style of comedy. There are others who go out of their way to knock the man. Newspapers line up to chirp about the most recent "vile" thing he has said. They don't get it but they want to take that sort of comedy away from people who do. This infuriates me.

 

Frankie is hardly ever on TV these days with most channels seemingly black balling him. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. Yes, Frankie's material is exceedingly rude in the same way that Mr Kipling's cakes are exceedingly good, but that's no reason to deny him a slot on the idiot box. Put him on way past the watershed at something like 11PM. It might not do gang buster ratings but the people who appreciate him will tune in and those who don't like him can leave us all alone. 11PM is late enough in the schedules that it shouldn't be an issue. Parents should be capable of keeping their kids from watching it. Snobby TV elitists can be appeased by having it on something like Dave so that it doesn't "dirty" the major terrestrial channels. We can have our comedy and they can go and watch the proms.

We really need to start embracing comics like Frankie Boyle. For years, people like Mary Whitehouse campaigned for years to keep people like Frankie off the telly. Many opposed her and her acolytes because they knew that such forms of censorship are wrong. Television should be a world for everyone. It should be inclusive and not exclusive. If people are worried about the “wrong” people watching Frankie Boyle, then there are methods previously discussed in this blog post to ensure that they don't. I would have no problem with a parent saying their young child could not watch Frankie Boyle. It's a perfectly understandable stance and one I'm sure my parents would have shared when I was younger. However, the off chance a child may sneak past their parents TV security and watch the show is not, in my opinion, and adequate reason to stop a comic like Frankie Boyle being on television. Yes, Frankie Boyle is very, very, VERY rude but that's about it. He's not inciting hatred or calling for Katie Price to be assaulted in the streets. He's telling jokes. When did we become a society who couldn't take a joke?

Frankie Boyle's "Last Days of Sodom"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frankie-Boyle-Live-Last-Sodom/dp/B006TWMOPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359412048&sr=8-1

Frankie Boyle's "My Shit Life So Far"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Shit-Life-So-Far/dp/0007324510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359412126&sr=1-1