I recently rewatched the fascinating documentary about the worlds dirtiest joke. The joke is part of an oral tradition since vaudeville era. It's part storytelling device and spectacle of Grotesque. The joke is vulgar, an improv tale developed by the teller. In 2005 the documentary THE ARISTOCRATS interviews over a 100 comedians who deconstruct, analyse and perform the joke. This isn't for everyone. It's so vulgar it often includes incest, bizare sexual acts, bestiality, scat and any number of repulsive activities that transgress our customes and decorum. Everyone has done this joke. There is a clip of The Smothers Brothers discussing the joke and it brought tears to my eyes. George Carlin and Phylis Diller are so beautifully welcome sights for sore eyes. There is every disgusting act you couldn't even imagine. And the punchline is always the same. Women and men will have different ways of finding shock value. And most audiences know the joke so the mystery is in the build up before the punch line. Evryone knows the punchline. The joke has three sections. The set up: a man goes to his agent and pitches a stage show. Then the client describes the act. Sex with one's whole family, golden showers, the family dog, sliding in shit, etc. Then the agent asks..."whats the name of the act?" "The Aristocrats." It's fantasy...art...comedy...performance. It's stories built out of other stories...which is what art is....and is an opportunity to think about what is art? What is originality? What do we learn about our society from such stories and release? The joke is an opportunity for storytellers to render an insane scenario showing off their storytelling skills and imagination. This documentary is a 10/10 and is brilliant including Christopher Walken telling the joke.
Sometimes I have laughed at the punchline because of the delivery by the comic. What I couldn't help but notice this viewing is that what I thought about was...Quanon. This joke has taken a dark turn to literal application. The definition of fundamentalism is a literal appication of a sacred text. Or the strict adherence to the basic principles of any subject or discipline. What Quanon as a generator of an urban legend has created...is the idea that there is a a terrible sexual transgression in our society. They describe the incest, pedophilia, and vulgar acts and the punch line is Tom Hanks. This conspiracy theory has co-opted an oral tradition in art....to literally apply it to society today as if its truth. And that my friends is a good example of fundamentalism and fascism.
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