Women are Funny...To Those who Bother to Watch

Simon Hoying

Blog 3

Women are Funny...To Those who Bother to Watch

“Make em laugh” that's all you need to know if you want to become a comedian. If you are no longer funny, then people no longer want to watch you. Just ask Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell. Everyone has their own type of humor they enjoy. Your younger audiences may go for the raunchy style that you would find in a Judd Apatow film. While older may like the smarter comedy you would find on a show like The Office. But there seems to be a stereotype among many out there that women, no matter what form of comedy they use, are not funny. After we discussed it at length in class I realize the arguments made on both sides, but I feel that we are missing one key component of the argument. It should not be to answer the question of weather or not woman are funny, but instead to answer the question why people watch men comedians more than woman’s comedians. Clearly there are women can just be as funny as men. What I think that we overlook is who the majority of people who consume comedy are. Men are the main consumers of the this mainstream type of comedy that makes Hollywood so much money. I feel like so many more people like male comics since that's what they are used to seeing. People don't like change, just look at the two most popular comedy’s on television right now. Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang theory. Both of them have predominately male casts, with the females used as nothing more than sex objects, and every joke for them plays off of that. Men are a safe bet in the audiences eyes. People don't want to have to over-think their comedy, and most of all they want to feel safe. How little do people want to think when they watch TV? Take the big bang theory, every single joke plays off the fact they are nerds. It's what people are used to seeing, and what they feel safe seeing. Just like men being comidians. Women are funny, but unfortunately they don't bring ratings.