Like most people of my age, and indeed of other ages, I watch a lot of comedy shows, ranging from sitcoms like Peep Show and The Inbetweeners, to cartoons like Family Guy and South Park, and also a lot of stand up, like Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor and Lee Evens, and not to forget panel shows such as QI and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. One things that strikes me with the most of these shows are that they seem to be the only critical voice in current society that reaches a large audience. As some evidences of this I present the following clips:

The Daily Show with John Stuart:


The Simpsons:


South Park:


Peep Show:


Never Mind The Buzzcocks:


Bill Hicks:



This is not something new though. Comedy has been able to sneak these things in, under the radar, as it is seen as nonthreatening or that its intentions are seen as less serious because it is of a comic nature, as existed with Bunuel's Surrealist films of the 40s. Also, it may seem as if I am suggesting that comedy is the only medium which casts a critical eye on society, but this is not true. Music, film and other genre's of television also cast a critical, but they are often a niche genre or a part of a subculture in which the majority of society would never even think to seek out, let alone stumble onto. That is why comedy can sometimes feel like the last bastion of critical thinking in mainstream society.

I urge you to be critical of the world around you, question everything, and think about the repercussions of your actions, however minute they may be. Although now it may seem like very little matters, and although apathy seems like an easier option, and in the short term it is, in the long term it just causes problems, and you and others will pay for it. Look at the apathy of many of the world's nations, and German citizens themselves, surrounding the Holocaust, but still genocide and other preventable evils exist, and it is not because people haven't learnt, it is that they a CHOOSING not to learn. Please seek out the truth and keep an open mind.


ATM I am listening to -
The Ghost of a Thousand - This is Where the Fight Begins
Gallows - Orchestra of Wolves
Your Demise - You Only Make Us Stronger

I am watching -
My Name is Earl
The Simpsons
Malcolm in the Middle

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