Comedy as freedom of expression

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the practice of comedians in relation to freedom of expression, so as to throw light on the issue of giving or avoiding offence.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature of comedy, newspaper coverage of comedy in the UK in 2008, observation of comedians in performance, and a small, informal interview programme with stand up comedians were used in the preparation of the paper.

Findings

Stand up comedians, despite their own sense that they defy restriction and popular perception of their material as often offensive, do monitor their material for potential offence. They assess the extent of offence and modify their performances in response. In some cases they apply personal formulae to this process.

Research limitations/implications

The interview programme is too small to claim to be fully representative and is intended only to give an indicative view of the field.

Practical implications

Examination of comedians' practice has implications for information service institutions and the giving of access to potentially offensive content.

Originality/value

The paper may be the first study of comedy in an information science context and it contains implications for further studies that use comedy as an example of content, and creative practice to further develop understanding of information provision issues.

Citation

Sturges, P. (2010), "Comedy as freedom of expression", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 66 No. 2, pp. 279-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411011023661