Reluctantly Frank

I am a big fan of Frankie Boyle, from Mock the Week and his stand-up work.  I also have cerebral palsy and because of this I was hesitant to write about the recent spat about his Channel 4 show.  However, I do not find jokes about all disability belly-achingly funny – although I have heard some crackers in my time and told a few.  They are not in principle wrong.  There are a few points I would like to make about the latest debacle, this time between Boyle and Katie Price, mother of one of his recent targets.

Firstly, the joke was not belly-achingly funny and Boyle is capable of telling better jokes.  However, it is not up to me, and thankfully no one else, even Ofcom cannot decide what is funny, simply acceptable as broadcastable, humour is one’s own affair, no governing body can be set up to decide what is humorous.  I do however, wish there was a better way of complaining than Ofcom.  The joke was not funny, and I can only imagine Katie Price’s hurt and anger as I have no children.  However, she had to be watching the show to hear the joke (armed one presumes with remote control) and by making an official complaint many have heard the joke since that would not have heard it the first time around, including myself.  It has been tweeted, blogged and facebooked. The Internet is better than magic marker, once something has been posted on the Web it may never disappear, (ironically this includes this blogpost).   What would have died as simply something I would treat as a bad joke is now in the print and digital media - forever.

Of course, everyone should have the right to complain if they hear something they believe to be reprehensible on television, and they should exercise that right.  Is Ofcom, the best way to do that given that many of the complaints are not just made public, but the material in question becomes more well known as a result of the complaint?  Also, I do feel sometimes that Frankie Boyle is unfairly picked on, he is not the only comedian doing that sort of material, and yet he is has been made into the symbol of bad taste.  I feel incredibly uneasy about censorship, however, to those who believe that Frankie Boyle’s humour is simply bullying and therefore should be stopped should reflect on this point.  When I was bullied at school I didn’t have a red button to turn down the bully’s voice and had no right of reply.  It was incredibly hurtful, but I was not powerless -   I could walk away.