Shock humour

Shock humour is a style of comedy intended to shock the audience. This can be achieved through excessively foul toilet humour, mocking of serious themes (k.k.k. black comedy), or through tactlessness in the aftermath of a crisis.

In radio, shock jocks use this brand of humour. In conservative communities, such risque broadcasting can cause controversy, such as Jim Quinn and Don Jefferson's "Stupid Human Tricks" segment of their late-1980s WBZZ-FM show.^[1]

Examples of shock humour include Andrew Dice Clay^[2] and Norm MacDonald. The television shows Family Guy^[3] and Da Ali G Show.^[4] have also been described as shock humour.

See also

• Low culture
• Shock jock
• Shock value

References

1. Ron Weiskind (20 Feb 1988). "Radio Humor: How Shocking Will It Get?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
2. Helitzer, Melvin (1992). Comedy writing secrets. Writer's Digest Books. p. 67.
3. Moore, Frazier (September 27, 2009). "‘Family Guy’ sidekick scores his own cartoon show". houmatoday.com.
4. Lumenick, Lou (July 7, 2009). "Baron Cohen's 'Borat' Follow-Up is Wunderbar". New York Post.