Here's an old joke: "They made a Hindenburg-scented perfume. It's called Eau De Humanitie."
You probably thought that was funny, or maybe just a little funny. Anyway, the point is, it's unlikely that you were offended by this joke that recalls a historical event that cost hundreds of lives. But when did it become acceptable to make "Hindenburg" jokes?
Spin forward in time 64 years to Sept. 11, 2001. When would it be appropriate for any comedy after that event? Especially humor that's specifically about 9/11?
Wisconsin Public Radio's "BETA" talked with documentary director Julie Seabaugh about her film "Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11" to find out how we found our way back to humor after that tragic event.
"Remembering what it felt like to laugh again," says Seabaugh, "was something that bonded us on this project. But it was a universal thing. That's what the movie's about. How can you laugh again in the face of tragedy?"
In New York City, everything shut down. The comedy clubs, Broadway, and television production all came to a grinding halt. But what were we to do?
Uncertainty, fear, and panic gripped the nation, and people everywhere found themselves floating in a cloud of grief with no direction. Then, finally, David Letterman found a way for laughter to return and begin the much-needed healing.
Seabaugh recalls, "Everybody watched (The Late Show with David Letterman), and it's telling that it was a late-night comedy show. And it was also telling that Dan Rather was the first guest, which was recreating the events in a journalistic, somber, respectful way. And then they brought in comedy with Regis Philbin at the show's end."
After that, the way was clear for comedians to try and find a way to make sense of such tragedy. So on Sept. 27, 2001, The Onion devoted an entire issue to 9/11.
"When they decided to return to work after 9/11", Seabaugh recalls, "with an issue that was all about 9/11 including amazing headlines like, 'God Angrily Clarifies Do Not Kill Rule' or 'Real Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Film,' and 'Hijackers Surprised To Find Themselves In Hell.' Every little piece of the paper, every story, every opinion piece, every chart, and graph were all about reacting to 9/11 with a mix of horror and sadness."
The writers at The Onion felt they couldn't ignore the sadness and grief they were dealing with in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, but they had to be true to their mission of being a humorous publication. Amazingly, they pulled it off, and readers responded with calls and emails congratulating the writers for finding their way through and creating the most sensitive and funny issues they ever produced.
But finding the humor in the darkest situation was no easy task. A few weeks after 9/11, Comedy Central presented the New York Friars Club roast of Hugh Hefner. Gilbert Gottfried crossed a line with one of his jokes referencing 9/11. It didn't go well.
"The crowd revolts," says Seabaugh. "Someone shouted out, 'Too soon.' Everyone points to that being the moment of, oh yeah, we can cross a line. It can be too soon. This is when you learn if you don't test the line, you don't know where it is. So, Gilbert was the one who kind of sacrificed himself for the rest of standup comedy."
From there, the comedy world found its sense of humor once again. Saturday Night Live honored New York's first responders in their first show after 9/11 and then the usual comedy sketches. After that, the Daily Show reinvented itself as a political satire program and less of an entertainment spoof.
After making "Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11, Seabaugh came away with her own perspective on comedy and tragedy.
"It wasn't so much you can't make jokes about anything. It was the idea that you can't tell people what they can and cannot laugh at. Different things appeal to different people. But the art form I find to be uniting. And when you're sitting in that room in the back and see all these diverse people from all backgrounds and politics and religion, and they're all laughing at the same thing in the same moments, there's a little hope for humanity."
In the film, comic genius Gilbert Gottfried sums it up this way: "Comedy and tragedy are roommates, and wherever tragedy is, comedy is standing behind its back, looking over its shoulder, sticking its tongue out and making faces."