<p>Half-rhetorically I might ask if something can be truly inoffensive. If I take offence at something precisely because it is inoffensive, it no longer is. If I defined it by how inoffensive it was, and it no longer is, is it then defined by how it is now offensive, or does it cease to be?</p>
<p>I'm not sure I've ever seen a stand-up comedian and then thought "Yeah, now I think differently on this matter," and I suspect few people have. Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the impression they reflect a thinking in their audience and when popular thought becomes binary, so does this profession. Yet even if I agree with a point that is often made (or rather, probably because), that point becomes pretty trite. The idea of 'Cancel Culture,' and the debate about what you can and cannot say, and can and cannot make comedy about, is one single topic that is continued afterwards, at lunch breaks in all layers of society.</p>
<p>I associate the side that says 'Cancel Culture isn't a thing' and 'comedy should have limits' with a historically anti-establishment, counter-cultural side. Which is just hilarious, because nothing could be more pro-corporation than putting limitations on speech.</p>
<p>It's not that the proponents of those thoughts are in and of themselves big fans of corporations. Surely if prompted, they would rant tirelessly about the problems with the mega corporations and their influence.</p>
<p>Yet no one likes good clean fun as much as Mickey Mouse. It is the most marketable thing in the world. When neither your product, your message, the culture around those, and the people who partake in it, offend, a big company can easily join in the conversation.</p>
<p>And discourse that is welcoming to the family friendliness of Trevor Noah, is something where nothing interesting can ever happen. Only the generally accepted, inoffensive, non-radical thoughts. Sequels and remakes, market-research, projected earnings, memes and dunking, L's and W's. Undertale and Marvel movies. There is just nothing as fun as seeing the Twitter account for Burger King have real jolly time with the twitter account for Xbox.</p>
<p>Whenever something new and mind numbingly vapid is declared the new thing to like, I try to just nod and say "good thing you like Arcane. I'm jealous of you. I could be a happier person." Yet, what I actually want is for us all to like media that is better. Media that doesn't have to have been whittled down by the Infinite Boardrooms of Prudes and Penis-skinned. It doesn't have to be smart. Not at all. By all means, let it be interesting AND retarded.</p>
<p>Is there more to say on this? I made a game called 'Møgluder' with some friends. Calling a woman 'møgluder' is a prejorative along the lines of calling her a 'dumb cunt.' The common reaction among people who understand it, is either to take offense, or to go "lol bro, that's so stupid, awesome dude." Neither reaction was unexpected or disappointing. Sometimes it's just important to smear the entire bathroom in piss and semen, because they can't own you if they don't want to touch you.</p>
