The Aristocrats (joke)
Encyclopedia
"The Aristocrats" is an exceptionally transgressive (taboo
-defying) dirty joke
that has been told by numerous stand-up comedians
since the vaudeville
era. Throughout its long history, it has evolved from a cliché
d staple of vaudevillian humor into a postmodern anti-joke
.
Steven Wright
has likened it to a secret handshake
among comedians, and it is seen as something of a game in which those who tell it try to top each other in terms of shock value
. It is thought of as a badge of honor among expert comedians and is notoriously hard to perform successfully.
It is rarely told the same way twice, often improvised, and was the subject of a 2005 documentary film of the same name
. It received publicity when it was used by Gilbert Gottfried
during the Friars' Club
roast of Hugh Hefner
in September 2001.
Sundance Film Festival
. Co-produced by Penn Jillette
and Paul Provenza
, directed by Provenza and edited by Emery Emery, the film is based on hours of digital video
taken over several years, featuring comedians and others in the know talking about and telling their versions of the joke. "The Aristocrats" was Johnny Carson
's favorite joke. Because of this, and because Carson died days after the film was screened at Sundance, Penn Jillette decided to dedicate this film to his memory. When the director called that there will be more so then The Aristocrats features performances and commentary from some of Hollywood's biggest power players in comedy, TV and film.
Rumors cited in this film suggest that Chevy Chase
used to hold parties at which the goal was to tell the joke for half an hour, without repeating any of the acts contained in its performance.
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
-defying) dirty joke
Off-color humor
The term off-color humor is an Americanism used to describe jokes, prose, poems, black comedy, blue comedy, insult comedy, cringe comedy and skits that deal with topics that are considered to be in poor taste or overly vulgar by the prevailing morality of a culture...
that has been told by numerous stand-up comedians
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
since the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
era. Throughout its long history, it has evolved from a cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
d staple of vaudevillian humor into a postmodern anti-joke
Anti-humor
Anti-humor is a type of indirect humor that involves the joke-teller delivering something which is deliberately not funny, or lacking in intrinsic meaning. The audience is expecting something humorous, and when this does not happen, the irony itself is of comedic value. Anti-humor is also the basis...
.
Steven Wright
Steven Wright
Steven Alexander Wright is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.-Early life and career:Wright was born in Mount Auburn...
has likened it to a secret handshake
Secret handshake
A secret handshake is a distinct form of handshake or greeting which conveys membership in or loyalty to a club, clique or subculture. The typical secret handshake involves placing one's fingers or thumbs in a particular position, one that will be recognized by fellow members while seeming to be a...
among comedians, and it is seen as something of a game in which those who tell it try to top each other in terms of shock value
Shock value
Shock value is the potential of an action , image, text, or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions.-Shock value as humor:...
. It is thought of as a badge of honor among expert comedians and is notoriously hard to perform successfully.
It is rarely told the same way twice, often improvised, and was the subject of a 2005 documentary film of the same name
The Aristocrats (film)
The Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary film about the famous dirty joke of the same name. It was conceived and produced by comedians Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, edited by Emery Emery, and released to theaters by TH!NKFilm...
. It received publicity when it was used by Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Gottfried is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his trademark comedic persona of speaking in a loud, grating tone of voice. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin , and...
during the Friars' Club
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City, founded in 1904 and famous for its risqué celebrity roasts. The club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. It is located at 57 East 55th Street between Park and Madison Avenues in a building it calls the Monastery...
roast of Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
in September 2001.
Joke format
This joke almost always has these elements—alternative versions may change this form, but such versions tend to assume that the audience is already familiar with the joke:- The setup: The joke always begins with a family act going in to see a talent agentTalent agentA talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
.- Those who meet the agent can include the whole family or just one family member (usually the father).
- The agent asks what they do (sometimes after saying that he is not interested, and a plea from the father).
- If the whole family is present, the act may be performed for the agent, rather than described.
- There is also the possibility of a neutral observer telling the tale of seeing the performance to the talent agent.
- The act: It is described in as much detail as the teller prefers.
- While most tellings follow one of a few basic forms, the description of the act is meant to be an ad lib.
- Traditionally, the description is crude, tasteless, and ribaldRibaldryRibaldry is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to gross indecency. It is also referred to as "bawdiness", "gaminess" or "bawdry"....
. The goal is to significantly transgress social normsNorm (sociology)Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
. Taboo acts such as violenceViolenceViolence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, incestIncestIncest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, rapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, child sexual abuseChild sexual abuseChild sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
, coprophiliaCoprophiliaCoprophilia , also called scatophilia or scat, is the paraphilia involving sexual pleasure from feces...
, coprophagy, bestiality, and murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
are common themes.
- The punch linePunch lineA punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
: The shocked (or intrigued) agent asks what the act is called, and the proud answer (sometimes delivered with a flourish) is: "The Aristocrats!"- The punchline may be modified in some variants, but generally such variants are told only in a context in which the original joke is known.
- The Prestige:
- Because the sense of what an aristocratAristocracy (class)The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
is has faded in many countries, the final line may simply be seen as the end of a rather bawdy joke rather than a punchline. In some regions the name of the act is "The Sophisticates" or "The Debonaires". - Originally the humor of the punch line was in the reading of the joke as a satiricalSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
comment on the decadence of the aristocracy - in modern performances the humour lies more in the anticlimax as the punchline is usually known beforehand by the audience. - Some versions of the punchline contain the set-up line "What the heck do you call an act like that?" followed by the punchline "I call it 'The Aristocrats'." The added set-up value of this version of the joke, in which the pitchman misunderstands the meaning of the phrase "What the heck do you call [that]?" as a request for information, when it is in fact meant to be an expression of incredulity or bewilderment, is lost in other tellings of the joke, with the simpler but less sensible question asked by the agent: "What do you call your act?"
- Because the sense of what an aristocrat
History in print
- In 2005, Jackie MartlingJackie MartlingJohn Coger "Jackie" Martling, Jr. is an American comedian, comedy writer and radio personality. He is best known for being a writer on The Howard Stern Show from 1983 to 2001.-Early life and career:...
's website cited "The Aristocrats" as appearing on page 987 of Gershon LegmanGershon LegmanGershon Legman was an American cultural critic and folklorist.-Life and work:Legman was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Emil and Julia Friedman Legman, both of Hungarian/Romanian Jewish descent; his father was a railroad clerk and butcher...
's Rationale of the Dirty Joke, Vol. 2, published in 1975. Legman retells the joke, complete with its traditional vaudevillian flourishes, although he does not attribute the joke to vaudeville roots. Instead, Legman learned the joke from a young man who grew up in a broken home.
- In a 2005 interview, comic Barry CryerBarry CryerBarry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
claims to have heard the joke "fifty years ago."
2005 film
A film called The Aristocrats premiered at the 20052005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. Co-produced by Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...
and Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza is an actor, comedian and filmmaker, a self-professed skeptic currently based in Los Angeles.-Early years:...
, directed by Provenza and edited by Emery Emery, the film is based on hours of digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
taken over several years, featuring comedians and others in the know talking about and telling their versions of the joke. "The Aristocrats" was Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's favorite joke. Because of this, and because Carson died days after the film was screened at Sundance, Penn Jillette decided to dedicate this film to his memory. When the director called that there will be more so then The Aristocrats features performances and commentary from some of Hollywood's biggest power players in comedy, TV and film.
Rumors cited in this film suggest that Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
used to hold parties at which the goal was to tell the joke for half an hour, without repeating any of the acts contained in its performance.