Comedians are synonymous with laughter. The very sight of one
evokes laughter among kids and grown-ups alike. The concept of a comedian was
very different a few decades back. Back then, they carried around a highly
clichéd look, complete with baggy pants and painted face. The daily jokes
they cracked at well-attended programs, would always center on a specific
theme.
In the past, it was mandatory for comedians to wear costumes
that bordered on the silly and more often than not, they came in pairs. However,
somewhere along the way, like everything else, comedy too has evolved. They
started to dress normally like every other guy or lady in the room and just
told hipster jokes
or joked about anything under the sun. It was not just the comedy themes or the
comedians that were evolving. The tastes of the audiences were also changing.
They detested hackneyed comedy themes and the done-to-death daily jokes.
Standup comedy is not a recent thing. It came into existence
many years ago when some smarty decided to take the stage with just the mike
and his stock of alien jokes. It was widely appreciated and gave rise to a new
breed of comedians who were not afraid of cracking funny
government jokes even in the faces of politicians. This new breed of standup
comedians are not afraid of telling jokes on any theme, even if they seem
highly controversial. The refined and mature audience too expects them to go
beyond the funny golf jokes and other mundane topics and speak about the
current issues that bug the common man the most.
Heaven and hell jokes seem to have survived longest probably
because people relate to these jokes more readily than many other types of
gags. Standup comedians do crack jokes on this theme too because they have
their fingers on the pulse of their audience and know exactly what type of
jokes will evoke the loudest laughter.
