The Aristocrats (also known as The Debonaires or The Sophisticates in some tellings) is an exceptionally transgressive dirty joke that has been told by numerous stand-up comedians since the vaudeville era. The term off-color humor (also known as dirty jokes or blue humor) is an Americanism used to describe various Jokes, Prose, Poems Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience with the absence of the theatrical " Fourth wall " Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s 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. Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6 1955) is an American Stand-up comedian, Actor, and Writer. A secret handshake is a series of Hand gestures that indicate loyalty to a Club, Clique, or Subculture. Shock value is the potential of an image text or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of Disgust, shock, Anger, Fear, It is rarely told the same way twice, often improvised, and was the subject of a 2005 documentary film of the same name. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality The Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary Film about the formerly obscure Dirty joke of the same name. It is thought of as a badge of honor among expert comedians and is notoriously hard to perform successfully. Throughout its long history, it has evolved from a clichéd staple of vaudevillian humor into a postmodern anti-joke. A cliché (from French, klɪ'ʃe or cliche is a phrase expression or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Anti-humor and anti-jokes (also known as unjokes) are a kind of Humor based on the Surprise factor of absence of an expected Joke

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:

1. The setup: The joke always begins with a family act going in to see a talent agent. A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for Actors Musicians models, and other people in various Entertainment
   • Those who meet the agent can include the whole family, or just one family member (usually the father).
   • The agent asks (sometimes after saying that he is not interested, and a plea from the father) what they do.
   • 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.
2. 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 ribald. Ribaldry is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to vulgar The goal is to cross the boundaries of propriety. Etiquette is a code that governs the expectations of Social behavior, according to the contemporary conventional norm within a Society, Incest, pedophilia, coprophilia, bestiality, and murder are common themes. Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons (often within the immediate family that is illegal or socially Taboo. The term pedophilia or paedophilia has a range of definitions as found in Psychology, law enforcement and the popular vernacular Coprophilia (from Greek κόπρος kópros - excrement and φιλία filía - liking fondness) also called scat, is the Paraphilia Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries
3. The punch line: 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 where the original joke is known. A punch line is the final part of a Joke or comedy sketch usually the word sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be Funny and to provoke
   • Because the sense of what an aristocrat 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. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations In some regions the name of the act is "The Sophisticates" or "The Debonaires".

Examples of various versions of this joke can be found at The Aristocrats Joke Database. Rumors cited in a film about the telling of this joke 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). Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase (born October 8 1943 is an American Emmy Award-winning Comedian, Writer, and television and film ^[1]

History in print

• In Charles Dickens' novel Nicholas Nickleby (1839), toward the end of Chapter 15 there is a similar juxtaposition of distasteful acts with the concept of aristocracy, which bears a strong resemblance to the joke:

'He has a very nice face and style, really,' said Mrs Kenwigs. Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common
'He certainly has,' added Miss Petowker. 'There's something in his appearance quite—dear, dear, what's that word again?'
'What word?' inquired Mr. Lillyvick.
'Why—dear me, how stupid I am,' replied Miss Petowker, hesitating. 'What do you call it when Lords break off door-knockers and beat policemen, and play at coaches with other people's money, and all that sort of thing?'
'Aristocratic?' suggested the collector.

• In 2005, Jackie Martling's website cited The Aristocrats as appearing on page 987 of Gershon Legman's Rationale of the Dirty Joke, Vol. Jackie Martling (born John Coger Martling Jr on February 14, 1948) is an American Comedian, comedy Writer, musician George Alexander Legman ( November 2, 1917 &ndash February 23, 1999) American Social critic and folklorist 2, published in 1975 ^[2]. Legman retells the joke, complete with its traditional vaudevillian flourishes, though 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, UK comic Barry Cryer claims to have heard the joke "fifty years ago. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Barry Charles Cryer OBE (born 23 March 1935 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England) is a British Writer and "^[3]

2005 film

Main article: The Aristocrats (film)

A film called The Aristocrats premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. The Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary Film about the formerly obscure Dirty joke of the same name. The year 2005 in film involved some significant events Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Devil's Rejects, Cheaper The Sundance Film Festival is a Film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. 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 talking about and telling their versions of the joke. Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Comedian, Illusionist, juggler and Writer known Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957 in New York City) is an actor comedian and filmmaker Digital video is a type of Video recording system that works by using a Digital rather than an analog video signal Because The Aristocrats was Johnny Carson's favorite joke, the film is dedicated to his memory. John William “Johnny” Carson ( October 23, 1925 &ndash January 23, 2005) was an American Television host and

See also

• Shaggy dog story

Notes

External links

• The Aristocrats Joke Database