BY JAMES SIMONS
Russell Brand continued his controversial antics after his tour to Australia. At a sold out event at the Shoreditch comedy café on Thursday evening, the comedian went too far in his attack on the Royal family , using the Islamic State in a provocative manner that was more distasteful than funny. He tells the Queen ”well done for not dying when you’ve spent your whole life eating poverty”. What he was basically saying was that the Queen has lived too long, that it is a surprise(or even disappointment) she is still alive and on the throne when her wealth is based on tax payer’s money. It is unclear exactly what he meant by she has been ”eating poverty” all her life. More outrageous and provocative was his comic but insensitive suggestion to the Islamic State to ”get that flag flying above Buckingham Palace”. Excessive really, though the funny side could not be totally ignored, for he is a comedian by profession. People do laugh at his jokes however offensive they may be. I considered not writing this article at first so as not to feed into some of Brand’s excesses, but eye of media’s editor insisted on following up with an article of the event. There is an aspect of me that wonders if it is healthy for the media to continue to cover some of the frightening indiscretions of the rare character that is Russell Brand.
It gives him a platform to say what he likes, and his fame means that people will always see the funny side and roar with laughter from their bellies even when his jokes call for serious reprimand and criticism. Every reasonable person would agree that there should be a fine balance between comedy that should be found funny, and utterances that are simply over the top and full of rudeness. Brand’s impudence needs to be checked, and he needs to realise that it reflects on the perception reasonable people have of him. There is a difference between being a successful comedian and being a good comedian. Cognisance of necessary boundaries are an essential aspect of any profession, failure to recognise this is most reprehensible. There is nothing funny about asking the Islamic State to fly their flag above Buckingham Palace; it is plainly stupid and ridiculous! This is by no means intelligent comedy, someone needs to tell this man to curb the excesses of some of his comments that boarder on idiocy.
Brand’s strong penchant for strong criticism accompanied him to Australia for his recent comedy programs. This time there was logic to some of his criticisms . The outspoken comedian took a swipe at Treasurer Joe Hockey, branding the treasurer’s comments about the housing crisis to be ”extreme capitalism”. Brand blasted Mr. Hockey for advising first time house buyers ”to get a good job that pays good money”. Mr.Hockey consequently remarked that if houses were not affordable, people wouldn’t buy it. Brand criticised the comments by saying ”what is being expressed here is individualistic, materialistic, extremist capitalism”. Brand has a point here, because there is a lack of plausibility in suggesting that just because people buy houses, it amounts to a conclusion those houses are affordable. The point Brand makes here is that rich people will always be able to afford expensive things, in which sense the treasurers comments were extremely erroneous and blissfully ignorant of the divide between the rich and the poor in every environment.
Brand proceeds to comment that David Cameron wouldn’t brag about being rich and posh. Truly the treasurer’s comments amounts to being demeaning against a struggling majority who may not simply be able to overcome their current plight by getting a good job and affording the best of houses . The English comedian seems to be concerned about helping ordinary people, though we are not aware of any ordinary people he has helped. Perhaps we need to give him the benefit of the doubt that to talk so critically against capitalism when he himself is a rich man, it may be because he cares about the less advantaged of society. Brand has always been a very opinionated man. He is well known to have spoken out against politicians and elections, drawing attention to the widely shared view that politicians are liars and fraudsters who can’t be trusted. In the build up to last month’s hotly contested elections, he made the headlines when he invited Ed Milliband to his privately owned recording studios at his residence to interview him about the elections. Brand and Milliband was mocked by David Cameron who said elections was about serious issues, but Brand ‘is a joke”, ambiguously commenting about Brand being funny but also not one to be taking seriously. Brand sometimes has serious issues to talk about, but the problem is that he sometimes deals with serious issues lightly, and has the tendency to overstep the mark. He recently said in an interview that he should not be taken seriously, but serious comments even when delivered in a comical atmosphere requires serious assessment. is clearly a well read man, but I sometimes find myself questioning his judgement and intelligence. There seems to be no restraint to the extent he will go to make his point. He has the potential to be very influential in society, but he needs to brand himself better. Not many people will take him seriously otherwise, yet he has some serious issues to address.
