Review of Can We Take a Joke? (2016) by Drlowdon — 20 Feb 2021

Featuring contributions from people like Gilbert Gottfried and Penn Jillette, ‘Can we Take a Joke?’ looks at the culture of outrage in the age of social media from the perspective of stand-up comedians.

The subject of free speech and causing offence are worthy of discussion, and this documentary certainly highlights the potential dangers of censorship and allowing mobs on social media to dictate what people can and can’t say.

Unfortunately this whole movie is very one-sided, and often tries to make the subject far more simple than it actually is. The film-makers seem to want audiences to come to the conclusion that people should be able to say anything they like without consequence, and there is no discussion as to the social issues (and violence) that can be caused by hate speech and radicalisation.

In the end, what could have been a thought provoking discussion, plays out more like a propaganda piece...