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  • 4 weeks ago
In-depth documentary that uses Lenny Bruce's legacy to explore the present condition of the fear of words and expression | dG1fS3hHa2s0R3JOdlU
Transcript
00:00Ladies and gentlemen, here is a very shocking comedian, the most shocking comedian of our time,
00:04a young man who is skyrocketing to fame, Lenny Bruce.
00:07Here he is.
00:09By comedy continuity, I'll behave myself.
00:19Lenny set the bar for comedy, for everybody.
00:23He opened the door for anybody who ever stands in public and speaks.
00:26But you might be interested in how I became offensive.
00:30It's all different than it was when we started.
00:33When I first got into stand-up comedy, you couldn't have a cleavage or your knees showing.
00:38He took on Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Black, he took on everybody.
00:42By the way, are there any s*** tonight?
00:44I think I see one s*** back there between those two s*** and three s***.
00:48He wasn't just being dirty, he was pointing out the hypocrisy of words.
00:51He obviously knew there were certain buttons he could press that would get a reaction.
00:56Governor Farbis, segregation, offend me.
00:59You didn't know for sure what was going to happen on the night you went.
01:03In one of his anecdotes relating to New York policemen...
01:06Oh, really?
01:10What I saw in him was a guy who was being relentlessly pursued by bad guys for bad reasons.
01:16The reason I got arrested, I picked on the wrong guard.
01:18We haven't come very far as far as freedom of speech.
01:21That's where I think the media is entirely irresponsible.
01:25What has happened for our moral values?
01:28He's not a s***! He's not a s***!
01:29That's a nappy head of s***, sir.
01:31We're in Nuremberg and they're trying people for comedy crimes.
01:34I don't think things have changed very much.
01:36For a different set of reasons, it's the same result.
01:38And that's scary.
01:39Lenny, when you watch him, so far ahead of his time.
01:41So far ahead of his time.
01:43People that paid to see Lenny Bruce came and they saw a man starting to crumble.
01:48He became obsessed with the arrest itself.
01:50It impacted the very nature of his act, but not always in a positive way.
01:54Do you feel that this prejudice is the case?
01:55No, I have concern for that.
01:57I'm concerned about the fact that crime is committed.
01:59In a lot of people's minds, self-destructive is the first thing they think of.
02:03And then, brilliant.
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