What, that's not funny?

Are you afraid of the dark?\nSubmitted for your approval by the midnight society. Violent, brash, uncaring…. and hilarious.\nI'm sure we've all seen the Mike's Hard Lemonade commercials with the invading alien hordes kidnapping some poor sap's girlfriend, or the newest Verizon Wireless commercial with the randomly attacking ferret, tossed out into the street from a high-rise building. \nThat's funny to me. Dark comedy the likes of Death to Smoochy, regardless of what the anal tubby Eberts of the world may say, hits the mark. Whacking kids-show mascots like the purple rhino or the giant orange whale on the juicy fruit ads, is therapeutic and gratifying. It's Un-P.C., no limits, out of nowhere and most likely, your parents just don't get it.\nAnd contrary to what the stiff necks might say, this new extreme humor is not some Jackass evolution or mindless slapstick. Director of Comparative Media Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Henry Jenkins, said that the humor of no allies, where every minority and small animal are suspect to mockery, is a new rebel yell for our generation.\n"We have a generation now that equates political incorrectness with a release from constraint," Mr. Jenkins said. "Violence becomes a source of comedy for this generation because they know that violence will be shocking to their parents, teachers or other authority figures. What's funny to them is what trounces authority."\nFor years, the young have found a way to leave their elders behind. The bulk of their efforts was made possible by rock and roll. Unfortunately today, parents are ex-hippies gone corporate and they want to be cool too. So, what's a young rebel to do?\nThrow a ferret out a window, that's what.\nBut they're cute? That's just plain violent and silly. I'm smarter than that. \nThose people exist, there are quite a few of them. Many would like to believe they are above such humor. They pass it off as some slapstick with no merit beyond the shock. \nThe joke's on them.\nFor this kind of humor to work, it must have its grounding in a higher idea, an intellectual admiration of the absurd. Surely, no one espouses random acts of critter crippling, but if you can recognize how inappropriate such insensitivity is, you're probably one of the last people who'd commit such an act. \nThis is not to say that all violent comedy is funny. If it's done poorly, it fails. My last column proves that there is bad satire, and if you bothered to see "Serving Sara," you know there is bad situational comedy as well. The merits ride on the creative ability of the comedian, be him stand-up or advertising executive.\n"It has to be rooted in human insight or it runs the risk of being gratuitous. Slapstick goes right only when it's a cathartic expression," said Eric Hirshberg, managing partner and creative director for the Deutsch L. A. advertising agency. \nAll great comedy definitely takes risks, but the payoff is worth it. Andy Kaufman, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinnison, Tenacious D and Chris Rock all push the shock envelope. Violent and scathing, we laugh anyway. For every geezer who misses the point, ten jaded college students are convulsing with laughter.\nSo indulge yourself. Tell the latest dead baby or Christopher Reeve joke you know to someone in class. It may be insensitive, but at least it's not lame.