Lenny - What Should Be/ What Is

[goback3spaces]

it's amazing how expressing the self-evident is held up as art...

[thejojoshabadoo]

@goback3spaces If it is held up as art then it reflects the intelligence of the majority of the population...

[goback3spaces]

@thejojoshabadoo Right. But art has nothing to do with majority intelligence. Art is singular, and reflects an individual perspective. Bruce himself was drastically in the minority, to the point of being banned from a great many clubs for his supposed vulgarity. I'm too young to remember Bruce but I will say that the stuff in this clip, as voiced by Hoffmann, is awfully tame.

[SGde3a]

Comedy is irony if you can relate to how far a situation is from the truth... Its irony that people bullshit and think that they're in these "powerful" positions and only making things worse...

[starginsky]

Brilliant

[Summerstorm111]

I just became your number 1 fan love your vidz!!

[coolmountains25]

havent watched it gonna watch it. thks for the clip. great stuff.

"no... people dont stay."

[nachoisone]

Damn.... just another reason for Dustin Hoffman being one of my favorite actors.

[socoolbob]

Realists are a pain in the ass ... some people stay.

[Tier2Tech]

The prose and commentary on this video are stirring. The comedy lies in the comments for this video. I think Lenny would be laughing at all the noise.

[alaazahra]

Lenny Is the origin of smart humor !

[aslanredjoker]

@alaazahra no he isnt

[84ratpoison]

fucking amazing actor.

[kimmie117]

I wonder if he ever said this because of him getting a dishonorable discharge from the army. Sounds like he was just trying to make seem okay.

[67nairb]

Was that Lenny's wife at 0:01-0:10?

[OldishTim]

@EdMahoney19 mongolenpup is dead right - maybe you don't care that a newspaper reported nearly 50 years ago that Jacqui Kennedy "never left" when it's patently obvious that that was what she was trying to do (she'd just seen her husband's head explode - she'd have been weird to do anything else) - but there are all kinds of other - more important - myths that people believe about their own and other countries, that are started and/or reinforced by arrogant/biased/dishonest politicians and media.

[elphantasimo]

thanks for posting the link in your description...

[EdMahoney19]

That's the most meaningless diatrabe I've ever heard. It's like getting upset over a door knob. What was his whole point? What an idiot.

[mongolenpup]

@EdMahoney19 umh...He's talking about the abyss between what should be and what is. Which is society's main problem...everyone running around trying to be what they think they should be...living a lie basically...and people keep feeding this lie...

[mow1717]

yeah he was funny.when he died it was funny.

[mattybock]

mirror image with iraq there.

[ylt123]

information has to get thru some how and back then they gave him a stage and he used it.unlike the il shut up take the money and run comedy and music acts of today.i wld become xfacter winner if it ment i cld get up and say no war get rid of poverty in front of the media jeez.

[Marty01Mcfly]

jesus christ this is brilliant

[Glenmead]

She didn't stay because it was the driver that shot JFK......You Tube the Zapruder footage...

Ckear as day it was the driver,,,

[YouAre256ColoursToo]

@Glenmead shut up, you fuck.

[Strangeyoshi]

omg, this is so good. it goes to show what kind of shit they put in the papers. so much for journalistic responsibility, making things idealized instead of just telling the people what's real. I suppose they feel like they've got to put a "spin" on things, and then journalism isn't really journalism, is it? It's fictitious.

[7beers]

Wow, Dustin looks so handsome with a beard! Should have kept it.

[ioanaienciu79]

Great interpretation from Dustin.

[cicatriz79]

i had no idea this film even existed... thanks for posting - i will be watching this asap

[YBadBoyX]

well, for me comedy is the most objective way of thinking, there's nothing truer than good laugh, it cannot be faked

[Nofuture91]

Is that Lou Reed at 0:14 ?

[roon41]

It's Dustin Hoffman playing Lenny Bruce in the 1974 film "Lenny"

[blacktopaz8]

god i hate actors!

[ChuckinGuy311]

All of you are talking about downfall? It was drugs, it was, he was honest, Downfall, everyone on earth has SOMETHING wrong with them, in the end you gotta look at the positive, he influenced lots of people to speak there minds, and pushed the boundaries of language, thus helped us evolve, Brave man, good stuff, stop all that thinking out there, its bad for your brain :-)

[MulchDavis]

his downfall was speaking up in a quasi-fascist mid 20th century America.

[thompboy31]

this was his downfall ....comedians are sopposed to give happiness....not the truth....they keep that to themselves....or if they do...they do it humorously

[juliot37]

lenny was being funny... just listen to the original skit (link in my description to this video). your comment has no point, and i'd judge his real downfall was due to his drug addiction...

[thompboy31]

even if i was wrong about him ....my point is still relevent....when a comedian starts to be more of a newsreal than a joker....thats when the start to go downhill....theres a difference...iits something that happens due to the fact that comedians are intellengent...and know the truth...and are therefore unhappy...but try to be happy in their comedy...when they loose this its a problem

[TylerMandarin]

when lenny tells the truth during a skit, when the audience sees and feels the truth, sees that he isn't being funny anymore, he's being real, and he's upset, and something so truthful, suddenly going from funny to REAL, the change is what causes people to think, Lenny knows something, he isnt being funny, i think we need to wake up too and realize that the truth, without the jokes, it is real, and it is far from funny

[thompboy31]

i agree...and thats why so many comedians are unhappy....becuase behind the jokes...they know the truth more so that other people. Its the court jesture that goes home and cries for the kingdom...and sees through the facade of politics in the throneroom.

[VinnyMancini]

Good statement

[IbeusLaCroix]

Nicely written!

[oroge]

looooool the link is hillarious "hat lead in the ass"

[calth9]

@juliot37 sorry mate, but you grosly misunderstood what thompboy said here.

[s0undtribe]

@juliot37 his comment does have a point since by the end of lenny's career he could only get bookings in San Fran. some people might say that was because of the reason thompboy gave. and one could make the argument that the negative end of his act is part of what drew attention from those obscenity prosecutors and set him apart from other comics at the time

[Sshelly34213]

@s0undtribe He wasn't even that obscene, why are people such prudes? Bill Hicks was obscene...and hilarious. Also why are the American people brainwashed to believe that they aren't allowed to watch something that is edgy or slightly dirty, or has swearing? I just find it fascinating how an entire generation was manipulated into believing that they were not "allowed" to do certain things in a supposed free country.

[fullmetalmc]

@juliot37 qft

[TheKenAmes]

@juliot37 His downfall was "society" oppressing him so much, or not defending him enough, for speaking his mind and not paying attention to stupid societal norms that don't hurt anyone else(ie. cussing).

[rohgenextfan]

@juliot37 And the endless obscenity trials He was put through that bankrupted him.

[d45k10r]

@juliot37 Truth is the result of tragedy. Tragedy + time = comedy

[fullmetalmc]

humor is the most subjective thing in the world

[RobertBalto]

@thompboy31 I think thats ludicrus...at the end of the day hes a stage performer and should be free to say what he wants. sure, his primary goal is to make people laugh but are you suggesting that in his 20-45 minute act he shouldn't be permitted a moment of pure honesty?

[FeelOfFriction]

@thompboy31

Your a sad person.

[chillinDylan22]

@thompboy31 comedians arent around to make me laugh.. just to make me think outside the box while making me laugh about how wrong i was in the first place.. an artist of words as brilliant as shakespeare

[WhatSayestThou]

@thompboy31 Lenny was a pioneer with enough guts and conviction to unabashedly tell the truth that others didn't want to hear. He just couldn't realize what doors he was opening for other comedians because he was always right there in the now. The tragic thing is that he had to die before he could see that happen. IMO ONLY, he should rergarded as a patron saint to comedians everywhere.

[67nairb]

@WhatSayestThou Not even Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, or Laurel Hardy? I disagree with that statement.

[WhatSayestThou]

@67nairb

Fine...feel free.

[67nairb]

@WhatSayestThou IMO Chaplin the Marx Brothers, and Laurel & Hardy were the parton saints of comedy.

[67nairb]

@WhatSayestThou Those six men, if you want to include Zeppo Marx were brilliant comedians because they didn't have to reduce themselves to swearing to get cheap laughs and not just because the movies censors wouldn't allow them to. They knew that swearing was not the way to get laughs.

[Sshelly34213]

@67nairb Why is swearing bad? It's just a form of communication.

This guy is not just funny, he's is brillaint. The Marx brothers were funny, but they were nowhere near as funny as stand up comics like Bruce, Carlin, Hicks, Stanhope, etc...

Just because people can be funny without being edgy, doesn't mean edgy is NOT funny.

[67nairb]

@Sshelly34213 I just don't happen to find dirty raunchy comedy to be funny. It's not my cup of tea. I prefer more wholesome, clean cut, mainstream comedy. I personally can't stand hearing a standup comedian get up on a stage and bombbarde his audience with dirty raunchy unfunny jokes and spewing out profanity after profanity. Perhaps I am oldfashioned. I do however like SOUTH PARK.

[Sshelly34213]

@67nairb Well that's ok for you, but you're saying that Lenny Bruce and raunchy comedians aren't funny. You are stating your opinion in a factual manner, that's what I have a problem with. Who's to say it ISN'T funny. I find it hilarious and you can't define comedy. Things make us laugh unintentionally, what makes people laugh is subjective.

I hate South Park myself to be honest.

[67nairb]

@Sshelly34213 SOUTH PARK is quite an interesting different form of cartoon entertainment. Alot better than the SIMPSONS.

[Sshelly34213]

@67nairb I don't really like either to be honest, I think the only "adult cartoon" I've ever enjoyed would be Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

[67nairb]

@Sshelly34213 SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST is one the stupidest most boring cartoons I've ever seen. No disrepect to you. If you like it fine. But for me the show had absolutely no plot. Just a show about a cranky old retired superhero arguing with his guests and his former archenemy Zorak. It was ridiculous and made no sense to me. You're probably aware that SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST used to be on CARTOON NETWORK during it's better days, before they changed their format.

[Sshelly34213]

@67nairb I love how you just state your opinions as if they were facts that everyone knows are true. First of all, plenty of people liked the show regardless of your thoughts. Also, what does being "stupid" have to do with its humor? Yes it was incredibly stupid, which was one reason why I enjoyed it. Sometimes stupid things can be funny.

I get sick of the fart and piss jokes on south park and I absolutely cannot stand the voice of Cartman.

[ebooklibrary27]

@67nairb they are just different, the Simpson's didn't have that type of staying power from being sub-par, I grew up with the Simpson's and South Park and I like both of them in there own way.

[67nairb]

@ebooklibrary27 THE SIMPSONS didn't have that type staying power? Are you kidding? THE SIMPSON'S have had their own show for 22 tears, even longer. Bart Simpson first appeared on the TRACY ULLMAN in 1983, so I've heard. That makes a total of 28 years.

[Sshelly34213]

@67nairb Also, being a stand up comic is not just about making people laugh, it's can be about pointing out insightful ironies and contradictions, which is what people like Lenny Bruce do.

[67nairb]

@Sshelly34213 He was quite interesting. Though I must say I know almost nothing about him.

[Sshelly34213]

@67nairb I don't, I find people like Lenny Bruce funnier than pantomime and gimmicky slapstick comedy,

Political rants are funny and insightful. What exactly was insightful about the Marx brothers? Why do people delude themselves into thinking that comedy can't be edgy just because other people can be funny and not swear or talk about government corruption, brainwashing and contradictions?

[omegalegato]

@thompboy31

Not true at all. What makes something truly funny is when it has truth to it.

[SuperheroChuck]

@thompboy31 Horseshit. Comedians give the truth because comedy, by its very nature, is the truth and nothing but. Comedy is our ability to laugh at what's most painful in our lives, not lame jokes about airplane food and farting in elevators. Lenny was doing exactly what a comedian is supposed to do.

[jadedmastermind]

@thompboy31 Your statement implies that giving the truth isn't funny. The truth usually sucks, it's a lemon. Comedy is taking those lemons and making lemonade. That's kind of a hacky cliche way of explaining it, but it's also the shortest way I can think of. The best comics are the ones that are the most brutally, unabashedly honest about life and society. Lenny Bruce was ahead of his time.

[AttackMyAss]

@thompboy31 You obviously know nothing about Lenny, or comedy in general.

[Sshelly34213]

@thompboy31 First of all, he's a stand up comic, that is not the same thing as comedy. Also, why is comedy happy? Why must we laugh only at what is happy? We laugh at life's tragedies, ironies, joys, and sometimes oddness or else we'd go insane at the slightest tragedy.

Someone can take a tragedy and make it funny, like taking lemons and making lemonade.

[losttweaty]

@thompboy31 comedians aren't supposed to what....? whenever people start deciding what others should and shouldn't do in their personal performances theirs a huge problem..Lenny bruce was a funny intellect , he was funny and he brought the truth , it's a remarkable thing what he accomplished.

[ebooklibrary27]

@thompboy31 wasn't funny to you maybe, I though it was hilarious, PEOPLE DON'T STAY!! LOL

[zPiShEnKo]

@thompboy31

looking forward to seeing you on stage...

[zPiShEnKo]

@thompboy31

looking forward to seeing you on stage...

Oh, and feel free to exercise your freedom of speech - thanks to the man the didn't bring happiness and only the truth... you want happiness? go read a fairytale.

[T00LIZATION]

@thompboy31 id say the comedians who tell the truth are the best comedians who ever lived.. lenny bruce, bill hicks, george carlin, bill maher... in a sence they make themselves more than comedians. its revolutionary how they slap the truth in our faces yet we listen so intently because they lighten the subject with comedy and laugh about or flaws with us and make us reflect.

[ienjoyapples]

@thompboy31 he's entertainment, not just comedy. it's fun and entertaining to watch him, like a really interesting friend. he doesnt have to be funny all the time.

[cackattack0rly]

@thompboy31

are you fucking kidding me, spend an hour listening to Bill Hicks, or George Carlin, Mel Brooks himself promoted the truest name of a Comedian " Stand-up Philosopher", Charlie chaplin himself higly involved in comedy made these points adequately true.

[Phersephoie]

@thompboy31 you can't make someone laugh without telling them something with wich they can link to...lies aren't funny,

[ShookOnesTO]

@thompboy31 i know you wrote that 2 years ago. but that is non-sense. ever listened to George Carlin? i guarantee you have. he spoke more about the truth that he did about humor. humor was just used to lighten the situation a bit when he did tell the truth.

[IgotNext1986]

@thompboy31 Thats bullshit! He was trying to lift the veil over our eyes & show us how hypocritical our lives were. Since when is thinking not entertaining? Lenny Bruce's downfall, also rooted from the suppression of his words, when he tried to save us from ourselves. Now more than ever, his words resonate during these times.

[MYNAMEISJOHNIS]

@thompboy31 a comedian always tells the truth in a funny way...with laughter the u learn the truth...

[Skamplicated]

love dustin hoffman, but his lenny, not so much. to be fair, who could possibly play lenny bruce? hoffman plays him too passionate, too emotional. bruce was thoughtful and deeply amused by his own observations. he didn't "sell" the way hoffman is selling here. for best results, listen to the original. lenny bruce at carnegie hall is a good place to start.

[LaMOi1]

agreed...

[Ssamonoske]

I think he was trying to show the passion behind Lenny although to be fair it does innacurately portray him. I've no doubt Lenny was just as passionate albeit more cynical and less apparent

[logansGT]

If you watch the Zapruder film of the assasination, it's very clear that Jackie was NOT "trying to get help from the secret service agent."

She saw her husband's brain literally blown out of his head, knew the governor was shot and thought that she was next.

She was simply trying to save her ass, which most people would do in that situation.

The media can spin it into whatever bullshit fantasy they'd like, but as Lenny said, "The truth is what-is, not what should be."

[JupiterMars00]

This clip is amazing.

*favorited*.

[pathammond]

Jesus, never even knew about this. Dustin Hoffman is brilliant here.

[bigpapapoof]

thats actually dustin hoffman not lenny bruce.

[nickwheeler69]

I think the point is critical thinking. We should be saying yeah no one stays. We must say yeah there are a ton of BS shoulds to avoid for the sake of the truth. The truth being good because when we step in dog shit enough times maybe we learn not to have our nose so high in the air we don't see it.

[intranceakanienie]

peopole dont stay !

[unifiedfielder]

powerful

[tracksuitjim]

my god that's absolutely beautiful.

[suckerdwsp316]

one of the greatest films ever, so underrated...

[Hashishi90]

Want to see this movie so bad, but cant find it anywheres...is it anywheres online?

[suckerdwsp316]

dvd?

[Universalcorps]

soo true, too bad the government fucked him up.

I LOVE LENNY BRUCE

[BuckNekkid3000]

Jackie smoked a lot so it's reasonable to figure that she was trying to retrieve his head so she could use it for ash tray later on

[garvess]

I would have loved to see what Lenny Bruce would have evolved into when he got older.

[mostlygoodmilo]

Maybe you wouldn't have loved to see him older. Take Billy Connely, does insurance commercials, ruins the memory of him now. Sometimes a star that burns quick burns brightest. For the sake of my own ideals I don't want Billy dead though man ha ha!

[METROGNOME57]

Sounds like Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce...?

[juliot37]

you think?

[benramon]

@juliot37 hahah

[65ludwig]

@METROGNOME57 dick head it is

[jondavidgriffin]

have you ever benn shot at? people dont stay they run like fuck!!

[Boondoggle129]

People DO stay, Lenny.

People do stay.

People do stay.

I'm sorry no one ever showed you that.

-B

[logansGT]

Maybe they stay sometimes, B, but in this case, Jackie tried to save herself.

As Lenny said, "the truth is what-is, not what should be."

[juliot37]

'Jackie tried to save herself'. ...Yes, and no. He was saying that Time magazine made their own conclusion about what happened (she was trying to get help from the Secret Service, wow that sounds stupid), and he gave the audience his conclusion based on the photographs (that she tried to escape to save her ass). Neither is really what happened because both are opinions.

[juliot37]

Lenny said in the real sketch (located in the details to this video) that "unless [Jackie] did specifically report to Time, 'I was going to get help'", he doesn't buy their story. In any case, the point of the whole thing is that we should not just accept everything printed or said to be truth or right, especially on the way people are suppose to behave in situations such as Jackie because we might only be hurting ourselves in acting out or not acting out Time's fantasy about the events.

[logansGT]

People can have all the opinions they'd like after looking at still photos and reading about the JFK assassination from many sources, but after watching the Zapruder film, it's difficult to be ambiguous about why Jackie climbed onto the trunk of the car.

[Sshelly34213]

fear? paranoia?

Someone blew her husband's brains out and made more than one shot. I probably would have sht my pants.

[SilvrDragon52]

The people who stay simply are the one's who aren't afraid. Those people are rare, and it's entirely normal not to be walking along their specific footsteps.

As for those who stay when afraid, I can't categorize them together.

[juliot37]

I don't know how you can conclude a generalization like "The people who stay simply are the one's who aren't afraid", or conclude anything (so confidently) about why a person might stay or not. The reasons for how they acted would be different for everyone, no? Perhaps somebody could be unafraid, but another person could be loyal, another could be delusional, etc. Any thoughts?

[SilvrDragon52]

For the people that act differently, instead of just running from fear, I personally think all their different emotions are developments they've made to cope with fear, or eliminate it. Profound, terrible fear, really, is an entirely personal perception; anyone can make themselves run.

But developments like loyalty, for example, are personally developed senses of legitimacy which bring in senses of reason, and with reasons people can think about their fears, instead of just be absorbed by them.

[homemquecalculava]

People who stay are people who are even more afraid of running.

[inersphobia]

My thought is that anyone who stays when bullets are flying needs a good talking to. You can't help anyone when you're dead.

[67nairb]

@inersphobia Jacqueline may not have known istantly that her husband was dead and rushed to his aid. If your loved one is being shot at by some gunman wouldn't you instantly try to defend him and cover for him? If you had a child who was shot wouldn't you pick your child up and try to rescue him? This skit doesn't make sense to me.

[VivaTour09]

@67nairb Have you watched "Lenny"? If not, do watch it, you'll get it then. 

[67nairb]

@VivaTour09 Is LENNY available on You Tube? In parts I mean.

[VivaTour09]

@67nairb I don't know. Just rent it, its worth it because its just a great film.

[67nairb]

@VivaTour09 I'll look into it. By the way, what to his wife and child in this clip?

[locheelad2]

@juliot37 They did a study of "hero's" in London, most posthumasly, to see who would push some sranger out of the way of a car, or risk their lives stopping a suicide, from jumping into an underground train. Conclusion? There was no pattern, tough or wimpy, whatever, it was people nobody thought of as "hero's".

[IgotNext1986]

@juliot37 When faced with fear, there is only 2 things to do. Run or stay. If you stay, it doesn't mean you are not fearful because all human beings feel fear. Lenny was right that people don't stay because even then & now, people are more worried about themselves. Its sick to make ppl believe in doing the right thing in a world that doesn't practice it. People don't take risks because that would mean the possibility of suffering. Thats why its the normal thing & the sad truth from Lenny Bruce.

[suckerdwsp316]

one of the films ever. so underrated.

[suckerdwsp316]

one of the best*

[torkerbmx]

i think lenny was taken out , no overdose

[notyourpersonalarmy]

absolutely awesome

[LunaCat59]

Lenny is a legend

[flabslap]

I like this guys thinking

[74sodapop]

Dustin's a great actor,he probably should have won the 74 Oscar.Did Lenny actually say these words? Funky movie.

[juliot37]

He said something like it. If you want to hear the track, I uploaded it to my account on esnips (link in profile)

[Forveya]

wonderful