--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing is to be brave and move the…" description: "\"The thing is to be brave and move the audience with you, instead of cater to the lowest common denominator, you know, slipping on a banana peel and fal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mel-brooks-2308_appreciation_the-thing-is-to-be-brave-and-move-the-au_1640781.jpg" --- # The thing is to be brave and move the audience with you… ![“The thing is to be brave and move the audience with you, instead of cater to the lowest common denominator, you know, slipping on a banana peel and falling on your ass. You got to move the audience a little further ahead in terms of their appreciation of what is comedy. It's complicated.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mel-brooks-2308_appreciation_the-thing-is-to-be-brave-and-move-the-au_1640781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mel-brooks-2308_appreciation_the-thing-is-to-be-brave-and-move-the-au_1640781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mel-brooks-2308_appreciation_the-thing-is-to-be-brave-and-move-the-au_1640781.jpg) > “The thing is to be brave and move the audience with you, instead of cater to the lowest common denominator, you know, slipping on a banana peel and falling on your ass. You got to move the audience a little further ahead in terms of their appreciation of what is comedy. It's complicated.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True comedy should challenge audiences, not pander to cheap laughs; pushing boundaries elevates humor. **In simple terms:** Elevate humor, not cheap laughs. Key Takeaway Create comedy that expands audience perception. Themes artistic integrity audience engagement risk taking Mood provocative inspired Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - stand‑up shows - scriptwriting - improv workshops - film direction Key Concepts comedy theory performance art creative risk Questions to Reflect On - How far can you push without losing connection? - What balance yields both humor and depth? A Different Perspective Too much risk may alienate some viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Appreciation Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation-comedy-565416/) [Ass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ass/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Audience Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-instead-565413/) [Bananas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bananas/) [Be brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-brave/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Brave Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-audience-565415/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comedy Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy-complicated-565414/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common denominator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-denominator/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Lowest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowest/) [Lowest common denominator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowest-common-denominator/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Slipping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slipping/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) ## Related quotes > [So much of the humor on new sitcoms plays to the lowest common denominator. Wit isn't nearly given as much attention as slipping on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/so-much-of-the-humor-on-new-sitcoms-plays-to-the-lowest-common/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [“But I gotta tell you, I just think to look across this room and automatically assume that somebody else is less aware than me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-i-gotta-tell-you-i-just-think-to-look-across-this-room-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [When I watch a film, I watch it as an audience instead of thinking as an actor or an intellectual. I see whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/when-i-watch-a-film-i-watch-it-as-an-audience-instead-of-thinking-as/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [There's something really special when you take an audience and instead of just being passive and watching, you invite them to participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gracey/there-s-something-really-special-when-you-take-an-audience-and/) [Michael Gracey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gracey/) > [I can really serve the audience instead of making this about me and about serving myself and my pocketbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lampanelli/i-can-really-serve-the-audience-instead-of-making-this-about-me-and/) [Lisa Lampanelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lampanelli/) > [I don't connect accessibility with lowest common denominator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-piccinini/i-don-t-connect-accessibility-with-lowest-common-denominator/) [Patricia Piccinini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-piccinini/) > [It must not be true when the left tell us what they really want is to help and assist and elevate the little guy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-must-not-be-true-when-the-left-tell-us-what-they-really-want-is-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't believe in lowest common denominators. Our focus has been on delivering value. We're rarely going to be the cheapest theater in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-lopez/i-don-t-believe-in-lowest-common-denominators-our-focus-has-been-on/) [Gerry Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-lopez/) > [Something economically changed. It used to be that you needed 20 million people to watch a TV show for it to be a hit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/something-economically-changed-it-used-to-be-that-you-needed-20/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [Good grief. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, and at one another, in good spirit and without malice, then what fun can be left?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/good-grief-if-we-can-t-laugh-at-ourselves-and-at-one-another-in-good/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [The more repression there is, the more need there is for irreverence toward those who are responsible for that repression. But too often sarcasm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krassner/the-more-repression-there-is-the-more-need-there-is-for-irreverence/) [Paul Krassner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krassner/) > [Obama is playing to the lowest common denominator of everybody, and he is telling them that if anybody's got more money than you do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/obama-is-playing-to-the-lowest-common-denominator-of-everybody-and-he/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-dumbing-down-of-america-is-most-evident-in-the-slow-decay-of/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I think that, regardless of our culture, age, or even personal handicaps, we can still strive for something exceptional. Why not expand our sights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-think-that-regardless-of-our-culture-age-or-even-personal-handicaps/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [What happens in the Senate is the Republicans sink to the lowest common denominator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/what-happens-in-the-senate-is-the-republicans-sink-to-the-lowest/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. I think: what next insanity can I shock the world with?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-results-at-all-i-think-what-next-insanity/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [My mother is very short - four-eleven. She could walk under tables and never hit her head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-mother-is-very-short-four-eleven-she-could-walk-under-tables-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [The audience. They see the name Mel Brooks, they want something really funny. They don't want to be moved; they don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/the-audience-they-see-the-name-mel-brooks-they-want-something-really/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I realised that all one really had to do was just observe. Observe and slightly exaggerate, and you had comedy. Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) [Cesar Nikko Caharian III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/) > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing is to be brave and move the audience with you, instead of cater to the lowest common denominator, you know, slipping on a banana peel and falling on your ass. You got to move the audience a little further ahead in terms of their appreciation of what is comedy. 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