I love stand-up comedy. I love stand-up comedians. They
write the best series, they open the best ceremonies (see previous post), they
are the best talk show guests (again, see previous post) and some of them, late
in their careers, surprise you with some sort of acting chops. I think everyone
remembers the first time they watched George Carlin hysterically rant about
religion and airplanes, with pretty much the same rigour, or the first time
they saw Michael McIntyre’s physical comedy or heard Louis CK’s controversial paedophile
jokes. Comedy just seems to open up a whole new window of communication; it is
challenging rather than straightforward, it can be amazing in its dumbest and
most thought-provoking forms alike and it invigorates our dull, everyday life. It
applies to everyone; everyone appreciates whatever they consider funny, be that
a Gerard Butler romcom or a Gerard Butler action film. I do not take comedians’
work lightly, I have great appreciation for them. If it weren’t for the drugs
and polygamy and psychological damage that seem to be prerequisites for the
job, I would aspire to marry one. So, it is probably people like me that have
given them so much power and self-importance and for that I apologise.
I know I just elevated comedians to gods, but in all
honesty, they are the adult version of a clown. And except Joaquin Phoenix, no
one gets that much critical acclaim pretending to be a clown. But there is an
emerging trend to treat these entertainers like messiahs and that results in
two major mistakes; taking what they are saying way too seriously and taking
what they are saying way too seriously. The first mistake is essentially
quoting Colbert to make an argument, which I am guilty of, when the monologue
you are referencing involves an eyebrow dance, an oversimplification of the
political climate and a spelling mistake ripped to pieces. The second mistake
is thinking Ricky Gervais is right-wing for making fun of the Hollywood Elite’s
activism, considering he is one of them and he himself tweets about animal
cruelty about 50 times per day. Rightfully so. I love Conan more than life
itself, but whenever I see comments on YouTube such as ‘Conan 2020’ I begin
understanding why Trump won the elections. It is perfectly fine and enjoyable
for comedians to have political opinions and many times a lot of comedy
revolves around politics, but in no way is ‘funny’ a useful qualification for
most other jobs. Again, there is some crossover, like Al Franken, but in
general, coming up with funny nicknames and doing impressions might not be the
best criteria for office. And because I am clearly talking about Trump in the
previous sentence: dumb nicknames and unwarranted impressions. And to throw in
a Greek example, looking like Mr Bean shouldn’t be a criterion either. But
yeah, if a comedian is getting more claps and political endorsements than
laughs, maybe they should add a few more one-liners, Jimmy Carr style.
Taking comedians too seriously is our fault, not theirs.
What is mostly their fault is this spoilt, privileged complaining about the
struggles of political correctness. White, male comedians (mostly) can no
longer perform racist, sexist, homophobic, insensitive materials and this is an
injustice they cannot stand. What are they meant to do? Come up with new
material that reflects this time and age? Adapt? Like in all other professions?
There used to be professional typists and one day, out of nowhere, Microsoft
Word came out (not sure if this statement is historically accurate, maybe
something predated Microsoft Word, but I have no means to find out). I am
assuming these people learnt a different craft, or at the very least learnt to
use a computer keyboard rather than a typewriter. Outside courthouses that is. Comedians
are especially privileged because even if they do not adapt and they perform
this jaw-dropping, norm-shaking ‘uncensored’ material, they will find a crowd
that likes it; they just might not like the crowd. I refuse to feel sorry for
Louis CK having to make less money by performing in red states because he wants
to make, in my opinion, unfunny remarks about the Parkland shooting
high-schoolers. If he had a funny joke that involved the Parkland survivors
without the sole goal of insulting them, I have confidence that the liberal
world he dearly misses would laugh with him again.
I began my day thinking I would write about how much I hated
Veganuary, or how I did not like ‘The Irishman’ and would take any ‘theme-park’
superhero movie than watching a CGI version of DeNiro for three and a half
hours and I ended up trying to convince myself to take comedians less
seriously. None of my goals were achieved today. I would vote for Tom Hanks if
he run for Greek office.
Image from Reddit.
No comments:
Post a Comment