Praise Be to the Gods of Comedy
How stand-up comedians are pushing cultural boundaries
I watch a lot of stand-up comedy, mainly on Netflix although I have been to a few memorable live shows which were a hoot.
My all-time favorite comedian is Jerry Seinfeld. His situational comedy to me is the best kind. It is relatable and brilliant in showing us a lighter side of everyday happenings, the things we miss, often leaving us thinking “why didn’t I think of that?” The likes of Seinfeld and the late George Carlin can look at a situation with childlike innocence, strip out all of its deep layers that we would normally see, and craftily expose its funny core.
I stumbled upon Michael McIntyre’s “Showman” special on Netflix recently, and he cracked me up. He too takes everyday matters that would fly by our mind radars as insignificant and presents them in a hilarious theatrical way. He is also a master of accents, which is another trait very few comedians possess.
Doing accents can be a double-edged sword in my opinion. If you do it tastefully the audience gobbles it up, but many comedians use it to mock and stereotype people and cultures. Russel Peters walks a tight line when he does accents, and sometimes he is borderline offensive. The success of doing accents in comedy goes back to the subject and of course the presentation.
Don’t get shot point-blank by a Comedian.
Many years ago my wife and I with some friends went to see Russell Peters perform live in Bangalore. We were seated in the front row. Not a good spot. We are prey. Just don’t make eye contact when he turns your way. You laugh looking down or looking at your friend, all the while praying that he’ll spare your life. It’s a tense situation.
There was this elderly lady with her 20-something grandson in the front row, not on our side thankfully, and the only reason we didn’t get eaten alive by Russell. She was not happy at all. It looked like she hated all the jokes, most of them X-rated and offensive especially if you were born before the 70s.
He picked on them, nothing mean or demeaning, he just called them out. Made some off-the-cuff jokes about her reaction to him, or the lack of it. After a while, they left leaving two empty front row seats. No takers.
My advice to you: when you go to see a stand-up act in person, and you’re all set to get lost in a night of laughter, please plan to get lost in the crowd as well. Stay hidden. Enjoy the show.
The Harley Quinns’ of comedy.
In no particular order: Chelsea Handler, Amy Schumer, Ali Wong, Margaret Cho, and Sarah Silverman are just a few of the greats in female stand-up comedy that I enjoy watching. They slash and slay you with their jokes usually deep-rooted with messages around relationships, equality, and inclusiveness.
Taylor Tomlinson is a young and upcoming comedian whose Netflix special called “Look at you” packs in punchlines from personal experiences of love, trauma, and depression, each delivered with the precision of a multi-shot aerial firework display, setting off a series of sequenced perfectly timed jokes.
I wonder what the world looks like from Taylor’s point of view. Does it look like an episode set in Walt Disney’s Acme Corporation where we are bumbling and fumbling around like some cartoon characters?
It is worth exploring how a comedian’s brain works so we can all learn from it as we navigate our crazy serious daunting lives. We all need to lighten up some.
Some brains work in mysterious ways.
Kevin Hart is all about self-deprecating jokes. His comedy focuses on his life and his issues, which makes it a comfortable space for the audience I would think. It takes a different kind of courage to be able to write material that looks back into your life gone by, the ups and downs, and talk about your family, and shortcomings to absolute strangers. These comedians get personal and gain our trust immediately. It feels realistic and relatable.
If you Google “Who is the #1 comedian?” it’s Kevin Hart at Rank 1, then Jerry Seinfeld. I didn’t know that until this post but this ranking is purely based on income. In terms of relevance, it’s always Seinfeld for me. For you, it might be another comedian.
Then there is Chapelle. His brain works in mysterious ways. His comedy is dark and hard to digest. He lives in the gray area of comedy. I think he uses reverse psychology, which will push us to the edge with negativity until we find it repulsive and contradictory to our beliefs, and then all of a sudden, unexpectedly, he swirls to do a 180 on the topic to deliver a powerful message and some hard truths come out. It’s a roller-coaster ride. You’ve got to try it if you are an adrenaline junkie.
That’s all folks.
Curtains close. Lights out.
This was a “post-credit” piece (therefore, links embedded) from my most recent piece on Substack on Stand-up Comedians who are becoming trailblazers for cultural and social change by pushing us to the edge of discomfort. Please read the original article here.
