Why the joke’s on us
In one of Danish Sait’s mischievously hilarious prank calls, he telephones a person to inform him that he had found his debit card. Anybody would be relieved to receive such a call! A few moments later, he asks for the card’s passcode. The callee obviously refuses to divulge details. At this point, Danish says, “This is why nobody helps anybody anymore.” I am not sure whether he uses these exact words but I think he utters something close. And to me, that is the funniest bit from all his pranks that he has pulled on unsuspecting individuals. This is not to suggest that I enjoy harsh comedy but the fact of the matter is I seldom chuckle while experiencing comedy. It’s only in retrospect that a joke hits me for its depth. If something doesn’t make others think, it’s not even worth saying. Comedy has to rise above itself. Something Louis CK always adhered to and since his downfall, more increasingly by Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais and Neal Brennan.
When I first heard the above mentioned quote, I paused and kept laughing for a while. It hit the right note of helpless and helpfulness — makes sense? All kinds of comedies arrive with their fair share of hypocrisy. I personally can’t prank-call anybody but I can giggle silly while listening to one human manipulating another for laugh’s sake as long as nobody is hurt. Yes, it’s hypocritical and makes me a hypocrite. But then, I enjoy meat provided others do the slaughtering bit. That’s just the way our world functions for the greatest religion of all time: convenience. Somebody draws laughter and somebody draws blood. All go home happy.
We often read motivational stickers positing ‘EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A LAUGH’ and maybe it is true. Everything happens for a reason at least and if that reason has something to do with our ability to flash our yellowed teeth, then what’s the harm in it? The problem here is the lack of overall context. When life is trying to be funny with you and you don’t know what’s going on, you can’t bring yourself to smile, let alone laugh. However, when the joke is on somebody else, you don’t hold yourself back. Exactly what is happening when you’re listening to a recorded prank call. You are a witness to a drama which is bound to convert to comedy before the very end.
How can you not love this?
Now, the bigger question is, who is helping whom here? Is the comedian doing us a favour by making us forget everything else for a while or are we doing him a favour by making him feel significant for possessing a beautiful mind? I think the answer to these questions is hidden in a big prank called life. And someday, hopefully, we’ll figure it out.
