Meeting the moment
Some Assembly Required Issue #14
This past month was packed with drama! Whew! One thing that always interests me about controversy, even when the outcome is not surprising, is which controversies have a stronghold in pop culture and which end up being forgotten. There is no rule that dictates what blows up and what doesn’t, but there are noticeable trends.
One trend that has stuck with me has been the consistent controversy around comedy and whether comedians are just telling jokes or if they are creating harmful narratives. At this point, I feel a controversy related to a comedian being offensive towards (insert historically marginalized group here) happens every year if not multiple times a year. After what happened at the Oscars last month, I was really floored at how many people excused Chris Rock’s joke. Not surprising, but still disappointing. The whole situation brought me to this thought: Why is it so hard for comedians to meet the moment?
This isn’t the first time I’ve had this thought and it won’t be the last. After observing, and dissecting many of the comedian controversies and the public discourse around them, I truly feel like the public is begging comedians to do better. Specifically cis-male heterosexual comedians. Like do better or step aside! It’s weird for me to hear these comedians called geniuses every time they open their mouths to say something when most of the time the jokes are not funny, they are not innovative, and they have likely been heard before. Like that’s what we’re calling genius these days? If that’s the case, you can miss me with that.
I think it’s fine for folks to be insulted by a joke, that’s how jokes work. Comedic genius is being able to tell a story that may insult someone, but that also makes them laugh and think deeply without perpetuating harm. No one gets this right all the time. As I mentioned last month, there any many comedians that are amazing! They are saying something different and are insulting folks without perpetuating harmful narratives. I can’t wait to see more of them. I also can’t wait until we move past this debate. I feel like it’s clear there is a need for new viewpoints and new narratives, but unfortunately the debate continues. Mostly because content companies don’t take enough chances on new voices. They want guaranteed money makers, but those dudes are stale IMO. I know it’s more complex than what I’ve laid out here, but I also know that my time and disposable income will continue to move towards innovation and skill and away from the same old harmful stories. It’s time to do better.
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