It might seem like an obvious concept after taking this course, but I never really thought too much about comedy before. I'd get offended with everyone else when I heard a bad or insensitive joke, but I didn't spend much time considering why it was bad, or how much harm it could really cause. I didn't consider comedy as something inherently political, or think that it always had a message. I'd watched plenty of comedic news shows and the like, but I considered them the exception, not the norm. I didn't often think of the biases comedy reinforced.
Gadsby's Nanette was the first text from this class that prompted me to think more on comedy. Anyone who's been around me in the last week will have noticed that I can't manage to shut up about it. I know: Gadsby wasn't the first text we were assigned that had provocative thoughts on comedy. We started and finished our class with provocative thoughts. But it was Gadsby's passion and anger throughout her special that made me take notice. The texts by Regina Barreca, Frances Gray, and Fanny Fern, gained impact in my mind after hearing Gadsby's special. The arguments that had been merely interesting now had a context: a real, living woman who had been personally hurt by the abusive nature of her own humor, the comedy she performed because she was taught that was all she deserved.
Hannah Gadsby, Nanette, photo from Nanette, Netflix, 2018.
Of course, Gadsby isn't the only woman that left a lasting impression this semester. Phoebe Robinson made me think more about how I treated the issue of race in my day to day life and connected with Gadsby's thoughts on the obligation of comedians to make audiences feel at ease.
Phoebe Robinson, On Tap Magazine, 2018.
Tina Fey and David Letterman, Indie Wire, photo by Cara Howe, 2018.
And Cameron Esposito writing a comedy act and titling it Rape Jokes with the specific purpose of being viewed by people looking for rape jokes, trying to make a point about what they're actually joking about and help them realize the gravity of the subject, was an incredibly smart way to reach a resistant audience.
Cameron Esposito, A.V. Club, photo from Rape Jokes, 2018.
These women have been in the comedy industry long enough to know what an audience wants, and the most incredible thing is, they've stopped caring. They learned a long time ago the effect that comedy has on people, that jokes can hurt people as much as it can make them laugh, and they've decided they don't want to be complicit anymore. They're changing the way people approach comedy, both in the audience and on the stage. This course had a lot of great written texts, but the effect of seeing someone perform their thoughts on stage with passion in blatant disregard for the way we've been told things "should" be was more powerful than just reading about it in concept. These women and this course changed my way of seeing comedy, and that's what will stay with me.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about Gadsby’s Nanette for my major project, so when I hear the words its like a dog whistle reaching a flappy ear. I agree, the passion and anger that Gadsby provoked towards her issue’s opposition was very tangible. Her personal passion and anger is incredibly powerful. Watching the end of Nanette was as hard as watching your most stoic or grounded friend cry or loose their head. It was painful to watch but that was the point. The point was to make the audience feel something. And we did and we learned something, and we’re better for it. It is great and it is incredible that “they’ve stopped caring what comedy wants.” I agree stage-spoken words on camera make more of an impression than written ones. Then again, maybe that’s due to the advantage of their delivery.
ReplyDeleteI also found it difficult to focus my reflection on just one aspect of the class, Bethany. All of our sources were so much fun and enlightening. I, too, was seriously impacted by Hannah Gadsby’s special. It was moving and filled with so much truth. I think it’s so cool that the stories of these inspiring women resonate with you so much and I can relate because I feel that same way. This class has changed my outlook on women in comedy and I now celebrate them not just as female comedians, but also as people having a purpose to bring things to light that need to be discussed and in turn, changing the world for the better.
ReplyDelete