I think one of Dave’s mistakes is in thinking he didn’t have any “down.” His humor is brilliant and searing when it comes to being black. He’s done skits where he’s a slave. He sees himself as the historical victim of the ages and never imagined that anyone could take what he says as coming from above. Classic privilege blindness, and a great illustration of what that means intersectionally.
Humor doesn’t HAVE TO punch down. There can be good LGBTQ+ jokes that are inclusive and sensitive, and, yes, actually funny while including the community and everyone in the humor without being hurtful.
It takes skill and craft to create them, and to deliver them, but, yes, they can exist.
Edit: a big part of comedy is commenting on things one observes. And there is lots to observe and comment upon with queer culture. The key is to comment and observe without being a bigot. Sooo… with a queer eye, that’s fertile ground, and one can do much with that.
If he talked to that “trans friend” he definitely has, maybe he could find out what being trans is actually like and incorporate meaningful material about it. But no, he’s just another biggoted rich asshole now. All he can see is his own “struggles” and that the world is “out to get him”.
But also, he needs to make jokes period. I saw his last special. If there were any punchlines following his ranting about the mean trans people bullying him online, I totally missed them.
Right? I finished it sincerely wondering if it was intended to be comedy or not. There wasn’t a single coherent joke in ninety minutes. Unless I was supposed to laugh that he bought a fire station and turned it into a club?
And it’s not like you can’t make jokes involving trans people, just don’t make jokes at the expense of trans people.
Humour doesn’t punch down. That’s just bullying.
I think one of Dave’s mistakes is in thinking he didn’t have any “down.” His humor is brilliant and searing when it comes to being black. He’s done skits where he’s a slave. He sees himself as the historical victim of the ages and never imagined that anyone could take what he says as coming from above. Classic privilege blindness, and a great illustration of what that means intersectionally.
I feel like this punching model is like Newtonian physics. We do have relativity now, but you gotta take a higher-level class for that one.
Waka waka
Humor doesn’t HAVE TO punch down. There can be good LGBTQ+ jokes that are inclusive and sensitive, and, yes, actually funny while including the community and everyone in the humor without being hurtful.
It takes skill and craft to create them, and to deliver them, but, yes, they can exist.
Edit: a big part of comedy is commenting on things one observes. And there is lots to observe and comment upon with queer culture. The key is to comment and observe without being a bigot. Sooo… with a queer eye, that’s fertile ground, and one can do much with that.
If he talked to that “trans friend” he definitely has, maybe he could find out what being trans is actually like and incorporate meaningful material about it. But no, he’s just another biggoted rich asshole now. All he can see is his own “struggles” and that the world is “out to get him”.
This is a dude who’s definitely been to a drag show. So he has heard queer humor. But he didn’t learn anything from it. That’s the problem.
But also, he needs to make jokes period. I saw his last special. If there were any punchlines following his ranting about the mean trans people bullying him online, I totally missed them.
Right? I finished it sincerely wondering if it was intended to be comedy or not. There wasn’t a single coherent joke in ninety minutes. Unless I was supposed to laugh that he bought a fire station and turned it into a club?
The best comedians can roast a president right to his face. The best presidents can hear the roast and laugh at it.
I’m still convinced that Obama roasting Trump to his face at the WHCD in 2011 changed the course of history