+- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com)
+-- Forum: Culture (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-49.html)
+--- Forum: Communities & Social Networking (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-57.html)
+--- Thread: Jerry Seinfeld maintains comedy as entertainment rather than ideological theater? (/thread-5880.html)
Jerry Seinfeld maintains comedy as entertainment rather than ideological theater? - C C - Aug 3, 2018
Politics was a component of humor on the North American continent even back in the days of Josh Billings. But admittedly... when it monomaniacally regulates all other facets of comedy -- predictably wallowing in self-righteous posturing and the preaching of a tribal morality and demand for conformity to it, it does become a blessing to the insomniac... Zzzzzzzzz[*]
https://thefederalist.com/2018/08/01/seinfelds-comedians-cars-welcome-respite-insufferable-wokeness-comedy/
CHRIS ROCK om twitter: "Seinfeld Is A Respite From The Insufferable Wokeness Of Comedy. Thank God for Jerry."
EXCERPT: . . . The left identified comedy as an effective platform to share their message with the greater public, beginning with “The Daily Show,” and took over every late night talk show by the time Donald Trump became a serious political candidate. Left leaning comedians and their ultra-woke fans have recently been quite open about their belief that jokes aren’t necessary for comedy as long as there is a powerful, anti-Trump plea to the public. But some comedians have spoken out against this trend, defending comedy as a place for laughter, not emotional theater.
Seinfeld is of course a huge advocate of humor in comedy. “If I’m not funny, people die,” he told Alec Baldwin in 2014, adding: “I don’t ‘hang out’ on stage. I’m up there to work. I’m going to work for you because I respect this relationship and I want to keep it.”
He found his success as a comedian the old fashioned way — by being really funny. He struggled through the ’80s in night clubs, and slowly clawed his way into massive mainstream success with his sitcom, “Seinfeld.” He found a way to relate to the public, and canonized the “have you ever noticed?” style of comedy that few others have been able to touch.
“Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” is a talk show with almost no structure outside of riding in vintage cars and drinking coffee. This works because Seinfeld can work without structure. He knows almost every working comedian and comedic actor, whether they are old or young. Seinfeld knows their style, and interviews them as a sort of comedy Yoda.
“Being a comedian is almost a language in itself,” he told the LA Times in 2016. “Comedians talk to each other very differently than most normal people.”
He’s right, and that’s what makes his show so special and so worth watching. These aren’t just five minute interviews with celebrities looking to promote an upcoming project — they are an authentic look behind the curtain of the world of comedy.
Seinfeld exudes a cool confidence during his conversations on the show, the kind of confidence that only comes from decades of experience and success. No matter how famous or quirky his guest is, he makes no adjustment to his own style of sharing and observing. Jerry is clearly a person who loves to laugh, and his funny guests don’t have to get into their professional routines to amuse him. He seems to be thoroughly enjoying his time driving them around, with or without the cameras. It’s truly an interview with no interview at all. It’s just two hilarious people having a candid, fun conversation.
This anti-interview comedy show is in no way a place to get serious and talk about the issues outside of comedy and show business. Seinfeld has created a wonderful escape from all of that. Vulture’s article criticizes the comedian for brushing off his guests’ political concerns and for being “anti-woke.” Both sentiments, I imagine, come as a delight to Seinfeld, who has carefully crafted an “I don’t care” persona over 10 seasons. Tragedy-laced pleas for social action may be having their moment in comedy, but Jerry Seinfeld and “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” are, mercifully, not part of it.
MORE: https://thefederalist.com/2018/08/01/seinfelds-comedians-cars-welcome-respite-insufferable-wokeness-comedy/
- - - footnote - - -
[*] LDS comedians get around on talk-shows, but whether good or bad at the task, they seem largely dominant or celebrated on BYU_TV and specialized tour circuits rather than having an industry-wide stranglehold.
~