Comic and internet sensation Kenny Sebastian, in an interview with Letty Mariam Abraham of Mid-day (5/14/2017) about his recent special, Don’t Be That Guy on Amazon Prime, said,
There are two types of comedians, one is the social comedian and the other one is the entertainment comedian. I consider myself the entertainment comedian. Neither am I trying to change minds nor am I trying to make people aware of anything or say anything. I don’t have an opinion.
Social comedians try to “influence people;” they “need to get a point across.” He admires social comedians, but “I don’t have the smarts to do it.”
Sebastian, on the other hand, considers himself “very entertainment focused.” He notes “[A] comedian has to gauge the audience and make jokes accordingly.” He says he will pull away if he feels the particular audience is getting offended, even avoiding things like swearing and sex jokes, saying, “I want people to get their money’s worth.”
Social vs. political
This isn’t the only way to cut it, some make the distinction between social and political. In an interview with Neal Conan on National Public Radio, Lewis Black describes himself as a ‘social’ (or perhaps ‘topical’) comic, not a political comic, because he draws material from whatever is in the news that excites him, from Superbowl half-time performances to the weather.
Hip hop
In an interview with Rolling Stone’s Jesse Serwer about his 2017 Netflix special (7/1/2017), They Can’t Deport Us All, rapper turned comic Chingo Bling talks about his stance on immigration:
A lot of comedians have bits about growing up Mexican, but I feel like [immigration] is one of those things where people think they might hurt endorsements or it might make them seem too political if they talk about it. People are scared to touch it. I like to consider myself a hip-hop comic, somebody that is going to say something of substance. And that’s what I’m working towards.
Summary
Any way you slice it, as Mike Acker of oregonlive.com notes in an interview with Solomon Georgio (7/3/2017) about his upcoming special: “Conscious comedy is on the rise, whether it’s overtly political or social commentary.”
Political Potential?
The idea of a social or political comedian acknowledges that we can do things with our humor, and that there are people actively trying. Bill Maher puts himself in that category.
I don’t know if he’s paraphrasing another source, but this thinking mirrors John Limon’s discussion of an “absolute” stand-up, where the intention is purely laughter; however, Sebastian’s view seems an all-or-nothing affair; you either address social issues or you avoid them, when it’s always more complicated than that (Burke).
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions?
Do you think you have to do (or make a name for yourself in) one type of comedy versus another? Are there successful “one-trick ponies?”
References:
Burke, Kenneth. Rhetoric of Religion: Studies in Logology. Berkeley: University of California Press (1970).
Limon, John. Stand-Up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000.
Wilson, Nathan. Was That Supposed to be Funny? A Rhetorical Analysis of Politics, Problems and Contradictions in Contemporary Stand-Up Comedy. Dissertation in partial completion of the Ph.D. August, 2008.
