It’s sad when I picture it. As some describe it, there are vast masses of people living in a state of constant psychological and emotional pressure, on the verge of exploding. These people want help, but they can’t do it on their own – therefore they actively seek out the sweet, sweet release offered by the skilled comedian who can make them laugh. Apparently, stand-ups are like prostitutes for people with no hands.
I know, I sound like a broken record. However, that’s how I feel reading article after article; they say the same things, over and over again. Leighann Lord’s interview with Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski, for Parade.com (8/30/2017) is just another case in point. But she does make some at least one other point too, so let’s dispense with that first.
Marginal personas
Lord begins talking about how she got into stand-up:
It was an experiment in self-protection. I got picked on a lot because I wore glasses, had braces, was smart and did my homework. These were egregious childhood offenses. Coming from a West Indian household, not doing well in school was not a viable option. I thought if I could make fun of myself before the bullies could—if I could make them laugh—I’d distract them from my climb to grammar school educational dominance.
I’ve weighed in before now about the idea of comic personas, and of making fun of oneself, and whether it allows you to dominate a situation, taking control and allowing them to laugh with you, or whether people are still just laughing at you.
Yes, it seems to have worked quite well for the token few who survive school unscathed and become successful stand-up comics, but I’d imagine the host of those who fail at it is much larger, perhaps by a couple of orders of magnitude, than those who fail at stand-up comedy. The point is that it’s a double-edged sword, and we shouldn’t play with it lightly.
Making laugh
Yes, I often harp on how the popular idea that comics “make people laugh” casts the audience as objects that comics act upon, and Lord expresses this above, she makes bullies laugh, friends laugh, strangers laugh… She describes it as “intoxicating”: “That power, that relationship, that responsibility…”
I don’t want to rush to conclusions, because Lord does talk about meeting people, having experiences, etc., which could indicate that she’s talking about interpersonal relationships with her fans; however, the phrasing above is suggestive that the relationship is one with her in a place of dominant power, and “with great power, comes great responsibility” – thanks Uncle Ben. The responsibility comes in giving people release. Perhaps Lord’s theory of the audience is not as objects, but as customers – they seek her out, but she decides how to help them.
Relief Theory
Lord says,
One of the biggest rewards I get from stand-up is when someone comes up to me after a show and says, “I really needed that.” They share a bit of their lives with me–anything from a job loss, to a death in the family or just a plain old bad day, and they say I made them laugh and feel better. That’s great stuff. It’s humbling and mutually uplifting. More of that, please.
Again, though the Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology says no scholar uses the Relief theory, it’s clear that word hasn’t trickled down to the masses. In this quote, Lord describes how the audience also feels that it is soliciting her help in seeking release.
Summary
I’m uncomfortable with the idea that comics deliver pleasurable release, as it reduces us to prostitutes. Yes, all performers prostitute themselves, and perhaps comics more than most, as we offer up our most fragile, uncomfortable moments – when we are the weakest or most vulnerable, in short, *ugh* human – to the possibility of ridicule. Perhaps my hang-up is the idea that we might get so caught up in reaching the laugh, that we stretch too far, bare too much, and become crushed by the laughter. The Culture of Masculinity says to have a sense of humor, laugh it off, guffaw, and move on. However, some can’t.
There’s also this idea of what the audience is reduced to: a bunch no-handed Johns, not capable of helping themselves, or worse, a bunch of junkies, jonesing for the sweet release of the drug we’re peddling. These are not images of healthy, empowered people, and so I’ll look for something better.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions?
