I was a fan of Kids In The Hall, way back in the day, and have followed all the members’ careers with interest, so I was happy to read Michael Ian Black talking to Milwaukee Public Radio’s (wuwm.com) Rachel Owens and Matt Kemple about stand-up comedy (8/5/2017). Black says a lot about who he is onstage, and what he tries to do that I find different than those we’ve looked at before.
Persona
The authors characterize Black’s relationship with the audience as one of reflection. They say,
[I]n the end, the audience is there not to see a performer reveal themselves, but to see their own lives reflected back on themselves.
They further note that this is what allows Black to be open and honest. Talking about what he tries to do in his art, Black says,
You can’t appreciate the entirety of somebody, or you can’t appreciate the entirety of even the moment that they’re talking about without having a real kind of intimacy that you can’t achieve through a book, or a film, or a stand up performance. All any artist can do…is edit those experiences to the best of their ability in hope that some part of it translates to a kind of shared experience that we all have. Because ultimately…you’re looking for a connection, not a revelation about yourself.
So while the authors characterize him as being open and honest, in order to reflect the audience’s reality, Black himself says he’s not revealing his true self; in Kenneth Burke’s terms, he knows that he’s editing (selecting), so he’s really deflecting away from the truth, toward what the audience wants to see.
We should further note, with or without Black, that this “reflection of themselves” is probably not how they really are, but how they see themselves – their best face. It’s flattery, and maybe sometimes, polite mockery.
Intent
Noting that the current political climate connects us all, the authors state that “Black feels it would be disingenuous to not address it in his stand-up. However, he doesn’t feel it’s his job to try to change minds.” Black says,
I think what I can do is make people feel like they’re not crazy. To get on a stage and say, ‘Hey this is all bananas. And if you feel like it’s bananas, you’re right. It’s bananas.,’ and try to do that with as much levity as I possibly can.
So what Black is trying to deflect the audience to is a shared connection through the agreement that the world is crazy right now. That can be reassuring, as sometimes it feels like we’re being gaslit – is this really the new normal? No. No, it’s not.
Enunciative modalities
However, what I like best about Black’s statements are that if you realize that you’re deflecting, then you can steer the conversation and connections in a number of different ways; how the comic chooses to connect may not be wide open, but it is also not fixed to one path. It’s what Michel Foucault might call an enunciative modality, a place from which to speak.
In the Archaeology of Knowledge, Foucault recognizes that humans make history, but that they do so under conditions not of their own making. They have opportunities to change the system, which he calls enunciative modalities – moments in which their speech and actions can change the discourse formation. He describes enunciative modalities as “I”-slots, using the example of the old hockey game, where (a bit like foosball) each “player” can move in a preset, limited way. While this setup is somewhat stifling for our ability to act (or agency), if the puck/ball comes to the player, they can make a difference in a few different ways. This is opposed to Jean Francois Lyotard’s notion of a différend, which presents an opportunity to change the rules in the current language game in a much more open fashion.
Summary
I’m impressed that, contrary to the authors’ views, Black understands that he’s deflecting to create a shared or common experience. However, his intent at this stage is just to commiserate, and I think he could do more. Basically, while I recognize that Black doesn’t have free-reign to do whatever he wants, I hope that he could do more than just commiserate, and wish that he would choose to.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions?
