“Woke culture” isn’t ruining comedy — it’s comedians themselves who are choking the life out of it. And if you need any proof of this downward spiral, then look no further than Chris Rock’s latest comedy special, Selective Outrage.
Billed as Rock’s triumphant return to the stage after a year of silence post-Will-Smith-slap, what the veteran comedian served up was actually just a boring string of admonishments against woke culture and how you can’t say anything anymore because everyone is a victim these days. That, followed by a slew of meandering and offensive jokes like the one about how he prefers trans women because they can “read defences when you’re watching the game.” (My eyes rolled so hard on that one I think my pupils are stuck in the back of my head now.)
Listen, it’s not that conversations about “cancel culture” have no place in comedy. But if comics are going to tackle these fraught issues on stage then it’s not too much to expect that their takes are thoughtful, and at the very least for goodness sake, FUNNY. And if we’re going to have to endure lazy bits that sound like they were pulled from the worst annals of 90s misogyny, then audiences at least deserve to walk away with a couple of laughs to sweeten the deal — and I surely didn’t.
The problem with Rock and other comics who have made “woke mobs” their target is that they don’t actually have anything new or interesting to say about their supposed silencing.
The problem with Rock and other comics who have made “woke mobs” their target is that they don’t actually have anything new or interesting to say about their supposed silencing. The end result is commentary that just amounts to whining about how they don’t get to exert their social power the way they’re used to.
What was once really fun, incisive commentary on the culture has been replaced with the sarcastic “my pronouns are…” format and it’s simply boring and played out. But I guess that’s what happens when privileged people are more absorbed with preaching about their self-styled victimhood than actually telling good jokes.
And when it comes to this “woke culture” obsession, Rock is certainly not alone. In the last few years, we’ve seen comedians completely shift gears to face this issue squarely. From Rock to Dave Chappelle, to legendary figures like …read more
Source:: Refinery29