2008 Woodie Awards
Who hates Carlos Mencia more?
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: 80 Hours
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Paul Sorenson, 80 Hours Editor
Oh, Dave Chappelle - how I miss thee, and how I wish ye never existed.
I'll explain: though ethnically risky humor isn't a new comedic frontier, the aforementioned comedian brought the form into the television-glued public eye with his 2003 to 2006 show, cleverly named after himself. It hit hard - in the absurd (Wayne Brady), in the daring (black white supremacist), and mostly in the humor.
After a couple seasons, though, the satire was lapped up more by suburban white kids than those with shared experience in racism (Mr. Chappelle, meet Jay-Z), and the comedian bolted from a $55 million deal to avoid murky stereotype pandering. It was a can of ethnically mixed worms that most of us whiteys didn't know how to properly corrall.
And so Comedy Central, now bereft of one its four good shows, decided to book a minority replacement - Carlos Mencia. He's coming to Davenport this Saturday, which is why we're talking about him now, though any time is surely acceptable for a bashing. With much to say about why bigotry is funny, and even more bigoted things that aren't funny, Mencia was a knockout replacement for Chapelle, bringing in a new ethnicity to boot. His show, "Mind of Mencia," proves that lightning doesn't strike twice (although if it does, pray that it'll hit Mencia right in the f'in throat).
It's not only that his humor isn't, well, funny (a catchphrase of three dumb sounds? Seriously?), but it's generally irresponsible. I know, I know, he's an "equal opportunity offender," but it doesn't mean that he does any of it well, or thoughtfully. An example: The week after the Virginia Tech tragedy, I turned on my TV to see Mencia railing against all Asian people for raising their kids so strictly, inevitably leading to the inhuman violence of the shooting. I laughed out loud - no, wait, it was a guffaw - no, actually, it was a gasp. There was nothing even smile-worthy in the remarks, and I can't see how it elucidates any hush-hush politically incorrect truths.
Oh, Dave Chappelle - how I miss thee, and how I wish ye never existed.
I'll explain: though ethnically risky humor isn't a new comedic frontier, the aforementioned comedian brought the form into the television-glued public eye with his 2003 to 2006 show, cleverly named after himself. It hit hard - in the absurd (Wayne Brady), in the daring (black white supremacist), and mostly in the humor.
After a couple seasons, though, the satire was lapped up more by suburban white kids than those with shared experience in racism (Mr. Chappelle, meet Jay-Z), and the comedian bolted from a $55 million deal to avoid murky stereotype pandering. It was a can of ethnically mixed worms that most of us whiteys didn't know how to properly corrall.
And so Comedy Central, now bereft of one its four good shows, decided to book a minority replacement - Carlos Mencia. He's coming to Davenport this Saturday, which is why we're talking about him now, though any time is surely acceptable for a bashing. With much to say about why bigotry is funny, and even more bigoted things that aren't funny, Mencia was a knockout replacement for Chapelle, bringing in a new ethnicity to boot. His show, "Mind of Mencia," proves that lightning doesn't strike twice (although if it does, pray that it'll hit Mencia right in the f'in throat).
It's not only that his humor isn't, well, funny (a catchphrase of three dumb sounds? Seriously?), but it's generally irresponsible. I know, I know, he's an "equal opportunity offender," but it doesn't mean that he does any of it well, or thoughtfully. An example: The week after the Virginia Tech tragedy, I turned on my TV to see Mencia railing against all Asian people for raising their kids so strictly, inevitably leading to the inhuman violence of the shooting. I laughed out loud - no, wait, it was a guffaw - no, actually, it was a gasp. There was nothing even smile-worthy in the remarks, and I can't see how it elucidates any hush-hush politically incorrect truths.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
hawk eye
posted 11/08/07 @ 2:04 PM CST
Truer words were never spoken. Nice job.
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