E.L. Wisty, one of the few BHDC All-Stars not on spring break right now, writes our weekly comedy column — every week.
I’m not going to spend a lot of time responding to the comments Jimmy Merritt made on his blog in response to last week’s column, primarily because I can barely affect any patience for the way my own comments were misconstrued. Per the title of his blog-post, I defy Mr. Merritt to peruse my column again and locate my using *any* form of the word “depression” to describe stand-ups. I don’t think it, hence, I never wrote it. An apology’s certainly in order. Not expected, but in order nonetheless.
Second, many comments on his blog lit on the suicide aspect of my friend’s comments. Had any of the people commenting on Mr. Merritt’s page actually took the time to look up the word “disavow,” which is what my friend did when the silly notion of comedians committing suicide with more frequency was brought up, then perhaps some would understand that my friend *agrees* with them. Just to be clear: he disavowed this notion…which is a polite way of saying he thought it was damned silly.
And, finally, I wish Jimmy Merritt would pick a lane. Only a few short weeks ago he was making high-minded claims for the complexity of stand-up, calling it a “valid art form,” something to which I wholeheartedly agreed. Any valid art form needs artists to do it, right? And the path towards artistry is rather complex one, right? Now he’s suggesting that the path towards being a stand-up, an artist, is a simple one: all you have to do is see a stand-up as a child, and then you become one. That’s it. That’s all. Of course, if that were the case, there’d be a lot more stand-ups. There’d also be a lot more pro football, baseball and basketball players, more actors, models, rock stars, race car drivers…you get the point.
Can we allow that the medium of stand-up comedy has certain requirements, most important being both complexity of thought and personality? And can we allow that the nature of stand-up requires a mindset or personality whereby one walks - routinely -on to a strange stage, with strangers watching you, with the purpose of making them laugh? And that this is something that most people would admittedly rather die than do?
Given all this, can we allow that the people who get up and do this all the time aren’t your normal average people? That either by accident of birth or the hailstones of untoward occurrence they become people who view the world in a skewed (”fucked up”
way, and that they are best able to bring their personalities into relief by making strangers laugh?
Sheesh.
And here’s the thing, guys. Sure, the stereotype of the depressed or angry comedian is a stereotype, but stereotypes don’t grow in vacuums, and this one in particular explains a whole hell of a lot.
And second: even if it isn’t true…you know that whole tortured, tormented artist, Byronic-hero crap? Chicks love that. They eat it up the way they eat up brunch at the Ritz. A guy who’s funny and deep and complex? A surefire panty-moistener. Why not just indulge the damned stereotype, since it’s actually kind of Romantic? Don’t you guys want to get laid? What the fuck is wrong with you people?
Sheesh, redux.
There’s other stuff going on…dccomedyfest, blah blah blah. But right now I’m not in the mood.
‘Til next week.
