uk comedy is in a nadir

[version]

You see similar sort of preachy, zealous tone in e.g. Lester bangs and Hunter s Thompson

There was that negative review of DeLillo I found which ripped into him for that sort of impulse too,

"I found this insufferable for the same reason I find most Delillo insufferable, his language is just too incantatory and too bloatedly self-important to really take seriously. He wants to attach profundity and portentousness to everything in sight. Baseball, Nuclear War, J Edgar Hoover, Peter Brughel, Frank Sinatra... everything becomes a part of this giant, humorously ritualized mythos, which would be fine, but unfortunately fiction needs to have more to it than the atmosphere of a catholic mass in old latin to really function (or at least is does for me). Delillo wants so desperately to be taken seriously, but his vague invocations make it obvious that he doesn't really even know what exactly he wants to be serious about. It seems like he wants to be a prophet of dread, anxiety, paranoia, really of modernity itself. Maybe instead of trying to be important he should just try to be a good fiction writer."

 

[Corpsey]

Like I said, not really up on comedy at all but I feel like Limmy is a real standout in British comedy cos he doesn't seem to come from the same background as most British comedians I'm aware of, who are if not Oxbridge educated then are definitely university educated. He's not the same sort of person. I dunno, I feel like comedians maybe used to be weirder people, whereas now (in this country) they're more like a funny guy you knew at university.

 

[forclosure]

it's not just twitter. it's the way that - i know this isn't a new observation - basically anyone's opinions can be heard because pretty much anyone can participate in the internet. yeah i think that does make people more considerate, on the whole, or at least a certain tranche of people are more considerate of some things they weren't before

i mean this is why for all the mockey and rage over Graham Linehan i honestly do not give a shit yes its awful but i don't care i never watched father ted or the IT Crowd why should i give a shit about what he has to say about trans women, unless i was a fan who felt deeply dissapointed by him going further down that road

 

[Corpsey]

There was that negative review of DeLillo I found which ripped into him for that sort of impulse too,

"I found this insufferable for the same reason I find most Delillo insufferable, his language is just too incantatory and too bloatedly self-important to really take seriously. He wants to attach profundity and portentousness to everything in sight. Baseball, Nuclear War, J Edgar Hoover, Peter Brughel, Frank Sinatra... everything becomes a part of this giant, humorously ritualized mythos, which would be fine, but unfortunately fiction needs to have more to it than the atmosphere of a catholic mass in old latin to really function (or at least is does for me). Delillo wants so desperately to be taken seriously, but his vague invocations make it obvious that he doesn't really even know what exactly he wants to be serious about. It seems like he wants to be a prophet of dread, anxiety, paranoia, really of modernity itself. Maybe instead of trying to be important he should just try to be a good fiction writer."

America has this stuff in its cultural/intellectual DNA I think. Someone will scotch this instantly but my dim memory of studying American literature is full of figures like Hawthorne and Melville and Whitman. Wild eyed preacher types. Henry James wasn't like that but he was very Europeanised. T.S. Eliot had that sort of puritan thing going on too. And the need to write "The Great American Novel".

 

[forclosure]

Like I said, not really up on comedy at all but I feel like Limmy is a real standout in British comedy cos he doesn't seem to come from the same background as most British comedians I'm aware of, who are if not Oxbridge educated then are definitely university educated. He's not the same sort of person. I dunno, I feel like comedians maybe used to be weirder people, whereas now (in this country) they're more like a funny guy you knew at university.

if by weirder you mean Roy Chubby Brown then yeah sure

 

[forclosure]

America has this stuff in its cultural/intellectual DNA I think. Someone will scotch this instantly but my dim memory of studying American literature is full of figures like Hawthorne and Melville and Whitman. Wild eyed preacher types. Henry James wasn't like that but he was very Europeanised. T.S. Eliot had that sort of puritan thing going on too. And the need to write "The Great American Novel".

its essentialism, it's the same thing that fuels afrocentric rappers to state that black people were all descendants from kings and queens even though Africans wince at all that talk

 

[version]

I saw a bit of Parks and Recreation the other day and thought it was pretty weak.

There's definitely a grating aspect to American comedy - a smart alecky, zany bent. But the same is true for British comedy ofc

Community's similar, also Rick & Morty. Apparently one of the guys behind Parks and Rec is a big David Foster Wallace fan, which doesn't surprise me.

Last Night’s ‘Parks and Rec’ Was Full of References to ‘Infinite Jest’

Parks and Recreation co-creator / showrunner Mike Schur is a noted fan of David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest, and prior to last night's new episode, he tweeted that it would contain several references to the novel. As Schur discussed [...]

www.vulture.com

 

[forclosure]

I saw a bit of Parks and Recreation the other day and thought it was pretty weak.

There's definitely a grating aspect to American comedy - a smart alecky, zany bent. But the same is true for British comedy ofc

and the funny thing is Americans find the british variant grating yet their own thing no problem

also parks and recs had an anti vaxer, a woman who revealed sex workers names and didn't apologize and formerly beloved Aziz Ansari

 

[Corpsey]

I'm a fan of Community and Rick and Morty (with reservations). Dan Harmon is definitely a weird guy.

 

[forclosure]

The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Community, Frasier...

god the caucasity of this list is overwhelming

 

[forclosure]

none of you man are ever going to get me to watch Seinfeld

all my knowledge of that show is meme shit

 

[version]

America has this stuff in its cultural/intellectual DNA I think. Someone will scotch this instantly but my dim memory of studying American literature is full of figures like Hawthorne and Melville and Whitman. Wild eyed preacher types. Henry James wasn't like that but he was very Europeanised. T.S. Eliot had that sort of puritan thing going on too. And the need to write "The Great American Novel".

Pynchon can slip into that mode at times too; I've seen people toss the term 'jeremiad' at his stuff before.

 

[Corpsey]

It's a mostly Jewish list, really. But I must admit I've not seen many black comedy shows, other than Fresh Prince and Key and Peele.

 

[forclosure]

But could that be one of the distinguishing things about America - it's evangelical bent?

yes its what it's founded on and the displacement and destruction of other cultures to put their white history on top of it

you've reminded me to read more of Gene Wolfe's The Fifth head of cerberus which is about this so thanks

 

[version]

It's a mostly Jewish list, really. But I must admit I've not seen many black comedy shows, other than Fresh Prince and Key and Peele.

Atlanta's good, although I've only seen the first two seasons.

 

[forclosure]

It's a mostly Jewish list, really. But I must admit I've not seen many black comedy shows, other than Fresh Prince and Key and Peele.

good grief man you've never watched Martin,The Boondocks or even fucking GIRLFRIENDS?

i could see you loving the Wayans bros show

 

[Corpsey]

I've seen a few Boondocks actually and really loved them, should seek that out too and the Wayans brothers. (I love Don't Drink Juice In the Hood)

 

[forclosure]

its don't be a menace...its always been don't be a menace you should watch Martin aswell because Martin was HUGE with black people

Martin Lawrence was a big big deal once upon a time

 

[version]

My Wife and Kids with one of the Wayans brothers used to be on TV over here a fair bit, had a similar feel to something like Two and a Half Men and Everybody Loves Raymond.

 

[forclosure]

i doubt you'd like the cosby show but for better and for worse that show was pivotal...a different world too