Pollux

Elysium
2021-02-19 11:06:05 (UTC)

Stand-up

I'm angry today. I'd rather not talk about it, because when I write about my anger my writing gets pretty bad and it makes my diary redundant because I get angry quite a lot. It's a bad habit. Also, I can't really vent because when I think about my anger I end up meditating on it and that makes me feel worse.

I was thinking about hard jobs and I think being a stand-up comedian is a hard job. I'm not comparing it with other jobs, I think it's hard on it's own. Because it's so easy to fail since it depends entirely on how you are perceived by a random group of strangers and people can dislike you for no reason at all. I wouldn't say it's important to be good-looking in this line of work but I'm sure it helps. But some of my favourite comedians aren't what one would "traditionally handsome". I mean George Carlin looked homeless, John Oliver looks like a bird, Dave Chapelle is bald, Stephen Colbert looks like no man at all, Conan is extremely red, Jon Stewart also looks homeless, Dana Carvey looks like a posh degenerate, Jake Whitehall is just posh, James Acaster looks perpetually tired, Mike Myers looks like a peach beachball wearing a wig, John Mulaney looks like a gay horse (ironically enough), Ricky Gervais reminds of you of what could have been (check out Seona Dancing), Bo Burnham looks depressed and cocky at the same time, Kristen Wiig is crazy, Kate McKinnon is a crazy cat lady and Romesh Ranganathan has a weird beard. I am not capable of roasting Flight of the Conchords. They're just too majestic.

In case you're butthurt, I was joking. I am very cautious about these things because people do not have a sense of humour. But explaining a joke effectively ruins it.

Stand up scary is though. It's not the standing in front of an entire crowd and telling jokes part that really scares me. It's the bombing part. Because I can never figure out if the it's joke itself that is unfunny, or the way I delivered it. Also, the stand-up crowd is not a good crowd for a beginner. Because I have heard of nightmare situations. And all great comedians have bombed like a hundred times. I have to say, these people have balls of steel. I don't think I can do it. If George Carlin can bomb, anyone can bomb. So it's not always about the comedian, sometimes it's the audience. But then again, this is a profession centered around gaining approval and I have long since stopped asking for it because I know I will never get it. Maybe all the comedians do that too. Which is why they don't care anymore.

I have to say, it feels good to make people laugh. Back in school I wasn't the funny guy, that honour goes to GB but sometimes I made my friends laugh and I felt like the coolest person in the world. Which is why I think it's such a good profession. But keeping all that aside, I'm pretty sure it's catering to the feelings of inadequacy that people felt in their childhood that lures them in. Which is why all these Cambridge and Harvard graduates go on to become comedians because they are obviously huge nerds. I'm kidding. Or am I?

YouTubers have it hard too, because they're always pushing themselves to act funny and it's so obviously fake and then they get criticized for. But being fake is what the job entails. Some people are just better at acting fake realistically. Real people are boring. On my worst days, I find myself intolerable. Just the way it is.

We're having a thing in our college and there's going to be events (all virtual, yay) and there's a stand-up event and that got me thinking. Because even if I made up good jokes, I don't think I can do it. Even if it is virtual. Also I'm at home so no NSFW jokes so what's the point? College students want to hear about sex. I think I'd be more comfortable doing something like this if I get to know some people. Then I may consider it.

I feel a lot better now. I love this site.




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