Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk

by liberal japonicus

I tend to watch two things on youtube, the first is standup comedy and the second is music. I’ll be starting up a weekly music post from Friday, but I’d probably, if I had to choose, go for a well constructed joke in standup over a music video. I’m into deconstructing, and I marvel not only at the way a good comedian can set up a joke and land a punchline, but also how they establish their identity in order to get the joke to work. However, I’m afraid that my list of standup comedians was slashed because of the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival. The line up is here

There have been a number of responses, and I highlight two of them. The first is David Cross, who posted this on his website. My own feelings echo a lot of what he says. This graf in particular

These are some of my HEROES! Now look, some of you folks don’t stand for anything so you don’t have any credibility to lose, but my god, Dave and Louie and Bill, and Jim? Clearly you guys don’t give a shit about what the rest of us think, but how can any of us take any of you seriously ever again? All of your bitching about “cancel culture” and “freedom of speech” and all that shit? Done. You don’t get to talk about it ever again. By now we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign. 

If you aren’t up on comedy, Dave=Dave Chapelle, Louie=Louie CK, Bill=Bill Burr and Jim=Jim Gaffigan. Now, David Cross did not get an invite, but Michelle Wolf was invited, but didn’t go, but has been inspired by the whole thing. I was hoping for 20 or 30 jokes, but there are only about 5 and they are not perfect, though she could have polished a few of them up and maybe done an interesting set.

This is a very fascinating piece from the Carnegie endowment makes the point that the Saudis are not trying to change minds in the West, they are trying to appeal to domestic audiences.

While part of this reflects an effort by Saudi authorities to shape what Saudi citizens should want—anything other than a political voice or political causes—it also reflects what many Saudi citizens already do want. The dominance of English-language comedians in the festival lineup reflects widespread Saudi access to satellite television, websites, and social media platforms even prior to Vision 2030. This is reinforced by scholarship programs that have sent hundreds of thousands of Saudis to live in the United States and other Western countries (alongside select other destinations).

This is also interesting to me, in that it is an attempt to mirror the South Korean emphasis on entertainment as an economic driver.

Saudi leaders also view the entertainment sector as a future economic engine, and one where the kingdom’s well-educated population might have a comparative advantage in Arabic-language markets. Turnout at the festival points to a potential audience for the kingdom’s own comics. Media firm Thmanyah, for example, recently acquired comedy-club startup Comedy Pod as a means of reaching new audiences and expanding out from its more “serious” podcast offerings.

Thoughts? If not, if you know any good jokes, tell them here.