Honestly, I have never heard of Hannah Gadsby until I watched her, Nanette, Netflix live comedy performance, which she wrote and performed. After reading the, 28 Tweets About "Nanette" To Send To Your Friends Who Haven't Watched It Yet, by
I’ve been a professional comic for 30 years. I’ve been studying comedy for even longer. I thought I had seen everything...until I watched Nanette on @netflix by @Hannahgadsby. I was blown away. I urge you to watch it ASAP - one hour and it’ll change your life.
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| Hannah Gadsby performing her Netflix special Nanette |
Gadsby started off with some lite jokes about where she was from and about being a lesbian. I thought it was funny to see her take on flamboyant homosexuals in their parade and how she lives a quiet tea-filled life. I was trying to think of who she reminded me of and all I kept thinking was Hannah Gadsby was the Australian version of our Ellen DeGeneres (I'm a BIG FAN). Both so down to earth and likeable. She also went on to talk about how she was once mistaken for a guy when she was talking to a girl at a bus stop (which got a big laugh). Gadsby stops telling jokes and in fact, Gadsby declares that she’s quitting comedy and starts analyzing the structure and content of some jokes, asking difficult questions about who we’re laughing at and why. Some say she was going after straight white men; I didn't see it that way at all. She switches between jokes and serious issues. She caught me off guard when she said;
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“Do you understand what self-deprecation means when it comes from someone who already exists in the margins? It’s not humility. It’s humiliation. I put myself down in order to speak, in order to seek permission to speak, and I simply will not do that anymore.”
It made me sad. I thought of how I have put myself down to be the butt of a joke 100's of times with my friends. I feel like Gadsby's message was so profound that I feel the need to watch it again because I'm sure I missed things while getting lost in my own thoughts and feelings as I watched this. Never thought about it like this before and the damage it was doing to my own self-esteem and self-worth. This was by far different and deeper than any comedy special I have ever seen or heard. I feel like people will be talking about this for generations to come.
It made me sad. I thought of how I have put myself down to be the butt of a joke 100's of times with my friends. I feel like Gadsby's message was so profound that I feel the need to watch it again because I'm sure I missed things while getting lost in my own thoughts and feelings as I watched this. Never thought about it like this before and the damage it was doing to my own self-esteem and self-worth. This was by far different and deeper than any comedy special I have ever seen or heard. I feel like people will be talking about this for generations to come.
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| The comedian was blown away by winning a Peabody Award for her stand-up special "Hannah Gadsby: Nanette." |
I think you absolutely right that people will be talking about this special for years and years. I also like that you talked about what she says about self-deprecation. This is the third time I've used this special as a text in a class. That part always moves so many people and makes you rethink humor at large and in your own life.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this quote about self-deprecation. I think it speaks volumes to not only, what self-deprecation really does, but also to how widely accepted it has become. I really felt for you when you said that you have put yourself down to be the butt of the joke with your friends because I have done this myself in the past. Luckily, I now how friends who are wildly encouraging and very proud of me and who would never make me resort to self-deprecation in order to be part of the fun. It took me a LONG time to get there though. My (somewhat unsolicited) advice to you is that if you're encouraged to do this by your friends, I hope that 1. Maybe you find better friends and 2. That you use what you've learned from Gadsby's special as a means to stop this behaviour and rethink how you can relate to your friends without making yourself the butt of the joke. I think you're already thinking about this and it's wonderful to see.
ReplyDeleteGreat point about rethinking friendships if they rely on you being self-deprecating.
DeleteBy the way, this is something I am *still* working on in my own life. (Though not the "get new friends" part. My friends are cool.) But that tendency to mock myself? To put myself down? It runs deep in so many people, esp. women and marginalized folks. I am grateful to see Ryan sharing that he experiences it, too.
Alex, I had never heard of Hannah Gadsby prior to watching this netflix episode either. She is great. Thanks for sharing the 28 tweets about the show. I totally agree with your take on how she talks about self-deprecating humor, it was definitely an eye opener for me as well.
ReplyDeletePosting this for Cara, who is still having difficulties getting her comments to post: “Thank you for including the tweets! They were a great add into your post and promoted the topic well. I also enjoyed your brief comparison of Ellen and Gadsby! I've never thought out that but I can definitely see it! I too got a sense of sadness from this segment and it made me reflect on myself as well. It will definitely be remembered.”
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