Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Is There Any Better Comedian Working Today? White Guilt, Anxiety, and Louis CK Channeling President Abraham Lincoln


Wow.

A question.

Is Louis CK the best mainstream comedian working today? And how real is this skit about race, guilt, white privilege, and the anxieties of talking honestly across the color line?

Abraham Lincoln would have been mighty exhausted. Louis CK's ability to pivot on that fact is what masterfully sells the routine.

7 comments:

JW said...

I'm curious what your take on Reginald D. Hunter's stand-up is? He performs mostly in the UK and Ireland so discussing race across the color line comes up in his material quite often.

tonypenny said...

Louis CK is genius. He articulates white privilege perfectly while skewering it at the same time. As a 40 something dad, he gets me in a way I wasn't sure other people could.

chauncey devega said...

I will have to check him out. Any suggested routines?

chauncey devega said...

I like his show; but I don't think it is comedy persona. Dark comedic drama perhaps?

gordon_gartrelle said...

Louis CK is really good. Chappelle is still really good. And this isn't a popular statement to make in comedy crit circles, but Patrice Oneal was at least as good as those 2 before he died, misogyny and all.

chauncey devega said...

Chappelle? Doing stand up on the DL and not ready for a comeback? I am not so sure anymore.

JW said...

This is the longest set on YouTube as far as I know:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCCUCVAosJU.
It covers most of his base material which he recycles into different shows and riffs off of in different directions. I saw a clip of him performing a brief bit in Ireland recently where he recycles some old material in new ways:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__xSchLFwMU