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To the point where some are questioning if it can even be called comedy.
Nanetteis more a TED Talk than a stand-up special wasa common refrainthis summer.
IsDrew Michaeleven a stand-up special?
was a question I was asked about the audience-free HBO hour.
So what is comedy without jokes?
The goal of being funny is optional for some or for the entirety of the piece.
And while Hannah Gadsby tried to quit comedy inNanette, instead, comedy is evolving to include not-comedy.
Did you know that during his run more young people got their news fromThe Daily Showthan any other source?
Of course you did.
By October 2004, whenStewart famously went onCrossfire, he left the show as Americas Bullshit-Caller-in-Chief.
And while he was beloved for doing comedy, he was revered for stopping.
Not too long after, you got Louis C.K.
These things dont exactly happen by coincidence.
The shifts in content channels also directly affect the work comedians and comedy writers can venture to make.
The economy of selling comedic shows has completely changed.
There just wasnt a movement in that direction or a market appetite for it.
you’re able to see technologys influence on comedy even more in the stand-up special.
And for comedy, the institution is capital-C Comedy.
Really, this shift has been happening slowly since the dawn of modern comedy.
And all along the way, people in comedy complained.
They were, in the veterans eyes, giving away an act that could be toured on for decades.
The more established comics called it alternativetocomedy.
If you watch a Comedy Special on Netflix, c’mon watch Nanette.
It is gorgeous and hopefully, inspires me to be a better person.
Again, WATCH NANETTE.
That is all.https://t.co/ivci5t3u1J
Nanette by@Hannahgadsbyis stunning.
It made me feel happy, angry, sad and, ultimately, connected.
Saw this@Hannahgadsbyshow tonight.
Made me think quite a bit.
Definitely see it if you’re in#NewYorkCityor#nearby.https://t.co/6Ulr0wiP0M
.
@HannahgadsbyNanette is wonderful.
It’s inspiring!https://t.co/HCBR7cK3sI.
That isnt to say all comedians have embraced it.
Comedy is always changing was the one thing Federman wanted to double-check I remembered.
Jokes and shoulders, thats what we are.
Jokes for people to laugh at and shoulders for comics down the road to stand on …
Were just a faint echo in a joke told a hundred years from now.
The good news is, its not a zero-sum game.
There are still one-liner comedians today, 70 years after that fell out of fashion.
But the progress will not be stopped.
It is the only constant.
Jokes and shoulders, thats what comedy is.
Well, maybe not jokes.
