Netflix Stand-Up Specials: Comedy with a Twist

Stand-up specials are a difficult and wondrous thing. A person comes up on stage and makes jokes for an hour. Usually those jokes are of a personal nature, and whether or not the audience laughs is an indictment of whether or that comedian's life is worthy of entertainment. It takes guts to lay yourself bare in front of a sea of strangers, and lately, Netflix has offered up a slew of stand-up specials that showcase some of the best comedians out there. In this post, I want to highlight three comedians who really spoke to me. Not because they are raucously funny, which they are, but also because they present a different perspective, showcasing a life that is not like the one I live, and help audiences discover a whole new world outside of their own personal bubble.

Ali Wong: In her stand-up specials, Baby Cobra and Hard-Knock Wife, the one immediately obvious fact is that Wong is massively pregnant. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a pregnant woman perform stand-up. Turns out, it's pretty hysterical. Particularly when that pregnant woman is prone to delivering filthy jokes and discussing her prolific sex life in vivid detail whilst miming plenty of sexual activity in her pregnant state. If I was the kid in that womb, I'm not sure I would be delighted or utterly mortified when I came across these specials ten years' hence. Apart from that aspect, there's also the fact that Wong is half-Chinese and half-Vietnamese, which allows for a lot of Asian stereotype jokes (which is fine because she's Asian, OK?) The two specials are a perfect set because they logically follow from each other and demonstrate the trajectory of Wong's life. She was not a well-known comedian when she made Baby Cobra, but its popularity on Netflix meant that she is now a household name and Hard-Knock Wife outlines how she has been dealing with some of that newfound fame. Plus we get more stories about her marriage and her husband, a man who I would dearly love to meet because he seems like the complete opposite of his wife.

Hari Kondabolu: I'm Indian (shocker, I know) and I always enjoy watching an Indian perform stand-up and make fun of all the things about my culture that I have hitherto only viewed as annoyances. The first time I saw Hari Kondabolu was when he did a short set on a late-night talk show about how his father came to pick him up at JFK Airport, and a total stranger got in the car and started barking directions, assuming the brown man was a taxi driver. Then, of course, there was his wonderful The Problem with Apu documentary that took a look at all the reasons why Apu from The Simpsons was highly problematic. And now, there's Warn Your Relatives, an hour of him doing jokes on Netflix about how it feels to be a brown first generation immigrant. There's a long segment just about mangoes, and another on airport security. It is all topical, empathetic, hilarious stuff, and the highest praise I can give it is this: I immediately sat my parents down in front of the TV and told them they had to watch it. Reader, they chuckled.

Hannah Gadsby: Gadsby's special, Nanette, has spawned a thousand think pieces and received widespread acclaim. You shouldn't need me to tell you to watch it. But in case you do, here's the gist. Gadsby is from the island of Tasmania in Australia, a highly conservative part of the country where the fact that she is a lesbian wasn't particularly welcome. The special starts out conventionally enough, with jokes about Australia, being gay, and ordinary moments of everyday life, made extraordinary by Gadsby's verbal dexterity and ability to turn anything into a joke simply with her delivery. But the second half of this show is where things take a turn. A dark, uncomfortable, and remarkable turn. No need to spoil it, you can see for yourself. Just know that at the end of it, you will feel a deeply personal connection to this woman and the others like her who have to put up with a lot of shit everyday that is not always easy to turn into comedy.

So there you have it. Three very different individuals, in terms of gender, ethnicity, and sexuality, but all delivering incredible comedy. Perhaps you identify with some or with none, but regardless, the minute you are done watching their specials, you will have a much more expanded world view. To me, that is the greatest power of stand-up comedy. Its ability to make you laugh, but after the jokes stop, to also make you take a deep breath and think.