It feels like your point was missed on the reader. We need to stop nailing each other to the wall and look out for some healthy intentions, which yours were. I don't sense a lack of empathy about conservatives from any of your work in this article or generally. Perhaps we can use the word 'grace' and I do think you have shown it consistently towards all of your readers.
"A great comedian has the ability to see things from all sides...To connect with your audience you always have to acknowledge that there is a real person behind the thing you are talking about, even if you hate that thing."
I'd add in this can be a great p.o.v. for a joke: Embody a person you hate. Argue their side of things. This can be inherently funny since there's automatically a contrast there.
I love Todd Barry! He was in Berlin not that long ago, he wasn't shy about saying he was too good for the venue and that just made him funnier! He's a true original.
I first off would like to say that I appreciate the work that you do on here! I’m a theatre (acting) professor, and honestly I wish I stumbled upon your work sooner as I was just teaching a comedy class where we explored the basics of Standup comedy.
I do see what your intention in writing this article is in terms of allowing empathy into your work, and seeing all the sides of every story to be the best performer you can be, or at least get the most out of your work.
Now I am an African American democrat with liberal views, however, I noticed that when you speak about conservatives, you tend to generalize conservative people into believing in only one message, with only one thought process behind their beliefs; your article actually comes off as rather aggressive on the back-end, with this general idea of “all conservatives believe this message”without any language to suggest that there’s even a possibility of individual conservatives having a nuanced, multifaceted, or different way of thinking and looking at the world.
Usually, I just allow everyone to have their opinions without questioning someone as I also believe that we all have an opinion, and I believe in part of your message about empathy because as you said “every single person” has an opportunity to express how they feel about the world.
Where I’m seeing some inconsistency with this article is that with empathy (which is the one of the foundations of great acting and performance in general) you have to give that to everyone regardless of whether or not you agree or not with another group about how the world should work. Which in reading your article, it feels as though you have an extreme lack of empathy for any conservative minded person. And it’s fine if you don’t want to have empathy for such people but I wouldn’t put it in an article where you’re trying to express how important empathy is since that is the definition of selective empathy that you yourself were trying to draw attention to. I believe the same point of the importance of empathy that you’re trying to express could have been made just as strongly without having to bring stereotypes of liberals or conservatives into the mix.
Now I am not asking you to change/edit your thoughts, because again this your forum and you have a right to express how you feel and I admire and respect your work in the craft of comedy.
I appreciate you starting the conversation on the topic of empathy. If we don’t talk about it, we can’t fully address and implement it into our lives more it as human beings, but I guess empathy is such a multi-faceted concept that it can’t quite be summed up in one post.
Thanks so much for reading my work, and I really really appreciate this very detailed comment! I thought I might stumble on this point, and I'm glad you called me out. I don't really know much about politics other than the bits and bobs that are drip fed to me via various social media outlets. I am probably not even using the term "conservative" correctly. I only mean to talk on empathy/selective empathy which I have observed is a similar line between left and right politics. I'm always concerned about talking about politics at all because I don't feel articulate or well researched on the issue - at the same time I don't want to be completely silent - as I do feel things! About stuff!
I agree that I failed to show empathy when talking about "the conservatives" here as I guess I was talking about a caricature I had drawn in my own head. I absolutely need to research or even meet some moderate conservatives, and not just draw my conclusions from social media outrage.
You say you don’t want to make it about politics… while simultaneously referencing “conservative comedy” before even getting to your opening paragraph. If there is anything that’s truly “ughh,” aside from politics itself, it’s when people claim they’re not going to discuss or give their opinions on politics, while literally giving their obvious opinion on politics lol.
Also, trying to misappropriate Burr with the “woke bandwagon,” especially as it relates to how he views himself as a comedian or how he feels “wokeness” has affected the culture of comedy, is a bridge too far. He would probably have a good laugh… followed by a bitingly sarcastic rant geared at ripping apart even the faintest of notions suggesting that he would ever even remotely associate with “woke” comedy.
What this article demonstrates is, that though you may perhaps have talents elsewhere, they are certainly not in writing, nor comedy. What is it that you do for work?
I suggest if you can identify the points in the article that triggered you the most, they would make good topics for your next therapy session. It's quite easy to find me online.
Unfortunately, I do not have to respond at length. Briefly: That is a very important, thought-provoking and multi-layered text. Thank you, Caroline!
Thanks so much! 🥰
It feels like your point was missed on the reader. We need to stop nailing each other to the wall and look out for some healthy intentions, which yours were. I don't sense a lack of empathy about conservatives from any of your work in this article or generally. Perhaps we can use the word 'grace' and I do think you have shown it consistently towards all of your readers.
"A great comedian has the ability to see things from all sides...To connect with your audience you always have to acknowledge that there is a real person behind the thing you are talking about, even if you hate that thing."
I'd add in this can be a great p.o.v. for a joke: Embody a person you hate. Argue their side of things. This can be inherently funny since there's automatically a contrast there.
Here's a great example from Todd Barry like that:
https://funnyhow.substack.com/p/todd-barry-joking-about-the-south
Totally! I have an exercise about that https://authenticcomedy.substack.com/p/exercise-flip-the-attitude
I love Todd Barry! He was in Berlin not that long ago, he wasn't shy about saying he was too good for the venue and that just made him funnier! He's a true original.
Hello there Caroline,
I first off would like to say that I appreciate the work that you do on here! I’m a theatre (acting) professor, and honestly I wish I stumbled upon your work sooner as I was just teaching a comedy class where we explored the basics of Standup comedy.
I do see what your intention in writing this article is in terms of allowing empathy into your work, and seeing all the sides of every story to be the best performer you can be, or at least get the most out of your work.
Now I am an African American democrat with liberal views, however, I noticed that when you speak about conservatives, you tend to generalize conservative people into believing in only one message, with only one thought process behind their beliefs; your article actually comes off as rather aggressive on the back-end, with this general idea of “all conservatives believe this message”without any language to suggest that there’s even a possibility of individual conservatives having a nuanced, multifaceted, or different way of thinking and looking at the world.
Usually, I just allow everyone to have their opinions without questioning someone as I also believe that we all have an opinion, and I believe in part of your message about empathy because as you said “every single person” has an opportunity to express how they feel about the world.
Where I’m seeing some inconsistency with this article is that with empathy (which is the one of the foundations of great acting and performance in general) you have to give that to everyone regardless of whether or not you agree or not with another group about how the world should work. Which in reading your article, it feels as though you have an extreme lack of empathy for any conservative minded person. And it’s fine if you don’t want to have empathy for such people but I wouldn’t put it in an article where you’re trying to express how important empathy is since that is the definition of selective empathy that you yourself were trying to draw attention to. I believe the same point of the importance of empathy that you’re trying to express could have been made just as strongly without having to bring stereotypes of liberals or conservatives into the mix.
Now I am not asking you to change/edit your thoughts, because again this your forum and you have a right to express how you feel and I admire and respect your work in the craft of comedy.
I appreciate you starting the conversation on the topic of empathy. If we don’t talk about it, we can’t fully address and implement it into our lives more it as human beings, but I guess empathy is such a multi-faceted concept that it can’t quite be summed up in one post.
Thank you so much for the work that you do!
Thanks so much for reading my work, and I really really appreciate this very detailed comment! I thought I might stumble on this point, and I'm glad you called me out. I don't really know much about politics other than the bits and bobs that are drip fed to me via various social media outlets. I am probably not even using the term "conservative" correctly. I only mean to talk on empathy/selective empathy which I have observed is a similar line between left and right politics. I'm always concerned about talking about politics at all because I don't feel articulate or well researched on the issue - at the same time I don't want to be completely silent - as I do feel things! About stuff!
I agree that I failed to show empathy when talking about "the conservatives" here as I guess I was talking about a caricature I had drawn in my own head. I absolutely need to research or even meet some moderate conservatives, and not just draw my conclusions from social media outrage.
Thanks again for your comment!
You say you don’t want to make it about politics… while simultaneously referencing “conservative comedy” before even getting to your opening paragraph. If there is anything that’s truly “ughh,” aside from politics itself, it’s when people claim they’re not going to discuss or give their opinions on politics, while literally giving their obvious opinion on politics lol.
Also, trying to misappropriate Burr with the “woke bandwagon,” especially as it relates to how he views himself as a comedian or how he feels “wokeness” has affected the culture of comedy, is a bridge too far. He would probably have a good laugh… followed by a bitingly sarcastic rant geared at ripping apart even the faintest of notions suggesting that he would ever even remotely associate with “woke” comedy.
What this article demonstrates is, that though you may perhaps have talents elsewhere, they are certainly not in writing, nor comedy. What is it that you do for work?
I suggest if you can identify the points in the article that triggered you the most, they would make good topics for your next therapy session. It's quite easy to find me online.
The Care Bears were woke before it was cool.
This article does an incredible job of explaining why Empathy is the key to becoming the best stand-up you can be.