Upwards
all probability a bunch of Daves themselves champion the underdog and stick it to the man at
the same time.
Russell Peters is an example of someone
who does it well. He seems to have a genuine
understanding of the groups he picks on. The
best way I can explain that is that it was my Dad
(an immigrant from Singapore) who introduced
me to him, forwarding me a clip of Russell’s Asian
accent, that had already been shared around all
his friends, with comments like “this is spot on”.
My dad and his friends introduced me to one of
the biggest comedians in the world. I’m a little
ashamed of that. Worse still, it was a quicktime
movie attached to an email, because my dad and
his friends hadn’t heard of YouTube yet.
But in the hands of a less masterful Dave, more
often than not, the bit will lie heavily on stereotypes,
and the moment it does, it loses credibility and
consequently (whether fairly or unfairly) the
perceived “truth” of the bit.
I’ve often heard improv people say “don’t play
for the laugh, play for the truth”. And although
bewildering at the time, it totally makes sense
now. Audiences don’t want to hear an uninformed
opinion on some else’s culture. That will make
them want to put a wall (both emotional and
brick) between themselves and you. They want a
perspective that has a certain truth to it. It might
be something they can identify with, or something
that confronts them, but it has to have an honesty
to it.
Think of it as McDonald’s versus your local souvlaki
place. If McDonald started criticising them, that’s
not cool, but it’s fine other way around. It’s Aristos
vs Goliath.
So why then can a Dave can talk a bunch of
smack about his girlfriends and it’s fine? Because
it’s a specific person, not a generalisation. The
audience assumes, regardless of the things he’s
saying about her, he has spent enough time with
her that it comes from a place of understanding.
Of course, this is all one person’s opinion. And
for every argument I’ve made, there will be
an example of someone purposely doing the
opposite to great success. But the more opinions
you seek out, the better placed you’ll be to make
an informed decision and become the best Dave
you can be.
Punching up has been there since the beginning
of comedy. There’s a reason why it’s a man
slipping on a banana peel and not an orphaned
African girl. People want to root for the underdog
and they want to see them succeed. Especially in
this country. So when you think about it, Ethnics
verbally bashing White People is one of the most
Australian things there is.
By Jason Chong, age 34
Fun Game!
I’ve put together a quick list of groups in Australia
and the hierarchy I think they might form. Do you
agree? Disagree? Cut them out and have fun
reordering them while Ethnics take all of your
women and jobs!
1. The 1% (Rich people)
2. Christians
3. Nickelback
4. Daves
5. Students
6. Hipsters
7. Nerds
8. Environmentalists
9. The Elderly
10. Bogans
11. Greeks and Italians
12. White Women
13. Asians
14. Sub-continental Asians
15. Muslims
16. Physically disabled
17. Mentally disabled