Steve Carell admits he couldn’t play his iconic Office character in today’s woke world.
Cancel Culture’s scolds are too harsh on Michael Scott, Dunder Mifflin’s unctuous boss. Yet the main character in HBO’s Curb Your EnthusiasmLarry David (the pseudo Larry David) is as broken and distorted without any hint of cancellation.
At least not yet…
“The world has changed. He hasn’t,” goes the HBO tagline for Curb’s 11th season, which kicked off Oct. 24. The far-left IndieWire, which often leads the Cancel Culture charge, praised the show’s status quo sans irony.
He’s dating, he’s going to dinner parties, he’s attending large indoor gatherings — and he’s ruining every single one. That’s what he does. It’s what he’s always done.
David resists Cancel Culture, both in refusing to soften his character’s edges and not bowing to woke demands. It sounds like Susie Essman, who co-stars as Larry’s frenemy on Curb, is firmly on David’s side.
Essman, an actress veteran and stand-up performer told The Jerusalem Post why she’s no fan of Cancel Culture. David was also not beaten by the mob. CurbOr elsewhere.
…Larry does not care if he’s politically incorrect and who he offends. He doesn’t care. He’s an equal opportunity offender. If he doesn’t care, then I certainly don’t. This gives me incredible freedom to do what I like.
It’s one reason the show retains its comedic bite through 11 seasons. Essman spoke out about her experience as a standup comedian and how Cancel Culture interferes with the way that comics develop their skills.
…I do think that the job of comedians is to push the envelope. Too many people feel like they are in a bind right now. That concerns me. This applies especially to younger comics. When I started out in comics, Twitter was not available. There were also no clubs with phones. You could sort of create your own lines. Sometimes, you push too far and it feels like a little crawling thing up your spine. You’re kind of figuring out who you are and what your persona is on stage. It is necessary to sometimes make mistakes, and push the limits.
Today’s comedians no longer have that luxury.
Consider Daniel Tosh, the comic genius and host of dazzling shows. Tosh.0The comedian had to apologise for the rape jokes that he told during a 2012 stand-up show. It’s only gotten more unforgiving from there.
There’s a reason many comics, including Dave Chappelle, demand fans lock up their smart phones before the show begins.
Stand-up comedy, Essman says, is “an experimental art form.” Cancel Culture doesn’t allow comedians to hone their craft on their terms, trusting the audience to know it’s a work in progress.
That’s “problematic,” she notes. There is a good chance that many of her peers in standup are also agreeing, even though they are often too scared to voice their opinion.
[Cross-posted from Hollywood in Toto]
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