“The Internet is making people so f*#%ing stupid. Who knew all of human knowledge could make people dumber?”
Yesterday I needed to laugh. I wonder why. So I turned to Netflix and its seemingly endless repertoire of stand up specials. One in particular caught my eye: Asian Comedian Destroys America! by Ronny Chieng. Something about that title made me click Play. Again, I wonder why. Within a minute, Chieng had mused that it’s 2019 – “How much worse could it get?” It’s extraordinary that something from just a year ago could feel so innocent and quaint. He then followed it up with the above statement, and in that moment, I knew I had picked the right special for this particular night.
This was my first time watching Chieng’s stand up, and it truly was the show I needed. He has a way of taking jokes far beyond the typical stand up beats. He just keeps going and going until suddenly you find yourself in a surreal place where Amazon is shoving food into your mouth and you’re wondering how we all got to this place. Again, it was an eerily appropriate show to be watching at this particular point in time. It was also wonderfully hilarious.
I don’t know how everyone else spent the day yesterday, but I spent it oscillating between fervent hope and bitter despair. In other words, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. And I’m not even American. All I knew for sure was that at the end of a long day of refreshing my computer screen, I needed to laugh. And I did. A lot. And for that, I will forever hold goodwill in my heart for Ronny Chieng.
Suggestions for artists I should check out? Please contact me with your ideas. I hope you enjoyed your daily helping of art!
