Rolling Stand-Up Comedy 2012

it happens!

I can imagine there've been actors, possibly including comedians, who have grown into their characters or gone native in some way, I'm just not sure why you'd single out Colbert in that regard

Steve Martin really DID become a jerk afaict

what kind of ridiculous question is this? I don't know Colbert, I have no way of gauging whether this is true or not (and frankly, neither do you), but what's more I don't think there's any empirical evidence for sustained improvisation resulting in a permanent personality changes. the assertion is nonsensical.

I've read profiles of Colbert that claim that "it's hard to know when he's in character nowadays". It's really incredible how fast he's able to improvise during some of his interviews - I would think that's a result of how his last decade of news-watching has all boiled down to "how would my character interpret this?" And I guess I'm finding it tough to believe that it doesn't affect his IRL persona a bit. Obviously just speculation but acts like his (and Tosh, and Dice, and Neil Hamburger etc.) always seem to start very satirical and cartoonish but begin to feel, I dunno, differently over time? Maybe it's a product of social media and the 24/7 entertainment cycle where these guys think "I pretty much have to be in character all the time"?

how crazy do you have to be to want to attack someone for failing to make you laugh

this is pretty standard Bostonite behavior

I've read profiles of Colbert that claim that "it's hard to know when he's in character nowadays"

do you realize there's a huge gulf between other people not always being able to tell when he's in character (which is basically one of the necessary functions of the act) and Colbert himself losing the ability to make the distinction?

why is this character matter under discussion, please? is anyone asserting that tosh's offstage identity has any relevance to what he said onstage?

This isn't the rolling Daniel Tosh thread.

possible origin:

T/S: a comedian playing an easily distinguishable character (ala Stephen Colbert) vs. a comedian whose offstage demeanour is completely indistinguishable from their performances but pulls out the "playing a character" defense when called on saying some offensive shit

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, July 11, 2012 5:16 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

I've read early interviews with Tosh (as of 3-4 years ago) and he came off as being a pretty nice and gracious guy, I just think that spending years with a mentality of "people are expecting me to be offensive, so how can I push the line even further today" can eventually lead to saying something that really does push the line in a bad way because he's not able to separate himself from the character quickly enough.

Some people are finessing the idea that Tosh was on some Miami Vice there's-undercover-and-there's-which-way-is-up shit, and it was the character speaking not him, you see?

‏@kylekinane
I don't think rape jokes are funny but I will never not laugh when a dog humps someone's leg so don't tell me how to feel about things.

Phil wondered aloud why people would feel more comfortable heckling a comedian than an orchestra, I responded that it has to do with the fact that standup comedy is more about the performer speaking conversationally than an instrumental music performance, and a bunch of point-missing pedants took so much issue with the way I phrased it that the stupid fucking tangent swallowed the thread.

xp and there's the pure strain!

Some people are finessing the idea that Tosh was on some Miami Vice there's-undercover-and-there's-which-way-is-up shit, and it was the character speaking not him, you see?

― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, July 11, 2012 2:43 PM (25 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao

The nuances of a comedian's character and how it relates to their actual self is pretty interesting to me, even if it is tangential to this riveting discussion about the terrible comedian who is in the news for terrible reasons.

limbaugh does that "playing a character" thing a lot, fwiw.

really? I've heard him say he's an entertainer, never seen him say he plays a character

frogbs, please write a piece in defense of daniel tosh for huffpo, this could be your big break

grantland would be a better fit for frog-rantland

in other news, this is the kind of thing that annoys me: http://studentactivism.net/2012/07/10/goddamn-it-louis/

Also some of us are waiting to see if frogbs's "playing a horrible character can change you" is preparation for a possible face turn.

my only real defense of Tosh is that his Web Redemptions are really funny

dammit frogs i was sort of defending you but just can't no more

some dude, I blame you for all of this ensuing awesomeness.

sorry Gukbe, no one rides the F-train forever

Also some of us are waiting to see if frogbs's "playing a horrible character can change you" is preparation for a possible face turn.

^^^

Dragging Louie CK into this is kind of weird considering his tweet was basically nothing more than "I like your show", but there are some choice quotes here

I’ll be specific then: Louis CK once joked that no one would (publicly) claim that there were “good reasons” for rape. He also once joked how if he could travel back in time,he’d rape Hitler so viciously that Hitler won’t do any of the things Hitler is known for. In other words, Louis CK seems to think there are indeed “good reasons” for rape which are essentially the same “reasons” people who rape lesbians to make them “straight” use to rationalize their views and use of rape.

don't think this guy really "gets" comedy

some dude, I blame you for all of this ensuing awesomeness.

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, July 11, 2012 2:52 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

well hey as long as someone's enjoying the festive dance (TM)

i don't think that guy gets the difference between anti-nazism and anti-lesbianism

iirc the punchline to the "there are good reasons for rape" bit was "like, i want to have sex with this girl but she won't let me."

it goes without saying that tosh probably wouldn't have said what he said if those women had been sitting with three dudes or whatever right? which is why i appreciate the lil' white dude comic in the harlem club going off on some guy that he can barely see in that clip i posted. i mean he's a little crazy! tosh isn't that crazy. there are a lot of heckler clips where comics go off on women in the audience in a way that i don't feel they would go off on some huge drunk guy. most comedians are pretty wimpy in general.

Dice would literally pick fistfights with people in the audience, which I always found amusing

What if "Hitler" was just a character.

yeah, i just meant he doesn't mind being taken seriously as a political commentator until there's a flap and then he's just an entertainer or whatnot so ppl shouldn't take him seriously.

x-posts

nb i'm talking about limbaugh not hitler.

What if "Hitler" was just a character.

― polyphonic, Wednesday, July 11, 2012 2:58 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

'it's just a social experiment guys, god you're all so serious'

In his free time he was a vegetarian painter who loved his wife

is there any way that isn't the worst possible analogy

No, is it a satire of bad analogies.

letters are characters too

shapes are objects too, think about it

'it's just a social experiment guys, god you're all so serious'

and that's how Hitler wrote the Bee Gees "I Started A Joke"

toshpot

sorry Gukbe, no one rides the F-train forever

late lol

what kind of ridiculous question is this? I don't know Colbert, I have no way of gauging whether this is true or not (and frankly, neither do you), but what's more I don't think there's any empirical evidence for sustained improvisation resulting in a permanent personality changes. the assertion is nonsensical.
I've read profiles of Colbert that claim that "it's hard to know when he's in character nowadays". It's really incredible how fast he's able to improvise during some of his interviews - I would think that's a result of how his last decade of news-watching has all boiled down to "how would my character interpret this?" And I guess I'm finding it tough to believe that it doesn't affect his IRL persona a bit. Obviously just speculation but acts like his (and Tosh, and Dice, and Neil Hamburger etc.) always seem to start very satirical and cartoonish but begin to feel, I dunno, differently over time? Maybe it's a product of social media and the 24/7 entertainment cycle where these guys think "I pretty much have to be in character all the time"?

― frogbs, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 19:34 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just out of sheer pro-colbertism, this is contrary to what i've read of him; it's always that he's the kinda downhome quiet NJ dad who's very mild, who turns on the thundering conservative at will. & i think his improvisational skills are a whole other thing!

http://voicechasers.com/images/actors/1573.jpg

Is that LeBron James's half-white, non-athlete brother?

a small update to the story, up to you if you believe this or not (frankly, neither account really feels reliable): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/10/daniel-tosh-rape-joke-laugh-factory_n_1662882.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment&ir=Entertainment

"Daniel came in, and he said, 'Well it sounds like she’s been raped by five guys' — something like that. I really didn’t hear properly."

definitive