I'm late writing about this, but Jerry Seinfeld said a thing about a week ago and people either got very upset or praised him as a man finally brave enough to speak up for comedy. He mentioned the young generation was too politically correct, and that why he doesn't play colleges anymore. Chris Rock said something similar at some other earlier date.
As proof that college kids throw around words like "racist" and "sexist" willy-nilly, Seinfeld mentioned an incident with his fourteen-year-old daughter. I don't know what generation he's talking about. It sort of just sounds like an old man complaining about youths, which in that case is legit. I find youths more intolerable with each passing year.
The incident involved Seinfeld's wife asking her daughter if she wanted to go somewhere to meet boys, and the daughter said "mom, that's sexist." Seinfeld decided that sort of response is why comedy is dead.
First of all, do not get upset about a thing Jerry Seinfeld said about political correctness. Seriously, guys. What a waste of everyone's time.
Secondly, his daughter's response to her mother is hilarious. I mean, objectively hilarious. Seinfeld disagrees, which is odd, because I thought comedians were trained to see the comedy in everyday situations. Isn't observational comedy Seinfeld's bread and butter? But Seinfeld's comedy is very male, and there is no room for a female perspective. This is where people who agree with Seinfeld will tune out. Here, I am being politically correct. However, I am not criticizing Seinfeld for his maleness in his comedy. I watch The League, okay. I think men have the capacity to be very funny. All I'm saying is that a teenage girl complaining that meeting boys is sexist is funny, and maybe you have to be a female to understand that humor.
Third of all, a fourteen-year-old throwing around the word sexist is very different than a college student throwing around the word sexist. If you don't want to play colleges because you don't want to play colleges, hey, you're Jerry Seinfeld. Don't play colleges. I think playing colleges sounds awful. You don't even need to defend yourself. There is something that sounds intrinsically not chill about the idea of playing colleges. But a fourteen-year-old who grew up wealthy and suburban is obviously not going to have a good grasp on sexism and racism because she hasn't faced much of either. Your fourteen-year-old daughter is trying to figure out who she is outside of boys, but she doesn't know enough yet to figure out how to state that perspective without sounding ridiculous. She doesn't have the life experience. She hasn't done the research. She just knows she wants to be more than someone who likes boys, so when Mom suggests meeting boys, she gets sassy and throws around the word sexism. It's funny, right? Don't you remember the stupid shit you said when you were fourteen and trying to figure yourself out? How is this not funny? How are you not able to do a bit about this? Seinfeld mentioned Louis CK as somehow able to make comedy about political correctness, and the reason is because you can practically hear how different Louis CK's response would have been had this been his daughter. Louis CK is constantly growing and learning and changing his routine. He listens to critics, decides whether or not the critiques are valid, and changes or doesn't change accordingly. That's why his comedy is so good, so fresh, so relevant. Seinfeld hears his daughter say "that's sexist" and immediately shuts down without bothering to find the funny. Louis CK would have analyzed the crap out of it and come up with at least something other than "ugh, kids today, amirite?"
And finally. Political correctness is killing comedy? If this was even remotely true, then why is comedy is good right now? Think about how many amazing comedians and comedy groups are performing. Think about how many sketch shows and sitcoms are on the air right now. Think about how many great comedies are coming to theaters this year. Comedy is so good right now. Take a look at Comedy Central's line-up and tell me political correctness is killing comedy. Take a gander at FXX's line-up and tell me comedy isn't thriving despite the PC Police. Look at the HBO shows whose seasons just wrapped up last night! Look at who's touring these days! Look at who's releasing books! Look at who's creating content! I can't even imagine looking at comedy today and saying "yep, comedy is dead, thanks a bunch fill-in-the-blank reason." It's just such an idiotic statement. It's especially mind-boggling to imagine someone working in the field and lamenting the state of comedy today.
If you want to be a curmudgeonly old man who hates the young people and misses the old days, Jerry, that's fine. It's just a very old, very tired sentiment. Also, I'm pretty sure you'll never read this, so everybody wins.
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