The clumsy juxtapositions of Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari was not silent, exactly. The actor and actor spent last year on a huge international tour that has made a lot of headlines, despite its use of Yondr phone pouches (a practice that has become typical of context-aware performers, initiated by Dave Chappelle) . Taken from a show in New Haven last fall: "The new stand-up tour of Aziz Ansari is a cry against extreme lucidity." According to a shoot at the Underground Village of New York this winter: "Aziz Ansari is considering an allegation of sexual misconduct during her party in New York. Up Show. "From a performance in Australia last month:" Aziz Ansari's show addresses #MeToo – and reveals its imperfect humanity. "

Slowly, Ansari reaffirmed its presence in the eyes of the public, mainly on its own terms. There were no appearances in late-night talk shows or interviews with journalists. Ansari, who was once a prominent social media fan, reduced his sharing time, focusing almost entirely on direct promotion, while magazine profiles described the millennial old man as another untouchable celebrity. This gradual retirement was a natural development for an older and more and more famous man. But it was also sped up by a more unpleasant turning point in Ansari's arc, a January 2018 article on the little-known feminist website Babe.net, entitled "I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It has become the worst night of my life.

The story contained in the article describes in detail Ansari's overly aggressive sexual advances towards his young, anonymous partner, reprehensible behavior, although not quite criminal, and all the more so. difficult to discuss because of this. The article was nevertheless an attempt to ride the same wave of fury and responsibility that had already led to the downfall of aggressors like Harvey Weinstein and Ansari's comical comic, Louis CK – a film that quickly imploded under the surveillance of a media operation without means or means. the professionalism of a New York Times. Babe became the target of widespread jokes and, almost two years later, he actually died, a saga described in a New York report at the end of last month. Ansari has largely kept his head down throughout the extended news cycle.

On Tuesday, Ansari made his official comeback with Now, Span Jonze has directed a special hour – long show on Netflix that transforms previously processed content through occasional reports into a fixed and lasting object. With Now, Ansari's is open to a much wider audience, perhaps more critical than one who rushes to attend his shows. Thus, he tries to close the chapter of his career that requires him to start a special comedy with an extremely serious monologue, which addresses the controversy head on.

What Ansari has to say on the subject will not be a surprise to those who have followed its gradual reemergence. He insists his fellow Hasan Minhaj, a member of Netflix, is outraged that he deserves credit for his own work, but he just gladly offloads the scandal. other Comedian from South Asia with his own show streaming. "I'm sure some of you are curious to see how I feel about this situation," he says more soberly. "It's hard for me to answer because I've felt so much over the past year. There were times when I was scared. It happened to me to feel humiliated. It happened to me to feel embarrassed. And finally, I felt terribly bad in this person's mind. Ansari concludes that he has done a lot of introspection about his behavior both in this particular case and in general and that he knows male friends who have done the same. As painful as the experience was, it was perhaps ultimately for the better. The time of embarrassment is over: "I know this is not the most hilarious way to start a comedy, but it's important for me to know what I think about all this before sharing this evening together. Well, it was quite intense!

The entire speech is pronounced almost in a low voice, disarming a comedian known for his deliberately sharp and acute tone. Ansari is also sitting on a stool, in the manner of Marc Maron, adopting an attitude almost flawless for his individual meetings with the public. Even if the material is denominational, it is also almost word for word what has been reported by Vulture last month. The closing riff of the special also speaks of the sincerity with which Ansari wishes to thank the public now that he has seen a world where he is no longer able to play for them.

It is tempting to dismiss this routine as fallacious or untrustworthy, as it has obviously been repeated. But, of course, that's what the stand-up is: stolen jokes, intentionally composed and intentionally composed as a spontaneous riff that can be hilarious to an enthusiastic audience. (Also, it's not quite right to judge the jokes already exposed, undermined by their immediate impact.There is a reason why it is common practice to "burn" routines once 39; they were turned into a special.) That's what made the accounts of comics like Ansari and, to a much greater extent, CK so devastating in the first place. They contradict an apparently unfiltered but still constructed image: C.K. Ansari through serious reflections on the twenty-first century enigma, going so far as to co-write a 2015 book titled Modern romance. At least, Ansari's reconstructed character is a personage charged with remorse and thoughtful. Compared to C.K., who briefly undertook to "stand back and listen for a long time" before becoming completely reactionary and unrepentant, it is a much better adjustment.

More difficult is the middle part of Now, which attempts to balance Ansari's vulnerability with the required authority of most representatives to master a crowd, but especially the cultural criticism of Ansari. Despite what the headlines imply, Ansari's retaliation with his performative standby state is not a direct response to his recent tests. Instead, they are an awkward juxtaposition. Ansari's experiences may have influenced her views on "Progressive Candy Crush," or the insistence of people to weigh in situations they do not personally know, or our inability to live the present moment, but it does not never recognizes a link. And although the fire storm has definitely influenced the reaction of some viewers to his ideas, they can never know how their speculations can be fair.

Ansari devotes an important part of Now to the question of how to approach formerly beloved artists, such as R. Kelly and Michael Jackson, whose work is now a permanent task. As well as his frustration with well-intentioned but "exhausting" whites, this theme is entirely consistent with Ansari's identity as a trendy but still elderly guy at the end of the thirty, half a decade after the revival of popular culture interest for Power representation. Even though Babe's editors have never hit Publish, there is widespread frustration over the boundaries of the capital-d discourse among the Ansari demographic. What started as a necessary correction has now been adopted by the companies that sponsor the pride celebrations and are adding power Avengers movies. And all these brunch conversations have done little to avoid the very real and very violent prejudices that are now invading our country.

Unlike the Ansari post-election SNL monologue, Now largely avoids the word T and its consequences. It is a wise gesture; The hypocrisy of the big liberals is a funnier and lighter subject, not to mention the one that strikes a lot closer to home for the crowds at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. (The place is a welcome discount from the gigantic Madison Square Garden, Ansari's previous special site and a fear generator more reliable than laughing.) Nevertheless, the long reflection on topics such as the legacy Jackson seems strange, regardless of its relevance to the public. concerns or mature for exploration. Aside from the memory of old documents based on Kelly, it is not admitted that at some point during the last 18 months, some fans have been subjected to a similar process with Ansari's own CV.

In the space of only one series, Ansari goes from the delicate question to the decisive question to the decisive resolution of these same dilemmas. It is a sudden and daring switch, the effectiveness of which will vary according to the inclinations that one carries in the special. Whatever it is, at BAM, Ansari manages to train the audience with him.