Here’s my review of the Comedy Zone Asia 2018 review - http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/comedy-festival/comedy-festival-2018-tired-jokes-of-white-guilt-mar-comedy-zone-asia/news-story/f9bb7d21546650e3af663304928c61a2
Tired perspective of Asians mar Comedy Zone Asia alumnus
By Kuah Jenhan, Comedy Zone Asia 2015 alumni, Herald Sun’s hirarious (sic) comedian 2017
The reviewer starts by cleverly employing on-the-nose, current flavor of the month, trigger phrases like “white guilt” in its title, “Tired jokes of white guilt mar Comedy Zone Asia”, allegedly setting the tone for the review to come.
However alleged as it seem, it doesn’t seem to hit the mark, allegedly. The reviewer un-allegedly claims the comics in Comedy Zone Asia (CZA) are, “Asia’s allegedly rising comedy talents...” showing that he was more aware that the five comedians are up-and-coming acts (whose combined years of experience is still less than any one of the Daves), than the fact that starting his review with the word “allegedly” already suggests an intent on negative judgement. Full disclosure: I am iffy on how to allegedly use allegedly.
I struggled to understand the intention behind the review as he goes on to award the show only 2.5 stars, but sing praises to four out of five acts while making sure we all knew he found Takashi Waka’s (Japan) name to be a really great comedy name. Why is that so? We may never truly know. After all I do not possess the ability to read minds the same way the reviewer showcased his ability to know that the collective audiences of Doncaster would like to be compensated for being part of an alleged rising comedian’s crowd work.
One has to wonder how the reviewer could have taken away 2.5 stars from the show due to Karunesh Talwar (India) alone. Surely four out of five comedians doing well should average the rating of the show to 4 out of 5 stars, 3 if you’re being miserly.
Might the atmosphere, as in the actual breathable atmosphere in the room, also hurt the show? It seemed to be an important point the reviewer was attempting to make but unfortunately was marred by hateful presentation. Karunesh, with his “vibe-killing set”, -1 star. The lack of air at the “Melbourne Suck The Air Out Of The Room Festival” -1.5 stars.
The closer however was definitely spectacular to say the least. The reviewer calls out the fact that comedians attempting jokes at the expense of Ol’ Whitey were getting tiring. Not only tiring but the fact Asians found being complimented on their English condescending is nothing short of a ludicrous sentiment. Of course the Asians don’t know how they themselves felt! What is an Asian’s experience but merely a third world experience which is probably only worth 1/3 the ‘normal’ average experience.
To borrow a page from the reviewer’s book, this only logically begs the question (black-white, left-right, up-down, and only polar opposite points-of-view need apply) what’s the alternative? To go full Asian, if that’s even a thing, speaking in faux-Asian accents and joking about being able to name more than five kinds of noodles?
Ahh, to be an Asian comedian from a young burgeoning Asian comedy scene hoping to compete on a more global platform and be judged fairly.
Sorry, nice reviewer. 2.5 stars.
