Stewart Lee (again) takes on the Wokefinder General

[SerendipityJane]

since SL was slated here recently, here's an excuse to have another go

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/03/we-must-honour-those-brave-souls-working-with-ricky-gervais

Every Tuesday at 8.45pm, I stand in the silent lane alone and bang my Le Creusets in support of a group of brave people who must never be forgotten; unsung martyrs who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves working at the very heart of a terrible unfolding disaster of an unprecedented scale – the cast of the second series of Ricky Gervais’s After Life (Netflix).

Denied proper support or protection, in the form of three-dimensional characters or plausible dialogue, these simple actors, almost two of them from an ethnic minority, are forced instead to mouth lines apparently designed merely to cement public perceptions of their author’s own genius, like old beggars under sacks. And yet they solider on, the real heroes of our times, discharging their duties with professionalism and dignity, lions led by a dong. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we shall remember them.

I’m joking of course! But should anything be off-limits for humour, especially during the horror of The Corona Virus (Wuhan Bat and Pangolin Snack ™ ® Co Ltd)? It’s a question answered by Ricky Gervais himself in a syndicated Press Association interview provided free to the Aberdeen Evening Express, and newspapers nationwide, in March. The “Wokefinder General” (Sarah Vine, Daily Mail) concluded: “There is no better tool to get you through bad things… than with a sense of humour.” I am sure this was a sentiment shared privately by his cast every day during the filming of After Life (Netflix).

(contd)

I love Stew.

Christ that's a hideously clunky column. A lot going on there to unpick which unlike Lee I can't really find the energy or the many words required to do. Seems mostly fuelled by the fact he dislikes Gervais and his humour and people who enjoy his humour and he dislikes being turned into a crappy meme.
(I was SO gutted to hear Lee had also drunk the trans KoolAid. I usually think he's very witty. This column is not an example of that.)

I got nothing from that other than him not liking After Life very much. And having a peculiar, horrified fixation with thoughts of Mike Pence sexually interacting with other humans (thankfully I can't remember what Mike Pence looks like, so I had no response whatsoever to what I assume was intended to be gross-out humour for people more politically informed than I.)

This seems so off topic for FWR that I'm tempted to report it. Are Mr Lee's sexual fantasies about Mike Pence somehow relevant to women's rights?

Warning to anyone thinking of clicking that link: I think Lee's ambiguously ironic pompous buffoon writing style is infectious. Hopefully I will shake off the symptoms soon.

Mike Pence looks like a fairly unremarkable older white man, it's some of his odd religious beliefs that are the problem.

I suppose this is another thread for us all to marvel at how stunningly intelligent Lee is.

The main thing I get about Lee is that for us plebs to properly understand, much of his humour needs to be explained. In long, drawn-out, and tedious detail.

Oh, I'm aware he's on the religious right. I guess I don't have the kind of rarefied, refined woke sensibilities that would cause me to be disgusted by the concept of a religious fanatic having sex.

It doesn't say great things about someone's writing style when you find yourself skimming over entire paragraphs in an attempt to stave off naptime.

Stewart Lee's show was all about how he hated other comedians. He knows how misanthropic it makes him look and embraces it - Its become his thing hasn't it.

I quite liked the article too.

I don't get it
After life was great. There are too many extraneous words and sentences that are attempting half-marathons they are running so far in this article to make it enjoyable to read.

Exactly. It's a piss poor, confused article. And I say that as someone who usually likes his stuff, even though I roll my eyes at his kool aid idiocy.

I was a fan, going right back to the 90s, but now I just find him angry, sneering and bitter.

Also, what @Z0rr0 said.

I don't think Stewart Lee's humour comes across as well in print as it does in a live show. It's a bit of an in joke - if you know how he usually does things the column makes sense. If you didn't, you'd just be confused.

Aww, he’s really stung at the way he’s ended up in a woke comedy backwater, isn’t he?
Bet he had his eye on the Pat Postman part

He doesn’t like Gervais and Gervais probably doesn’t like him. I think some of his criticism of After Life 2 is valid. But they both share that type of brinkmanship, how-far-can-you-go, test-what-your-audience-is prepared-to-laugh-at, hand-grenade humour. It’s just that Stewart (like Frankie Boyle) can’t bring themselves to cross a line marked in the sand that allows them to deploy their humour on anyone who chooses to identify as the sex opposite to the one they were born.

The ONLY thing I can think that stops them from penetrating this invisible force-field is that Stewart and Frankie have tween/teenage children who are probably steeped in the milieu (Stewart would like me using that poncey word in a 6th form way rather like him quoting English war poets in his column ) of identity politics - their hands are tied. Gervais on the other hand is childless so doesn’t have any kids to moan or be upset about him picking on their beliefs and/or their trans/non- binary school mates.

Frankie's refusal to cross that line is so cowardly. I don't for a single second believe that he actually thinks TWAW.

I agree. But it's clear he doesn't like women very much and he'd rather court the woke crowd. It's quite pathetic.

I always find Ricky Gervais a bit hit and miss whereas Stewart Lee is definitely miss and miss. I often hear that the bitter, twisted thing is all part of his humour - maybe that is true but it really isn't funny and he keeps banging on with it.

frankie boyle, stewart lee, billy bragg probably have never given womens issues a thought in their lives- i think its such an interesting weakness in otherwise intelligent (presumably) creative left wing men.

Frankie Boyle is a complete coward.

He also hates women.

I agree with the PP who said that Lee's routines work much better on the stage than on the page. I've seen him live a few times and he's been hilarious, but the columns are really turgid. The humour just doesn't work. He does seem to have this ongoing schtick about hating Gervais (he has even claimed that Gervais stole his ideas) but while that's funny in a stand-up routine it just makes him look bitter when it's in a column.

If Frankie actually thought TWAW he would be a lot less considerate towards them.

I don't think Stewart Lee's humour comes across as well in print as it does in a live show.I don't think Stewart Lee's humour comes across as well in print as it does in a live show.

Completely agree. I like SL very much but even knowing the joke I don't think he's very funny in print.

Stand up and writing aren't the kind of skills where you can assume that if someone is good at one they'll be good at the other too.

aw stewart dont listen to them!

*If Frankie actually thought TWAW he would be a lot less considerate towards them.

So very true! Actually I wonder if Frankie would enter into a romantic relationship with a TW, or whether he's like that guy on Twitter who infamously posted that he thought trans women were women, "except for relationship purposes".