Didn't Clear the Runway
(AKA Stuff No One Cares About)
As I sat down to my computer tonight, I was going to write an entry wagging my finger at David Cross for his attacks on Larry the Cable Guy and Larry's audience. However, as I am a big fan a David Cross and not so much of Larry, I decided to do some research first, to see where the whole conflict began. I think it was one of the wisest decisions I have made in some time.
The original article was going to be some tired nonsense about free speech and how Larry was just a hard-working guy playing to his audience who, for all their foibles, were as American as you and I and had the right to listen to whoever they desired. An overused point, perhaps, but still valid. After about five minutes of fact-checking, though, and I found that even this overused point was too good for Larry, or Dan Whitney, his actual name.
I must clear something up, however. Even before I embarked on my research, I did not find Larry the Cable Guy particularly humorous. I do, I admit, find Ron White, Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy somewhat funny--Blue Collar TV is a debacle, but I can stomach and even enjoy the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. It's not classy television by any means, but it has a kind of accessible quality to it that I can appreciate. Engvall frequently uses his family in his humor, not to make fun of them but to appreciate them through his humor. I have to respect that, especially when comedians like David Cross, as hilarious and talented as he is, often lack such a human, relatable quality and as such can make an audience not necessarily feel unwelcome, but perhaps isolated. Yes, the Blue Collar boys have catch phrases--one "Here's Your Sign" and their less-than-bright audience is in stitches, but more often than not the phrases are backed up by funny if not particularly insightful humor. Larry the Cable Guy, though, illicited little more than a chuckle out of me. Being a stand-up comedian can be difficult, so I'm often willing to give humor points just for having the guts to get up and perform, even for mediocre material. And Larry the Cable Guy is certainly mediocre material. But being a poor stand-up comedian is nothing to be ashamed of. Being ignorant and racist, however, is.
I don't know for a fact that Larry the Cable Guy is an ignorant racist. I don't know the man, I have never met him, and I know nothing of him outside of his routine. What I do know is that his routine lacks any depth and intelligence, and consists of little more than fart jokes, racist names and a catchphrase that, unlike his Blue Collar counterparts, has no substance behind it.
I bet you're wondering how I, someone who fancies himself an intellectual, could ever support such a performer. Again, as mediocre as I found him then and as ignorant as I see him now, he has a right to speak his mind in whatever forum he wishes. He knows how to play to his crowd, however ignorant *they* may be, and he is "Git-R-Done"ing all the way to the bank. Now, there are two ways to interpret this: either he is a brilliant entertainer who has his finger squarely on the pulse of the modern comedy scene, or he is cashing in on America's unfathomable obsession with a genre I can only define as "dick-and-fart" jokes. The worst case scenario is obviously the second one, but it is hardly an immoral offense. It may border on extortion, but knowing how to read your industry is simply the mark of a good entertainer. He's giving the people what the want, even if what they want is unhealthy for them. Cashing in on the fanaticism of fans he claims to love so much is not exactly behavior I would like to see imitated, but I don't know the man's motives. He is certainly a poster boy for Blue Collar success, so maybe he serves as a beacon of hope to the masses. I'm not judging him on any of this, because I can't see inside his head.
So, long story short, while I hardly considered Larry the Cable Guy a role model, he didn't seem like that bad of a person. I wouldn't have been surprised if Larry the Cable Guy was no more than a character adopted by a very talented actor to appeal to a very large audience, and that Dan Whitney, like Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy, had good family values and simply didn't want to retread the material of his compatriots.
This is where my opinion of Larry stood until earlier this evening. You'll have to forgive me for my inconsistency, but I'm now going to go back a few months to when I first became aware of this conflict between Larry and David Cross. Entertainment Weekly, in it's October 28, 2005 issue ran a small interview with Larry discussing his recently published book. In it, Larry devoted one whole chapter rebutting an interview given by David Cross in Rolling Stone. In it, David Cross declared that (paraphrased) Larry's humor was anti-gay and racist and that he was banking on the "stage of vague American values and anti-intellectual pride". Now, from what I had heard of Larry's humor, he used the word "queer" and "nigger" a few times, but it seemed no worse than most edgy comedians. I thought David Cross was just taking things grossly out of proportion because Larry didn't share what David considered to be a proper set of values. I was a bit perplexed, because David Cross was someone who was too intelligent to get into such petty squabbles, especially with someone who was in a similar craft. But I thought little of it, just storing it away as something to keep an eye one the next time I saw David Cross or Larry the Cable Guy.
Fast forward to Sunday evening--Comedy Central's Last Laugh 2005. David Cross was one of the scheduled performers, and by this time I had forgotten about the article and was simply excited to see some David Cross stand-up. As he took the stage, however, he said, "Git-R-Done. Git-R-Done." He did his routine, making a very smarmy (or so I thought at the time. Now I find it quite humorous. Funny what your opinion of someone does to how you view their body of work.) joke about gay marriage, and as he left, he said "Git-R-Done. Seriously, Git-R-Done." Aloud, I uttered a "Fuck you". I thought this was a very low blow on the part of David Cross, dragging his beef with another entertainer into a public setting that had nothing to do with any part of the argument between himself and Larry. That incident is actually what inspired me to write this entry, which brings me to about fifteen minutes into my original entry.
Just to recap--I apologize if I've bored or frightened off any of you with my lengthy entry--my current opinion of Larry vs. David was that Larry was just a guy trying to make an honest buck doing a little comedy and David Cross was looking down on him because Larry was a right-wing Southerner. Not wanting to embark on such a topic without doing a little research first--I've been known to make an ass of myself in these things--I did a Google search for "David Cross Larry the Cable Guy" (yes, it's bad grammar. It's a Google search.) and I found the following article: http://bobanddavid.com/david.asp. I highly suggest reading this article, provided your brain hasn't burned out by now (or even if it has--the article may prove to be revitalizing after my drivel).
(Reading break)
After reading this, I realized that I had not yet heard David's side of the story when I originally set out to write this entry. The article, fortunately, made his side crystal clear. It was well-written, funny, made good arguments, and without sounding condescending, refuted every argument which Larry the Cable Guy had made against him. At this point, meaning right now as you are reading this entry, I have no choice but to side with David Cross.
Now, I do not know for absolutely sure that Larry the Cable Guy is a racist. David's examples from Larry's material would lead me to believe so, but I'd like to actually see some of Larry's material so that I may judge for myself. Until then though, Mr. Whitney, enjoy your stay at the top, because you do not belong there. I can only hope that cooler, more intelligent heads will prevail and your reign of ignorant humor will be short-lived and be little more than a brief irregularity in the America's pop culture scene.
A few closing remarks: David Cross is not blameless. He did draw first blood with the Rolling Stone interview (though the magazine did take him somewhat out of context), and the stunt on Last Laugh was highly uncalled for. No one found it amusing, Mr. Cross. Take the high road, sir. Also, David Cross put Larry in the same category as Dane Cook as fan ass-kissers. There is nothing wrong with appreciating your audience. Without an audience, no comedian would be successful. Dane and Larry know how to please their audience, and as lacking in integrity as that may be, they can play entertainment game. Also, you can't play to an audience without building one in the first place. Both of these entertainers created a following the old-fashioned way: good comedy. Yes, Larry has descended into racism and redneck and Dane into bits that seem inspired by a little more than a pot-filled evening, but their roots are honest. Don't criticize them for loving their fans (even if they do it a bit too much), and don't criticize them for riding their wave of popularity and enjoying the ride. And don't put Dane Cook into any category with Larry. "Frat boys" (a label he applied to Dane Cook) and rednecks may have similar intellectual levels, but Dane Cook is not racist by any means. He may be somewhat crude, but he has respect for his fellow man. When all is said and done, however, David Cross' remarks about Dan Whitney a.k.a. Larry the Cable Guy seem dead-on accurate, and I wish Mr. Cross luck (not that he needs it) with his comedy career.
Thank you guys for sticking with me. I hope I didn't bore you too bad, I know I entered into some very tedious territory, but I'd much rather write entries like these than my personal life. Both are pretty boring, but at least with these I feel like I said something of some merit. Let me know what you think, I want to start writing once a week (knocks on wood), but I don't know if that's going to be possible with my hectic upcoming semester. Anyways, thank you again, any comments would be appreciated, and have a Happy Holidays everyone!
As I sat down to my computer tonight, I was going to write an entry wagging my finger at David Cross for his attacks on Larry the Cable Guy and Larry's audience. However, as I am a big fan a David Cross and not so much of Larry, I decided to do some research first, to see where the whole conflict began. I think it was one of the wisest decisions I have made in some time.
The original article was going to be some tired nonsense about free speech and how Larry was just a hard-working guy playing to his audience who, for all their foibles, were as American as you and I and had the right to listen to whoever they desired. An overused point, perhaps, but still valid. After about five minutes of fact-checking, though, and I found that even this overused point was too good for Larry, or Dan Whitney, his actual name.
I must clear something up, however. Even before I embarked on my research, I did not find Larry the Cable Guy particularly humorous. I do, I admit, find Ron White, Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy somewhat funny--Blue Collar TV is a debacle, but I can stomach and even enjoy the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. It's not classy television by any means, but it has a kind of accessible quality to it that I can appreciate. Engvall frequently uses his family in his humor, not to make fun of them but to appreciate them through his humor. I have to respect that, especially when comedians like David Cross, as hilarious and talented as he is, often lack such a human, relatable quality and as such can make an audience not necessarily feel unwelcome, but perhaps isolated. Yes, the Blue Collar boys have catch phrases--one "Here's Your Sign" and their less-than-bright audience is in stitches, but more often than not the phrases are backed up by funny if not particularly insightful humor. Larry the Cable Guy, though, illicited little more than a chuckle out of me. Being a stand-up comedian can be difficult, so I'm often willing to give humor points just for having the guts to get up and perform, even for mediocre material. And Larry the Cable Guy is certainly mediocre material. But being a poor stand-up comedian is nothing to be ashamed of. Being ignorant and racist, however, is.
I don't know for a fact that Larry the Cable Guy is an ignorant racist. I don't know the man, I have never met him, and I know nothing of him outside of his routine. What I do know is that his routine lacks any depth and intelligence, and consists of little more than fart jokes, racist names and a catchphrase that, unlike his Blue Collar counterparts, has no substance behind it.
I bet you're wondering how I, someone who fancies himself an intellectual, could ever support such a performer. Again, as mediocre as I found him then and as ignorant as I see him now, he has a right to speak his mind in whatever forum he wishes. He knows how to play to his crowd, however ignorant *they* may be, and he is "Git-R-Done"ing all the way to the bank. Now, there are two ways to interpret this: either he is a brilliant entertainer who has his finger squarely on the pulse of the modern comedy scene, or he is cashing in on America's unfathomable obsession with a genre I can only define as "dick-and-fart" jokes. The worst case scenario is obviously the second one, but it is hardly an immoral offense. It may border on extortion, but knowing how to read your industry is simply the mark of a good entertainer. He's giving the people what the want, even if what they want is unhealthy for them. Cashing in on the fanaticism of fans he claims to love so much is not exactly behavior I would like to see imitated, but I don't know the man's motives. He is certainly a poster boy for Blue Collar success, so maybe he serves as a beacon of hope to the masses. I'm not judging him on any of this, because I can't see inside his head.
So, long story short, while I hardly considered Larry the Cable Guy a role model, he didn't seem like that bad of a person. I wouldn't have been surprised if Larry the Cable Guy was no more than a character adopted by a very talented actor to appeal to a very large audience, and that Dan Whitney, like Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy, had good family values and simply didn't want to retread the material of his compatriots.
This is where my opinion of Larry stood until earlier this evening. You'll have to forgive me for my inconsistency, but I'm now going to go back a few months to when I first became aware of this conflict between Larry and David Cross. Entertainment Weekly, in it's October 28, 2005 issue ran a small interview with Larry discussing his recently published book. In it, Larry devoted one whole chapter rebutting an interview given by David Cross in Rolling Stone. In it, David Cross declared that (paraphrased) Larry's humor was anti-gay and racist and that he was banking on the "stage of vague American values and anti-intellectual pride". Now, from what I had heard of Larry's humor, he used the word "queer" and "nigger" a few times, but it seemed no worse than most edgy comedians. I thought David Cross was just taking things grossly out of proportion because Larry didn't share what David considered to be a proper set of values. I was a bit perplexed, because David Cross was someone who was too intelligent to get into such petty squabbles, especially with someone who was in a similar craft. But I thought little of it, just storing it away as something to keep an eye one the next time I saw David Cross or Larry the Cable Guy.
Fast forward to Sunday evening--Comedy Central's Last Laugh 2005. David Cross was one of the scheduled performers, and by this time I had forgotten about the article and was simply excited to see some David Cross stand-up. As he took the stage, however, he said, "Git-R-Done. Git-R-Done." He did his routine, making a very smarmy (or so I thought at the time. Now I find it quite humorous. Funny what your opinion of someone does to how you view their body of work.) joke about gay marriage, and as he left, he said "Git-R-Done. Seriously, Git-R-Done." Aloud, I uttered a "Fuck you". I thought this was a very low blow on the part of David Cross, dragging his beef with another entertainer into a public setting that had nothing to do with any part of the argument between himself and Larry. That incident is actually what inspired me to write this entry, which brings me to about fifteen minutes into my original entry.
Just to recap--I apologize if I've bored or frightened off any of you with my lengthy entry--my current opinion of Larry vs. David was that Larry was just a guy trying to make an honest buck doing a little comedy and David Cross was looking down on him because Larry was a right-wing Southerner. Not wanting to embark on such a topic without doing a little research first--I've been known to make an ass of myself in these things--I did a Google search for "David Cross Larry the Cable Guy" (yes, it's bad grammar. It's a Google search.) and I found the following article: http://bobanddavid.com/david.asp. I highly suggest reading this article, provided your brain hasn't burned out by now (or even if it has--the article may prove to be revitalizing after my drivel).
(Reading break)
After reading this, I realized that I had not yet heard David's side of the story when I originally set out to write this entry. The article, fortunately, made his side crystal clear. It was well-written, funny, made good arguments, and without sounding condescending, refuted every argument which Larry the Cable Guy had made against him. At this point, meaning right now as you are reading this entry, I have no choice but to side with David Cross.
Now, I do not know for absolutely sure that Larry the Cable Guy is a racist. David's examples from Larry's material would lead me to believe so, but I'd like to actually see some of Larry's material so that I may judge for myself. Until then though, Mr. Whitney, enjoy your stay at the top, because you do not belong there. I can only hope that cooler, more intelligent heads will prevail and your reign of ignorant humor will be short-lived and be little more than a brief irregularity in the America's pop culture scene.
A few closing remarks: David Cross is not blameless. He did draw first blood with the Rolling Stone interview (though the magazine did take him somewhat out of context), and the stunt on Last Laugh was highly uncalled for. No one found it amusing, Mr. Cross. Take the high road, sir. Also, David Cross put Larry in the same category as Dane Cook as fan ass-kissers. There is nothing wrong with appreciating your audience. Without an audience, no comedian would be successful. Dane and Larry know how to please their audience, and as lacking in integrity as that may be, they can play entertainment game. Also, you can't play to an audience without building one in the first place. Both of these entertainers created a following the old-fashioned way: good comedy. Yes, Larry has descended into racism and redneck and Dane into bits that seem inspired by a little more than a pot-filled evening, but their roots are honest. Don't criticize them for loving their fans (even if they do it a bit too much), and don't criticize them for riding their wave of popularity and enjoying the ride. And don't put Dane Cook into any category with Larry. "Frat boys" (a label he applied to Dane Cook) and rednecks may have similar intellectual levels, but Dane Cook is not racist by any means. He may be somewhat crude, but he has respect for his fellow man. When all is said and done, however, David Cross' remarks about Dan Whitney a.k.a. Larry the Cable Guy seem dead-on accurate, and I wish Mr. Cross luck (not that he needs it) with his comedy career.
Thank you guys for sticking with me. I hope I didn't bore you too bad, I know I entered into some very tedious territory, but I'd much rather write entries like these than my personal life. Both are pretty boring, but at least with these I feel like I said something of some merit. Let me know what you think, I want to start writing once a week (knocks on wood), but I don't know if that's going to be possible with my hectic upcoming semester. Anyways, thank you again, any comments would be appreciated, and have a Happy Holidays everyone!