I think I'm Pretty Funny

Hey Chelsea, it's Chelsea.

(That was just in case no one reads this.)

So basically, this is going to be a blog that responds to comedy (television, film, stand-up performances, books, articles) from a feminist perspective.

My issue with feminism's relationship to comedy can basically be summarized by the following generalization: Comedy is often very sexist, but sometimes in an effort to be more gender inclusive it becomes hideously unfunny. I'm really sick of watching Judd Apatow movies and Swiffer commercials, but I'm also sick of watching 'Undressing Vanessa', the painfully awful comedic romp that also takes a serious look at women's bodies and how they are portrayed in the media (as far as I know, this is fictional.)

On the bright side a lot of good things are happening right now. 30 Rock is the greatest thing that ever happened to television, people like Wanda Sykes and Margaret Cho are popular, we're in a Recession (this isn't good news for everyone, but it's a comedy gold mine) and Tina Fey was apparently offered $5 million for a book she hasn't even written yet.

So in an effort to do something completely self-involved, I've decided to compile my thoughts about feminism and comedy and the love-hate relationship I have with both. I may throw in some homo stuff, which I can't help because I also happen to be a raging homo. I may throw in some of my own comic theory or links to stuff I find cool or, more likely, heinous.

Likes:
-Food
-Stand Up
-Making fun of improv
-Television
-Books
-Making lists
-Straddling the line
-AfterEllen.com
-Parenthesis
-Irony.

Dislikes:
-Obviously, the patriarchy
-People who don't like food
-Bad taste in clothes
-Tacky or cheesy manifestos
-Too much optimism
-A limited sense of humor
-Glass ceilings.

Influences (Mainly just people I admire, so this list is a bit all-over-the-place):
-Sarah Silverman
-Tina Fey
-Ellen Degeneres
-Wanda Sykes
-Jim Gaffigan
-Tig Notaro
-Jonathan Franzen
-Virginia Woolf
-Chekhov
-Mitch Hedberg.

I don't know why that list ended with everyone who's deceased, that's kind of a downer. Oh well. R.I.P. and good night.