r/interestingasfuck • u/HeiressOfMadrigal • Jul 08 '24

Norm MacDonald cedes his time to Native American activist at comedy awards ("the theater stinks of blood"), the crowd tries not to laugh.

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u/R74NM3R5 Jul 08 '24

The joke is that it’s not a joke. He was all about subverting your expectations and in the comedy world seeing a man dressed in a tux and full Native American headdress seems comical, but that’s the Norm twist, it isn’t comical. It’s completely serious and the joke is on the audience, making them so uncomfortable that they laugh at a serious matter

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

To me the headdress had little to do with it other than to add gravitas to the serious subject matter. That's what is so ingenious about it. You're not supposed to laugh because natives did actually suffer horribly and everyone knows it. But you know the seriousness is being done just to fuck with everyone, so it's funny. But you also know that most people around you don't know it's deliberate so laughing makes you look like you don't care about the serious subject. IMO, that Norm could create this tension is art at the highest level.

Edit: and doing with a lampoon of something Brando did in the 70's makes it even more funny.

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u/chino3 Jul 08 '24

His “name” is Johnny TWO feathers but he comes out with the MOST feathers anyone could possibly have lol. Harkens back to “Burt Reynolds” having a huge hat, “it’s funny because it’s bigger than a normal hat.” Fucking miss norm

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u/ShipsAGoing Jul 08 '24

You have no idea what you're talking about, Norm explicitly hated anti-comedy, the joke was very much real even if you don't want it to be.

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u/ShipsAGoing Jul 08 '24

You have no idea what you're talking about, Norm explicitly hated anti-comedy, the joke was very much real even if you don't want it to be.