The right people from the wrong provider. But without a streaming channel, there’s no big stage. It’s networked.
Photo: Netflix
When Dave Chappelle’s special “The Closer” appeared on Netflix in 2021, there was a lot going on. On the one hand, the American comedian was very successful, but on the other hand, it attracted a lot of criticism and even protests from Netflix employees. The reason: It was very bad. No, unfortunately that wasn’t the only reason, even if it’s true. The thing was full of (bad) jokes about trans people.
It has now become a common tool used by people who want to maintain patriarchal relationships at all costs: They feed the myth that being queer and trans is mainstream and that they are (now?) the minority. Of course, any person who spends even five minutes a day in the real world knows that this is infinitely far from the truth, and no statistics in the world support this claim. Only people who have entrenched themselves in oblivion and follow a few right-wing meme pages on the Internet could come up with this idea, such as Chappelle and his comedy brother Louis C. K., for whom the jokes have now completely given way to stickiness. So these guys are now saying what is no longer allowed to be said on what is now the biggest stage for stand-ups there is (Netflix).
Other people then criticize it – and criticism, as we’ve been learning from these drama kings for years, is basically like prison. And other people don’t just criticize – no, they want to be on stages themselves, want to talk about the realities of their lives. They want to defend themselves against having their identities and existences questioned or directly denied. Because there is a difference between being criticized for a few bad jokes and being attacked, threatened or, yes, even killed, simply for being who you are. Something that unfortunately actually happens to trans people – or as one of the demonstrating Netflix employees said during the protests: “Trans lives are not a joke.”
The fact that trans people are not unfunny because of this, that their lives are of course full of humor, needs no proof. But you can currently see it again – thanks to the special “Gender Agenda”, which Hannah Gadsby (the breakthrough came in 2018 with the special “Nanette”) curated and moderated. Gadsby doesn’t even seem particularly proud of it, no, rather cynical, sad and insecure. The reason: Gadsby actually didn’t want to have anything to do with this whole Chappelle-Netflix diversity discussion, but was simply dragged into it by CEO Ted Sarandos. He mentioned Gadsby’s name to prove to the critics that Netflix is completely diverse.
Gadsby is still angry about it today and doesn’t want to be a fig leaf. This led to this clever move: At “Gender Agenda” seven young queer and/or trans people were brought together, namely: Mx. Dahlia Belle, Jes Tom, Asha Ward, DeAnne Smith, Chloe Petts, Krishna Istha and ALOK. So instead of contributing another solo special, Gadsby divides the stage, fans out, and refuses to continue being the only diversity testimonial. Gadsby knows that one person could never represent such a large group, shows that the community is actually communities – and often just individuals, even lonely ones – and certainly not what Chapelle and company want to project into them. This is how everyone could do it: share stages, represent different realities, celebrate diversity. But some people don’t want anything other than to preserve an old, rigid world.
“Last time Netflix brought this many trans people together was for a protest,” jokes Gadsby, introducing an hour full of original jokes from a variety of young people who joke about hormones, bodies, the hate they experience, dating, origins, drugs, whatever is their reality.
But it’s not revenge, it’s far too wholesome, self-confident and almost never cynical. This potpourri of funny people is as diverse as the comedy basements in any major city these days. Everything normal, everything beautiful, everything funny, everything good? The whole thing has a flavor to it, and after the numbers of the last few years, this special feels a bit like a pact with the devil.
Gadsby knows this himself and therefore only seems half-convinced during the interim moderations. Of course, this is all win-win for Netflix. Spectators are being captured on all sides and money is being made from them. The criticism of the company is simply capitalized by giving the harshest critics a platform – without dropping or reprimanding the conservative Heinis. Everything runs parallel, it inspires each other. Everyone wants to know what crazy things the other side has said. Reactionary, progressive, don’t give a shit.
“Gender Agenda” is perhaps a kind of band aid, yes, and also satisfaction – but beyond that it is also great comedy. Under the YouTube trailers for the special, right-wing, misogynistic and trans-hating idiots are foaming with anger, even though it has become rather harmless – often conservatives were not even addressed (they probably didn’t watch it anyway, just the existence of these people is disturbing them yes).
There’s obviously still a long way to go and maybe we need to stop trying to take people who don’t want to be taken along anyway. “It won’t fix it, it’s not enough,” says Gadsby. But also: “We need content too.” One would like to add: We should definitely want to be more than just content for large corporations.
Available on Netflix.
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