The mainstream media has sided with Cancel Culture, and there’s an easy way to tell.
Most media outlets put the term in quotation marks, suggesting that Cancel Culture is not real. Or, they’d preface the phrase with “so-called,” also implying that it’s a figment of Trump’s America imagination.
We know this is false, and examples bombard us across the cultural landscape on a weekly basis. Plus, poll after poll shows that Americans are afraid to speak their minds for fear of repercussions.
And when comedians clash with the smart crowd, the reporters’ tone suggests they shouldn’t have spoken in the first place.
So when someone speaks the truth about Cancel Culture, we pay attention because we understand the threat it poses to art and culture in general. And the press, biased as it is in the 21st century, is bound to share those truths.
These clicks matter more to them.
We saw an early example of this in 2015. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, beloved for his raw material, went viral when he shared why he no longer plays college gigs.
“I don’t play in colleges, but I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges. They’re very PC’.”
Jerry Seinfeld
Seinfeld added that today’s college students call anything racist or sexist without knowing “what the hell they’re talking about.”
If only Seinfeld knew where the smart mind virus would go, to paraphrase Elon Musk, in the coming years.
Now, it’s Marlon Wayans turn to go viral.
Wayans, part of the extended Wayans comedy clan, spoke with Buzzfeed about his new Netflix project, “The Curse of Bridge Hollow.” The family-friendly film is a departure, however, for Wayans. His earlier work, particularly the race comedy The White Birds, is more in line with his comedic sensibilities.
That film found him donning whiteface as part of the comic genie. The film was shown during the Buzzfeed chat, allowing Wayans to weigh in on why comedy still matters today.
I don’t know what planet we’re on where you think people don’t need to laugh and that people should be censored and canceled. If a joke is going to undo me, thank you for doing me that favor. It’s sad that society is in this place where we can’t laugh anymore. I’m not listening to this damn generation. I’m not listening to these people: These scared people, these scared leaders. Will you all do what you want to do? Big. I’ll still tell my jokes the way I tell them. And if you want to make money, jump on board. And if not, then I will find a way to do it myself.
Marlon Wayans
The story aired on October 21st, but slowly other outlets began to pick up those particular quotes. Now, a Google search on Wayans and Cancel Culture brings up a plethora of stories, from small blogs to major news organizations like Variety.
Why would news outlets turn to a three-day story?
Wayans expressed what many are thinking but are too afraid to say. When did we become so collectively fragile that we can’t take a joke, especially when there’s no malicious intent behind it?
Tell that to Amy Schumer, who got roasted for her 2016 comedy Snatched because the film’s villains were black people. The film takes place in a Latin American country, which makes it harder to turn the bad guys into straight, white, woke-approved men.
Wayans isn’t the only comic tackling Cancel Culture. Previous anti-awakening stars like Joe Rogan, Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, John Cleese, Rob Schneider and Bill Burr have addressed the issue directly.
It’s important to note that most of those comic voices are either liberal or center-left.
What Wayans did, however, is take it a step further with his Cancel Culture critique. That’s why the story caught fire online, and why he might be pushed to address the subject head-on in the best possible way. Make a new film that captures the spirit of The White Birds for an audience ready to laugh again.
