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Ultimately, I think comedy is about timing, likability and instincts. Of course, there's more to the list. But I don't have all day. My question specifically falls into the instincts category.

A comedian friend of mine and I are always debating the infamous "Dat Phan" conundrum. Phan, btw, was the first winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing. Phan was a very likable guy and relatively funny. But he was a 1-trick pony. His entire sets revolved around the obvious -- his heritage. Fine. But how much is too much?

Obviously, Dat Phan's "schtick" was too much. But does that mean we should go to the other extreme? That is, nary mention heritage/identity at all? My comedian friend is biracial. He think he shouldn't refer it at all. Since he's fairly ambiguous looking. Maybe he shouldn't say anything -- perhaps thats good instinct.

But if you're an Austrailian aborigine, wouldn't it be foolish to disregard it? If an 800 pound man got onstage, shouldn't he at least acknowledge the obvious? My bud says he'd rather be known as a funny comedian rather than an aborigine comedian. I say thats cool, but at least mention it. What say ye?

mojones,

Personally, I never like Dat Phan's personality, and I thought his jokes fell flat. It seems like he was trying to invoke the Margeret Cho style accent of his parents, but didn't manage to inject the funny in there.

The material he uses is a poor choice for his *entire* set. It's all well and good to talk about your heritage, but if you do, make sure it's something new that we all haven't heard a million times. Yes, we understand foreigners talk funny...

There's a difference between telling about who *you* are as opposed to perpetuating the stereotype. I'm down with comics telling stories about their lives, and that makes it a more personable experience and you come away feeling like you know who they were.

This goes along with all ethnicities who decide to make it to the stand up world. You hear mexicans, asians, black, etc. comics do the same trite stuff that you've heard a million times, but once in a while you'll hear something novel. It's easier to be, like you said, aborigine, because no one knows the stereotypes and you could go off the wall... so it's really a matter of what we've heard a million times...

But despite the asian jokes, Dat Phan really isn't funny.

He's on my comedy shit list, him and Dane Cook. Forever and ever. Amen.

Jane

jane_haze,

I'm not a fan of Phan. But I see his act as more one of desperation. He's ill-suited for the industry to be sure. But he's never been arrogant about it. Nobody will ever accuse Dat Phan of hubris. So I can tolerate him even if I'm not crazy about his schtick. I've talked about Dane Cook before. I won't belabor the point here.

I think you're on to something. Identity versus Hackism.

mojones,

Identity versus Hackism is a brilliant phrase! That's probably the chief conflict of many comics. It seems, if you can get to the core of who you are, the stronger and more unique of a comic you'll become.

That's probably one of the biggest introspective adventures a comic can take-- finding one's Self and finding a way to show that on stage in a funny manner. Even if you're not as funny, I'd rather see a true person throwing down then a so-called hilarious hack...