Thin line between comedy, hate . . . this aint funny Carl!
That Carl Joshua Ncube is a hardworking and enterprising multimedia practitioner is not a secret. He is a jack of all trades, but one whose mastery we all are still at pains to discover.
Bjabs and rants on Andy Muridzo pose a threat to his decorated arts legacy which needs quick restoration. Andy Muridzo poured his heart out on what he perceived as unfair treatment he is subjected to at his camp Military Touch Movement (MTM) camp. Andy is a man in pain and feels he was given a raw deal and the promises in his contract with the Jah Prayzah (mis)led MTM have not been fulfilled. Carl poured scorn on the youthful musician. Carl Joshua Ncube (CJN’s as I call him) Facebook rants (littered with hate speech) compel one to assert that he is not a master of comedy whatsoever. The man wears many caps. He is a designer, animator, video director, chef ,anti-piracy champion and lately comedian. Oh and apparently a hotelier. He is also a bum, pledging he can live off the grid on a minimalist budget. What brings his comedy skills and talent (or lack thereof) questionable is his seemingly personal ‘‘wars’’ against certain personalities.
His recent cyber bulling of Andy Muridzo exposes CJN. There is a thin line between comedy and petty hate between a (very) grown (greying) man and a duped young man who deserves sympathy.
Andy Muridzo is a ‘‘victim’’ in the whole Military Touch Movement set up and CJN must have empathised with the young man rather than get too personal with him as his ‘‘jokes’’insinuates.
CJN accuses Muridzo of being a cry baby who is dissing his master and role model.
Said CJN: ‘‘Andy is a photocopy who is pissed by the photo copier.’’ This was clear cyberbullying and CJN took advantage of his social media clout to bully Muridzo.
It brings his comedy skills under the microscope.
He set such precedence in his almost similar ‘‘war’’ with businessman Wicknell Chivayo. As a level headed comedian, he must learn the art of balancing ration and emotion in his jokes to his subjects.
Trevor Noah takes a dig at celebrities and politicians in his comedy scripts but never at a point has he displayed any tincture of a personal war. It all ends in a laugh !!!! . Back home we have comedians like Doc Vikela, Clive Chigubhu and Q The Boss among others. They draw the line in their jokes.
For instance ,Clive Chigubhu is a funny man not a bitter man. That is why he is a darling comedian while Carl, talented as he is, now comes across as a bitter person who should ride on the same bus as Didymus Mutasa and Jonathan Moyo.
It is because of such, that Clive is now ten miles and a furlong ahead of Carl, while Carl should be ahead as a pioneer of the discipline in Zimbabwe.
Of course CJN has poetic licence as an artist but the ‘‘petty hate’’ in his Facebook rants on Muridzo are reminiscent of the Cold War where the tension in the air ‘‘was so thick that you could cut it with a knife’’.
His words aimed at Muridzo were so ridden with ‘‘shade’’ that one could physically feel it.
Yes, Andy was gullible to put pen to paper on that MTM deal but comedians must not display petty hate.
‘‘Andy Muridzo is such a douche . . .’’ wrote Carl.
That is not laughable, hate speech is never laughable. The audience must laugh at the jokes that aims on socialites .I digress. CJN's best joke was when he ‘‘attacked’’ Oliver Mtukudzi. He said in vernacular: “Handisati ndambotorwa picture naTuku and Tuku assumed CJN wanted a selfie. He (CJN) then asked Tuku to take a picture OF him! That was comedy. But the Andy jibes are not a laughing matter. Constructive criticism is what builds artistes but in this case , CJN’s criticism was bordered on petty hate.
Not to mention that many people on the webosphere also found the rants by Carl as being riddled with hate, jealousy and perhaps everything that comes with a midlife crisis for someone who has tried everything except playing god and not really reaped much from it.
There is definitely a thin line between comedy and hate and CJN must learn to love people more as his middle name (Tinodavanhu) suggests!