STANDING UP, PUSHING BACK
Q & A with comic Hari Kondabolu
Brooklyn-based Hari Kondabolu has been doing comedy since the early 2000s. He’s been on every late night talk show, and last year, he opened for Chris Rock on his monster world tour.
His comedy albums have earned critical praise and the New York Times called him one of today’s most exciting political comics. But all those accolades and accomplishments aside, Kondabolu got the most attention and name recognition when he called out The Simpsons for the character Apu in his documentary, The Problem with Apu.
The film, which challenged the animated show’s goofy accented, stereotypical caricature of South Asians, aired on TruTV last fall and has been talked about ever since.
The Simpsons finally responded to the documentary in an April 8 episode. The show played the comedy-shouldn’t-be-stifledby-political-correctness card.
Kondabolu responded to that explanation in a recent Postmedia story. He said in part: “It’s beneath what I thought the show was. I feel like it’s a much more clever show than what the episode indicates.”
Q: Is political correctness harmful to comedy?
A: No one is saying you can’t say something. What they are saying is, if you say something, there is going to be push back because that’s what good art does. So if you’re afraid of push back and anger, and you don’t want to deal with it, then what kind of artist are you? Say it regardless, unless you don’t mean it, and then you’re a coward. That’s what bothers me more than anything. You came off as tough when you were getting all these audience members to groan at the stuff you’d say, and now all of a sudden, you’re getting push back and that’s when you back off ? No, that’s when you’re either supposed to push harder the other way, or rethink and figure out
what is it I don’t get. You have two moves, but whining in the middle, no.
Q: The Simpsons and Apu issue, aside from racism in America, is a prominent part of your standup.
A: (I talk about it) in terms of racism in this country and how it has worked globally and historically. I do talk about colonialism a bit too. I find all that stuff fascinating. It’s this maze. It’s this puzzle. I don’t understand it. I don’t know how to solve it, it’s so irrational, and for me, I feel that’s going to be a topic of my work, unfortunately, for a lot longer.
Q: So you don’t see things getting better? Changing ?
A: I feel like racism and oppression in general mutates. It doesn’t look the way it looks, but there are still certain things in place. You see that in terms of how class has worked over the history of capitalism. You see how race and gender and gay and trans discrimination looks different, and people say the right things now, but that doesn’t change the fact of who has access and power and who doesn’t. That’s still fairly consistent. They just might not say something to your face now, or they know what not to display, but behind closed doors it’s still straight white men who do most of the shaking of hands and exchanging of money.
Q: How have things changed for you personally during your career?
A: I feel that my work has got more accepted and understood in recent years. That’s partly because my work has been out there more than it ever has been, but also I think there is a whole generation that grew up with the internet. They grew up hearing other people’s perspectives. They aren’t awaiting change, but are creating it. I think, as an artist, that pushes towards those things and discusses those kinds of things I think there’s an audience that not only understands it, but is hungry for it. That’s new and that’s not just me. I think that’s any artist that has a lot to say and isn’t afraid to share it. There’s an audience for it now.
Q: Who is your audience?
A: A lot of them are younger. I find that remarkable. I just assumed my demographic would get older with me. Everybody would be in their 30s. I look into the crowd and it’s really split up. There are people who have seen me since they were in their 20s and there are also high school and college kids who show up. That’s a good sign for me. That means I’m keeping up and I’m relevant, but it also says that the gatekeepers are different. They don’t control what kids are going to watch. They’re going to watch what they’re going to watch. They are going to find it.
Q: While there is all this great access to information, how do you feel about your content getting posted on the internet?
A: I get frustrated. You know we do the best we can to write as much as we can, but I don’t think people see it as a process. They put it up there and say ‘well, something else will magically appear.’ It’s not like songs. With songs, you want to hear the same songs over and over again. With jokes, it doesn’t work that way, and also things are taken out of context sometimes. When you see the full hour, things make sense. It’s like movies like American History X. I love that film. There are very violent scenes that depict Nazis and racism, but in the context of the film you understand why they are there. But when you put those scenes up on YouTube, which I have seen, often white supremacists do it, but all the context is gone. All the meaning is gone and that’s the risk of our clip culture ... When people tape something on their phone and post it, I feel they’re doing the artist a disservice. They are doing the art a disservice. I feel that’s why things are created. You’re not supposed to see a glimpse. That’s why it’s beautiful. That’s why someone created a full vision.
Q: What about the actual act of filming a show on your phone and not really watching the show?
A: Who wants to see something through another person’s lens when you have your own? You’re immediately making yourself a passive part of this memory instead of really taking it in. And also, I’ve had shows I feel they’re not my best work, and then all of a sudden I will see a picture from the show and the person says ‘that was the best Hari Kondabolu show ever.’ I’m like, no it wasn’t. You know it wasn’t. I know it wasn’t, but you want your friends to know they missed out. There’s something so upsetting about that.
Q: What is it like working with your younger brother Ashok on the Kondabolu Brothers podcast?
A: That is part of the dynamic certainly — older brother, younger brother. One who takes on responsibility, the other who is definitely more mischievous, for lack of a better word, has taken a different path. I am certainly more conventional in a lot of ways. It’s one of those situations where I get to be the straight one. The one who isn’t having to make the joke constantly. He’s really the one to watch. My job is to create some kind of structure, and I think for me, that’s really fun. It’s fun to be able to be in a position where I’m actually creating space for someone else ... There are many times when I’m part of the audience.”
Q : How do you decide on podcast topics?
A: We have a brief discussion before. I list things, he list things. Whatever pops into our heads. Then if we both say ‘yeah I’ve got something for that,’ then we keep it. We don’t know what each other is going to say ... If we script it, it’s not going to be as good. It has to be a real conversation between brothers. If it’s too show biz, he’s not going to be his best self. I need him to just be on his toes.
Q: The podcast is 12 episodes and can be found on Earwolf. As listeners, can we just drop into the podcast? Does the material stand up to time?
A: That’s the tricky part. People are used to listening to podcasts with topicality, but we’re asking them to buy into a relationship over buying into simply topics. The topics or ideas are there, but we’re talking about big things like relationships, family and death and environment — these big scary concepts which makes them evergreen, and at the same time, the relationship is evergreen and relatable.
Q: I’m sorry but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Donald Trump. So what about Trump?
A: I’ve been trying to avoid the Trump stuff. I’ve said it before, but CNN has become Comedy Central at this point. How much more can you add to the absurdity? I was never big on the Beltway politics aspect of politics. I like bigger issues. I like the evergreen things that have lasted throughout time and that have re-shaped or continue storylines in our world.