God, I hate Lisa Lampaneli- Page 6

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 5:44pm

Jeeze.

That's one long sentence.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 5:51pm

Namo, I use language in an attempt to be precise. I don't think anybody here is in the least impressed, no more so than when I use the same vocabulary in everyday speech. (But is that REALLY your primary complaint against me, that my discourse is too elevated for the BWW crowd?! 'Cause I can't imagine such a claim is appreciated by our colleagues on this board.)

If I misuse a word or words (entirely possible), please feel free to correct me.

***

I know you were making a joke and it was funny, SNAFU, but I did NOT mean to say that calling one's words "satire" was a defense to all kinds of speech. But satire does serve a purpose in deflating speech, ideas and actions that threaten us.

There's a great song from WWII, sung by Yiddish vaudeville entertainers and entitled "We'll Hang Our Laundry on the Siegfried Line". Perhaps you know it. For those who don't, the Siegfried Line referred to Germany's miles of concrete bunkers defending its border with France.

By reducing a "line of fortifications" to a "clothesline", the song helped to deflate the feeling of doom inspired by powerful German defenses. Allied casualties were still high, but morale was aided by the satire--at least according to Freudian theory.





Updated On: 3/24/13 at 05:51 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 5:55pm

Jeeze.

That's one long sentence.

Diva, at least three of us might plead guilty to that charge. I'll confess first. LOL.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 6:51pm

Meanwhile, back in the here and now, Lisa Lampanelli wanted to be "one of the greats," but Andrew Dice Clay was never one of them, and she's sub-Andrew Dice Clay. A good rule of thumb when picking a career path might be, don't base it on stridently saying things you don't believe over and over. I love in the clip when she tells the onstage staff, "This is like an episode of the Jerry Springer Show.' Well, yeah. You get what you give, Lisa. Except in this situation there is no Jerry Springer, just trashy behavior from the one person who is supposed to be in control of the theatrical event. I wonder if producers are reconsidering.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 7:30pm

"eeze.

That's one long sentence."

I appreciate you for reading it! Or even if you just scanned the lines looking for a period I appreciate that too!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 7:52pm

From the Northeastern University student paper a few years back, Eric. It's easy to see how the phenomenon you describe -- people laughing out of gratitude for her not noticing them -- could happen:

In a search for all the black audience members, Lampanelli, who is well-known for her love of black men, thought she had found an ideal candidate, until she realized something was off.

“Is he a black or a ‘spic with a tan?” she asked in her thick New York accent.

The student, in fact, was Colombian, which prompted Lampanelli to say Colombians are “the saddest and laziest of all the ‘spics.”

She warned him not to “fart,” because the lucky girl sitting directly behind him would fall victim to the illegal drug trade by instantly becoming high.

After a brief search through a sea of white audience members, Lampanelli found someone else to make fun of: a black girl named Victoria who said she wanted to be a doctor. Lampanelli said she had a vision of Victoria in the future, sitting in a hospital room with an old white man on his deathbed.

“Do it, Victoria,” she said as she made a motion of pulling a life-support plug. “This is for slavery, Whitey! You’re dead!”

So, ya see, even though the "reclaiming hurtful words" argument was already mentioned in this thread, here's why she is doomed to failure. Loud mouthed white lady doesn't GET to reclaim racist words and claim it reduces their power. White lady REINFORCES how the words have historically been used. She's playing with fire and it's probably all about to collapse around her.

Also, the "sea of white audience members" demonstrates what I have contended from the beginning: she exists to tell other white people it's okay for them to be racist and misogynist.

Updated On: 3/24/13 at 07:52 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 8:18pm

Even Lena runs toward the hills from her.
a blessed opportunity for us to dislike her on her own terms

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 8:21pm

"Yes, just like Daniel Tosh is in character when he jokes about replacing his sister's pepper spray with silly string..."

Ok, that made me laugh out loud.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 8:27pm

Yeah, she's a pig.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 8:39pm

Namo, that pretty much describes the video I saw--from five minutes on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4cBeYAa33I But these people paid to see her, so they must find her funny--and expect this.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 9:36pm

"I appreciate you for reading it! Or even if you just scanned the lines looking for a period I appreciate that too!"

I skimmed over that spew of words, looking for punctuation and a point.

I found neither.

Updated On: 3/24/13 at 09:36 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 9:54pm

It was a pleasure to waste a few seconds of you time. my punctuation was lacking, but I think I made my point. :)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 3:06pm

Let's play a round of racist, misogynist, homophobic NY EMT Timothy "Tiny Tears" Dluhos or racist, misogynist, homophobic comedy hack Lisa Lampanelli? You be the judge, and decide which one should be the opening act!

"Holiday Play ... cause we can't call it Christmas play no more, cause you Jews got jealous of us and made up Hanukka to screw with us."

"F--ken chinks can't drive."

"I can laugh at the down syndrome, I bought the bracelet."

"Vampires do more during the day then a friggin Hispanic."

"At least I know my taxes go to the ‘undocumented' citizens and lazy asses who do drugs all day."

"When are those cab drivers gonna learn that curry ain’t deodorant? Strong enough for a man but made for a Hindo princess."

"Hahaha! I work with the coloreds. What do you call a black woman who’s had seven abortions? A crime fighter."

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 3:24pm

So is she "in character" for one question but not for the other?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 3:29pm

I think Lisa the person is criticizing Lisa the character for "hugely exaggerating" how many black boyfriends she had, which is why Lisa the character said it was okay to sprinkle the word "n*" throughout her act. It's gotta be tough for both Lisas.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 3:29pm

Michael Musto did that interview right? He must have been thrilled to interview her and as a bonus he got to use the word "dinge queen".

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 3:30pm

Yes, I made that very point several times earlier in this thread.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 5:22pm

I tried watching a bit of that clip Eric posted and it just made me angry and sad. It's really sophomoric and immature how she feels the need to exasperatingly provide such a disclaimer for what you claim to be your own brand of humor in your act. Honestly, she's no different Ann Coulter. She just pretends to be a comedienne rather than a "political commentator".

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 5:48pm

No different than Ann Coulter? Really? Really? Wow. There will always be sophomoric humor. Also, as someone who has gone to her shows, there is an incredible sense of community in the audience.

I've sat next to some people I thought may not accept gays. When she asks where her groups are and I "come out" buy shouting or raising my hand, I've been surprised by the acceptance of the folks around me. I've had drinks bought for me by a trucker from Kansas and his wife, been high fived and hugged by an African American ball player and his girlfriend. We all have groaned, howled and rolled our eyes at each when she laid into us respectively. It was a good time.

Comedy is a great leveler. Everyone in that room is vulnerable. I appreciate Lisa is making fun of her audience and not just some fat celebrity or a Kardashian.

I say bring it on Lisa. I can take it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 6:13pm

I guess it's something I just don't want to take nor do I want to be laid into. At least, not in that way. Clearly, people find Lampanelli funny. I just don't think it's such a stretch find her hugely offensive, especially since she feels the need to explain herself either in interviews or even in her act.

But yeah, her brand of...entertainment...as well as her constant reminder of why she says what she says, reminds me a LOT of Ann Coulter, who is equally unapologetic about the victims of her speech. Coulter is also a great leveler, finding vulnerability in all minorities, saying horrific things about them, then feigning shock that someone should react negatively to them, often insulting them further in the process. So....yeah, really.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 6:45pm

First of all, this phrase "great leveler" is right down there with "equal opportunity offender - makes fun of everybody!" as if the various people in the audience start out on a level playing field, which they do not. Listen, Betty, I don't mean to dismiss the fact that a trucker bought you a drink, the truckers I've been with haven't been that gentlemanly. And I'm glad you felt a sense of community at her shows. I occasionally get that at a rock show, the most recent was the LCD Soundsystem farewell tour. But this is hardly a random sampling of a culture. These are self selected groups of people with an interest in a certain band, or a certain racist, misogynist, homophobic type of comedian. THAT is the level playing field. You all find humor in those things. And I think that says something about both the performer AND the audience, which is exactly what I started this thread with. The things we tell ourselves, the narratives we hang onto, to feel good about our choices.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 7:41pm

Namo, you know I love you and I am glad we can dialogue about this, but then do you feel the same about Griffin, Cho, Rivers and others who preach hatred. Is it different if they crucify celebrities or people they deem less than-fat people, ugly people, etc.

At least Lampanelli talks to her audience and singles them out. Rivers will say "I hate fat people" when half the audience is obese. Griffin will say "have you seen so and so's face lift" when she herself looks like a circus clown. It's all relative. Everyone is damaged and comedians use it. Most comedy is the flipside of anger.

I saw Margaret Cho say the most vile, violent things about George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter. Is it ok for Cho to speak horrendous things because "we" don't like those people? I never get that to be honest. Talking horrendous things to a captive audience that is on your side. Cho is a coward in many respects and panders horribly.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 7:53pm

I don't defend violence ever. But I do think there is something to be said about the power differential that exists between a Korean American woman talking about the white power elite and a white American woman calling black people "n*s." I can't, no matter how hard I try, see those things as being equivalent.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 8:00pm

I think Kathy looks great now. If she's had any more work done after the disastrous freshening up she publicly through for Entertainment Tonight, it's only been for the better.

I do remember Bettyboy chose Joan over Kathy once because of the class of the former and lack thereof in the latter. Where does Lisa land on the classy scale?

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 8:03pm

Negative zero.


Updated On: 3/25/13 at 08:03 PM