Stand up comedy is bigger than it ever has been before. Which means there are more comedians we have access to than ever before. It’s a lot easier for new talent to find a voice than ever before. Information is a lot easier to find, and since social media has consumed our culture it’s a lot easier to find out about someone you’ve never met before, and it’s a lot easier to share as well to make yourself feel some sort of importance. So in this age of self expression and exposure, more and more stand up comedians are know to have some form of mental instability, whether that be through mental illness, addiction, or just being messed up in the head, and I’m here because I believe there is a definite link between great comedy mental instability.
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Once he gained success and was loved by millions and considered one of the best comics of all time you would think he would be happy, but depression got the better of him and he killed himself in 2014. Robin Williams is possibly the biggest example I could give of a comedian who suffers/suffered from depression but there are loads more, why else do you think they actually have a psychologist stationed in the laugh factory in Hollywood, a world famous comedy club, that’s how common it is in the industry. George Claridge a psychologist from the oxford university found that comedians often have both introverted and extroverted traits at the same time, which causes them to be torn and struggle emotionally, which can lead to depression and anxiety. One of the best examples of a comic showing this struggle is from musical comedian Bo Burnham in his special ‘Make Happy’, which over all is a very upbeat show with underlying messages of sadness and anxiety, in the last 10 minutes of the special he performs a bit called “Can’t handle this right now” which is a song …show more content…
The most recent example would have to be The highly talented and respected Louis C.K a comedian who climbed the comedic ladder and became known as one of the greatest comedians in recent years and even considered an amazing artist through his shows “Louie” and “Horace and Pete”, was taken down from the podium last year when several woman came out saying that Louis had sexually harassed them in the workplace which came as a huge shock to everyone including me, showing that these people who’s job it is to make us the general public laugh and feel better about life are not only struggling with problems against their own control, but some of them are actually bad people on the inside and are quite messed up in the head, there are countless examples of this as-well that go all the way back to the seventies with Richard Pryor a comedian who is still held up as one of the best, would abuse his wife, but because he was good at his art people just kicked it under the rug, the same will happen with Louis, it’s inevitable, it’s a shame really that people like this continue to thrive but people crave great art, and that’s what someone like Louis provides, he’s a master of his craft and people will be willing to ignore the rest of it if it means they get to see what he does next, just like Pryor. As consumers people won’t care in a couple years what he did, because it will be on to the
Once he gained success and was loved by millions and considered one of the best comics of all time you would think he would be happy, but depression got the better of him and he killed himself in 2014. Robin Williams is possibly the biggest example I could give of a comedian who suffers/suffered from depression but there are loads more, why else do you think they actually have a psychologist stationed in the laugh factory in Hollywood, a world famous comedy club, that’s how common it is in the industry. George Claridge a psychologist from the oxford university found that comedians often have both introverted and extroverted traits at the same time, which causes them to be torn and struggle emotionally, which can lead to depression and anxiety. One of the best examples of a comic showing this struggle is from musical comedian Bo Burnham in his special ‘Make Happy’, which over all is a very upbeat show with underlying messages of sadness and anxiety, in the last 10 minutes of the special he performs a bit called “Can’t handle this right now” which is a song …show more content…
The most recent example would have to be The highly talented and respected Louis C.K a comedian who climbed the comedic ladder and became known as one of the greatest comedians in recent years and even considered an amazing artist through his shows “Louie” and “Horace and Pete”, was taken down from the podium last year when several woman came out saying that Louis had sexually harassed them in the workplace which came as a huge shock to everyone including me, showing that these people who’s job it is to make us the general public laugh and feel better about life are not only struggling with problems against their own control, but some of them are actually bad people on the inside and are quite messed up in the head, there are countless examples of this as-well that go all the way back to the seventies with Richard Pryor a comedian who is still held up as one of the best, would abuse his wife, but because he was good at his art people just kicked it under the rug, the same will happen with Louis, it’s inevitable, it’s a shame really that people like this continue to thrive but people crave great art, and that’s what someone like Louis provides, he’s a master of his craft and people will be willing to ignore the rest of it if it means they get to see what he does next, just like Pryor. As consumers people won’t care in a couple years what he did, because it will be on to the