Has TikTok ruined the art of the long joke?

13:48Has TikTok ruined the art of the long joke?

TikTok has turned some comedians into household names — but others say these one-minute videos are killing the art of a long joke.

Comedians Andrea Jin and John Cullen tell guest host Amil Niazi about what's gained, and what's lost in this era of TikTok comedy.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

Amil: Andrea, [TikTok] has kind of changed your life, right? How has it paid off for you?

Andrea: It's gotten my comedy out to a wider audience. Before, I was doing it in front of just whoever I was able to get up in front of. But now it's able to reach people outside of Canada, or people outside of America even, so I'm fortunate that's been the case.

Amil: John, you're not even on Tik Tok. Why?

John: Well, I'm a 37 year old man, so I think that's probably the first reason. I never really gravitated towards posting videos online…. Also, my jokes are long. I'm kind of a storytelling comedian. My shortest joke is probably 4 minutes long, which doesn't really suit TikTok. I think it's a combination of things where I just don't understand it and I am scared of it, I guess.

Amil: Okay, that's fair. You're the exact right age demographic for those feelings, I think.

John: Yeah. It's certainly, I think, a pressure that a lot of comedians feel.

Amil: Andrea, I see it firsthand: my For You page is just Matt Rife, that comedian who's sort of blown up in the last couple of years, where he's interacting with the audience…. Why is that kind of video doing so well on TikTok?

Andrea: I think it's because it's not prepared, so it feels really real — because stand up is so planned out. I think it's the real broadness of it. People are maybe drawn to that. There's a lot of feel-good ones, too. Like you say, Matt Rife I saw one of his clips where this single mom brought him cookies, and all he was doing was complimenting her and kind of lusting after her, in a way.

Amil: John, your latest comedy album is called Long Stories For No Reason. I get that the appeal of a 90-second clip is a bit lost on you. What do you think we're losing when we prioritize short-form, algorithm-friendly content?

John: I think we're losing just a bit of the freedom. Comedians are feeling pressure to do jokes that fit on TikTok…. Maybe that's a good joke-writing exercise in some cases, but I think if you're a newer comedian coming up, you think, "Okay, all my jokes have to be a minute or less. I've got to do crowd work at a lot of the shows I'm at, because that's what people want to see from me." And again, you can do whatever you want. I'm not on TikTok; I do pretty good. I'm not saying that you can't do it anymore…. [But] it feels a little bit more constrained than it used to be, or that comedians are trying to hit these targets that maybe they wouldn't have had to be concerned about before.

Amil: Andrea, what do you think we're gaining by having this sort of unique format on TikTok and Instagram Reels?

Andrea: I do agree with John where I feel a pressure to do crowd work sometimes because I don't want to post all my material on TikTok or Instagram. There's a lot to be gained, like being able to shape your own career and go the direction you want to go, instead of pleasing a few decision-makers.

Amil: And it's also led to a bit of a boom, right? Younger people are finding comedy, even old comedians whose stuff has resurfaced. It's kind of created this new interest in the scene.

Andrea: Oh yeah, for sure. It did contribute to a new comedy boom, because people that come to my shows, they'll tell me, "I've never been to a comedy show. This was my first exposure, because of your clips." … Now it's become as normal as going to the movies, going to dinner. So I like that it's helped in that way.

Amil: John, five years ago, an hour-long standup special on Netflix or even playing Just For Laughs would be a huge win for a comedian. Does that still have the same cachet despite the TikTok boom?

John: I think so…. I just think that comedy is in its MySpace era. I used to play in bands and in the past it was if you were a band, you could make it big by having the right A&R person see you on the right night. They give you a bunch of money. You make a record. It could potentially lead to fame. And then MySpace got big, and record labels stopped trying because they were like, "Oh, well, you make your own audience on the Internet and then we'll just pour gasoline on that fire." And I think that's what's happening with comedy right now. Is that good or bad? I'm not sure. But that's where I see it right now. It tends to be Netflix and Comedy Central and whatever, they're not seeking you out anymore. You just get big, and then they give you a thing. It really reminds me of MySpace.

Amil: That's a good analogy — and one that probably not everybody will get. Andrea, what do you think? Yes, TikTok has given a platform to younger, newer, lesser-known comedians, allowing them to blow up. But at the same time, has it just handed the keys over to a new group of gatekeepers?

Andrea: I think it's always good to change things up, because I've watched people get passed over that are very talented but they just did not fit the taste of whoever was making decisions at the time. So that's a shame always — they're very good, and people really like them and laugh at their comedy, but just because of that they can't be on Comedy Central or go to Just For Laughs. They can't do all this stuff that other people that fit more of the taste of the decision-makers can do. So having your own platform creates opportunities for those people that deserve to also reach people. I'm glad that it's creating more opportunities for people, but I definitely see the cons. I see the pros. It's not perfect.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Jane van Koeverden.