I’m working on 3 nights of shows coming up in a month at CounterPULSE and I’m trying to take in a lot of information that can help me focus on my work and give me inspiration. Last night I watched a stand-up comedy DVD with my friend called “Axis of Evil.” Three of the comedians identified as Palestinian or of Palestinian heritage and the other as Iranian or Purr-sian. Most of the jokes centered on airport security, having Moslem last names, and the difference between Arabs and Persians. One comic’s name is Ahmed Ahmed; he said he can always tell who the air marshal on his flight is: the guy holding the People magazine upside down, staring straight at him. Another comic, Dean Obeidallah explains that there are only two kinds of news stories about Arabs: the bad ones in which Arabs are terrorists, and the good ones in which Arabs are alleged terrorists. It’s brilliant to me that these guys created this whole show based on their post-9/11 experiences as Arab-Americans and that I was laughing my ass off! I’m guessing their experiences haven’t always been funny and have probably been scary at times. But they weren’t asking us to feel sorry for what they’ve been through, they were asking us to join them in laughing at how ridiculous people are for saying stuff like “Oh, you’re Arab? I like hummus.” People really say this stuff, I know from experience! The Iranian comic is married to an Indian woman. He clarified to the audience, she’s not the casino kind of Indian; she’s the computer kind of Indian. Hahaha! When I was a kid and I told people I was Indian, they asked “dots or feathers?” I wonder if the next generation of Indian kids will be asked “computers or casinos?” In my experience creating work as an Artist in Residence, I’ve been thinking a lot about different aesthetic approaches in dealing with issues of immigration and the war. I feel inspired by these guys: they make you think, they’re entertaining, and they don’t take themselves too seriously. Watch a clip here:
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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93381628