Wanda Sykes: Not Normal
‘Wanda Sykes: Not Normal’ is nothing less of a propaganda to overthrow a power she does not entirely agree with
In her attempt to make people laugh, Sykes has perhaps jumped a few steps ahead where her show is no more about comedy but some hurling comments about a presidency she does not see eye to eye with.
No other president of the United States has perhaps received the amount of hatred from the people of his country, as Donald Trump, and quite rightly so. Trump has failed to stand up to the expectations of a presidency where he completely rules out sensitive issues such as global climatic changes, discrimination against immigrants, and certainly his tendency to speak blatantly speak ill of women and literally objectify them during his public speeches. Trump certainly is not a suitable choice for presidency, and a lot like the Indian Prime Minister, his policy to divide and rule has been a major concern for most Americans.
With Trump’s presidency there has been a surge in White Supremacy, which has completely torn down the whole idea of inclusivity which was touched upon by Barack Obama during his presidency. That being said, it is quite fair for artistes to speak up against Trump’s ill-treatment of the people but there is a stark difference between voicing out one’s opinion against something that is wrong and driving propaganda where you blatantly mock at things to make money. That is exactly what Wanda Sykes has done in her comedy show, ‘Not Normal’.
The ridiculity begins with Sykes’ decision of working with the same company that she had once shunned. Back in January, 2018, she had taken to Twitter to speak against the network claiming the streaming platform has far less space for women of color as compared to white women. She had tweeted, “@netflix offered me less than half of your $500k. I was offended but found another home. #EPIX” a reaction which came shortly after award-winning comedian, Mo ‘Nique posted a video accusing Netflix of gender and color bias. Mo’ Nique’s claim was against the little amount of $500,000 that was being paid to her as compared to the $13 million deal for Amy Schumer and $20 million deal for Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. Picking up on this very instance, Sykes spoke out about her experience with the network where she was apparently paid even less than Mo ‘Nique, for her 2016 special ‘What Happened...Ms. Sykes?’, which was later picked up by Epix.
However, when it came to ‘Not Normal’, she readily agreed to sign the deal even though she was not getting an equal pay as Dave Chappelle. She mentioned during an interview with Variety, “This is what they feel the special is worth. I disagree and I’m going to find another buyer. This time around, Netflix came in with a good offer. It wasn’t Dave Chappelle money but I’m not doing Dave Chappelle business. The offer was commensurate with the business I was doing.” It is almost surprising that Sykes would settle for less after all that complain which went up on Twitter following Mo ‘Nique’s claim. Another point that needs to be noted during that interview is Sykes had specifically mentioned, “I hope people see it is not coming from a viewpoint of ‘I can’t stand Trump.’ It’s more ‘I love my country and I don’t understand what’s going on.” Unfortunately she carried a completely biased performance in ‘Not Normal’.
In spite of being a comedy show, the element of being funny takes a back seat in the one-hour long show, and it is only filled with bland ridicules against Trump. There is nothing really witty about what Sykes says in her high-pitched note, which honestly is a pain to the ear when all she is doing is commenting. To break it out, the first and foremost thing she delves into is playing with the idea of superiority. In her attempt to shun down the supremacy of Trump’s rule, Sykes makes herself appear far superior than anyone else present on this planet. There is nothing observational about her comments, since what she has done could have been easily done by a person on Twitter without spending all those million dollars on a show. She has missed on the very basic element of comedy, where the person observes a mistake and is either sarcastic about it or puts it forward in a garnished tone. Sykes has merely tweeted on her own comedy show.
Finally, there is hardly any element of revelation in her work. Sykes fails to cross the limits that social media sets on artistes today. She is more cocooned into telling the audience things that they already know but does not traverse much into the issue that she is talking about. Simply calling president names is not enough for an artiste to state his/her point, and it is a pathetic way of practicing one’s art. She is certainly free on stage, which is expected out of her, but she has failed to refine herself as a performer on that stage. ‘Wanda Sykes: Not Normal’ is a waste of an entire one-hour that perhaps no one can (or rather should not) afford.
