How Nate Bargatze does "dumb guy humor" without being cartoonish
Jason Zinoman: "Bargatze manages to make fun of himself while holding onto a certain kind of dignity that I think is key to the persona."
Great podcast interview with NY Times columnist Jason Zinoman by Gabe Hudson.
I go deep with Jason Zinoman on the Hasan Minhaj controversy + Marc Maron's comedy podcast beef with Joe Rogan + why Nate Bargatze's standup is blowing up rn + is Jim Gaffigan our new Mark Twain?
One interesting segment has Zinoman discussing what makes Nate Bargatze so great:
His bits are incredibly worked out. You know, he's one of these guys who every sentence matters. He's part of a long, broad tradition of dumb guy humor. A lot of the jokes are about how slow he is, but he's not. He's self-deprecating in a realm that all of us can relate to and isn't cartoonish or condescending. It doesn't rely on cheap Southern jokes, which he's from the South. He manages to make fun of himself while holding onto a certain kind of dignity that I think is key to the persona. He taps into a childlike quality which is always the sweet spot of comedy. If you can get that, you can build a huge career.